Rayman Origins Review - New Game Network

It could be said that the platforming genre has lost its way recently, from seemingly endless rehashes of Mario to the punishing difficulty of Super Meat Boy. The fun of the genre has been condensed and divided into niches, be that nostalgia or desire for higher difficulty. With Rayman, a series that has also gone through an identity crisis over the years, it seems that there is still hope. Hope for a platformer that is purely based on fun, timing, and amazing presentation to boot. Rayman Origins is such a game.

Like a classic and pure platforming title, Origins doesn’t have much a story, nor does it need one. There is something about an old lady who got annoyed at Rayman and his friends and unleashed evil creatures on the world. Your goal is to traverse the game’s various environments and rescue the Nympths and Electoons along the way. It’s a very lighthearted and basic plot, and it works perfectly well with this title.

Rayman Origins is a side scrolling platformer which borrows a lot of elements from the first game in the franchise. Jumping and running around the levels is effortless and fun, requiring some precision and timing but not overly so. It’s classic platforming action at its best, and though Rayman could control a little tighter, most often a blast to play. The game’s level progression is based on making it to the end, and also collecting the various Lums hovering around the level. Collecting enough earns you more Electoons, which are in turn required to progress through the game.The progression curve is very fair and you likely won’t need to replay any levels, even if you missed a few collectibles, in order to go on.

As you progress through the game’s numerous levels, which overall last a decently long 8 to 9 hours depending on skill, Rayman earns new abilities. Starting off with just basic jumping, you’ll soon earn the ability to glide in the air, run up walls, and dive underwater. All these elements are immediately used in the levels that follow, letting you fully explore the environment. It’s perhaps a missed opportunity that there are no secret locations in early levels that can only be reached later, upon replaying the level with new skills.

Each level features a number of enemies, which range in their basic abilities. All can be defeated with good timing and Rayman’s basic attack, resulting in a satisfyingly simple combat system. Most of the game can be completed with little trouble, though some difficulty spikes do exist and can be frustrating, trial-and-error experiences. Thankfully the levels are broken up into sections, so if you die and have to start the whole section over, there isn’t a ton of progress that is lost.

Basic platforming is further supplemented by boss battles, flying levels and treasure chases. The boss battles in the game are engaging and fun, though they are relatively few in number and feel too brief. The flying levels see Rayman jump on a mosquito and fly around the screen, shooting anything that comes his way and collecting Lums along the way. These sections are again reminiscent of the classic arcade days, and play really well. Treasure chases are only unlocked after you’ve collected a great number of Electoons, and are the most challenging levels in the game. Rayman must chase a treasure chest across the level, so speed and timing are extremely important and the game can be quite unforgiving here. But these sections are indeed optional and are there for those who find the main campaign a bit too easy.

All of the levels in game can be played in local coop, and are great fun with others. Having more players on your team allows you collect many more treasures and have a generally chaotic fun time. Playing together on the same screen doesn’t present any limitations, though it’s a bit disappointing that levels do not differ whatsoever from the single player experience.

Inarguably the most prolific and mesmerizing part of the whole experience are the visuals. Style in Rayman Origins is simply fantastic, using hand-drawn style of graphics and art in order to bring this world to life. It looks unlike anything you’ve played in the recent years, a unique and magnificent display. From the desert to the jungle, underwater and on top of a mountain, the background visuals are quite often breathtaking in their level of artistry. Characters and animations are equally well done and complete what is a complete feast for the eyes. The sound design isn’t far behind, providing some great original tunes with just the right amount of variety for every environment and setting. Origins may have solid platforming and many hours worth of gameplay, but it’s the presentation that this title should be remembered for, years down the line.

In an era when most dismiss a platforming game because it’s either too difficult, is aimed at kids, or at masochists, Rayman Origins makes a big splash. It’s the kind of title that has universal appeal, and yet proves itself to be more than capable at entertaining even the most critical players. Solid platforming and tons of items to collect provide pure fun for a solid number of hours, and being able to play it all again with friends completes the package. Most notably, the game’s audio and visuals are so far above and beyond anything seen in the genre, and even the industry, that you owe it to yourself to just see and hear it, at least once. Rayman Origins is a great platforming title that, if you feel the full price tag is worth it, is easily recommended to almost everyone.