Rayman Origins (2011)

This game frankly doesn't control as well as it ought to, but setting run to a toggle rather than a held button has definitely helped make up for some of its shortcomings. Steam's input options suite is easily the best accessibility and customization feature that any games platform has ever had, and it's a big part of why I pretty much only play on PC (and Switch) these days.

The whole Donkey Kong Discourse from last month left me wanting to revisit Rayman Origins, which I haven't played since it first came out and always felt was a sort of spiritual DKC successor. And while I've only made it to the second world so far, I'm having a grand time!

Like DKC, the main gimmick here is that your dash attack sets up long jumps and generates a burst of speed when you use it to take out enemies. Chaining dashes together across enemies and destructible objects feels excellent, and the levels are thoughtfully designed to be raced through in 1-2 minutes if you can nail the perfect line. Infinite lives and very frequent checkpoints keep the tough optional coin/lum collection challenges from becoming too frustrating, and there's a couple fun hidden areas to find in every level. Completing collection, exploration, and speed goals rewards up to 6 whatsits per level, creating a lovely alternating pace where you play levels once slowly with an eye out for secrets, and then again for speed once you've learned the layout.

I wish holding the run button while standing still didn't shoot Rayman off at top speed once he starts moving. And his left/right movement is admittedly a bit swimmy. But his buttstomp move (and later his hover, if I remember correctly) makes precision jumps perfectly reliable, and the level design feels perfectly matched to his moveset. It's just a really pleasant DKC experience!

(also the soundtrack is great, more killer mouth harp jams, please)

Rayman Origins is a good, fun, solid 2D platformer. (Played it on my Vita.) The follow-up to it, Rayman Legends, is even better (and even includes a lot of the levels from Origins). So my thinking is, if you really love this genre, I recommend you play Origins and then Legends for full enjoyment. But if you only have time for one of the two games, go with Legends.

There isn't a whole lot that these games do mechanically that makes them all that unique, but the presentation I think is what makes them stand out. Very cartooney, silly, amusing little antics for these wacky-looking characters in zany environments. A sort of irreverent "Looney Tunes" response to the more squeaky-clean "Disney" of Mario platformers. I had a lot of fun playing through Legends co-op with a friend (on PS4) some years back, and suggest doing that if you get the chance. Much less frustrating than the co-op in New Super Mario Bros games.

Get your free copy of Rayman Origins on Ubisoft Connect PC now before Dec. 23rd!

Play Rayman Origins and discover or rediscover the magical universe and legendary 2D gameplay that captured the hearts of millions of fans.

You can claim your free game on Ubisoft Connect PC from Dec. 14th at 08:00 pm to Dec. 23rd at 04:00 am (your local time) and you will be able to play it at any time!

Having played so many open-world exploratory games lately, it felt really good to sink my teeth into a traditional linear 2D platformer. Hub worlds are nice every now and then if they really add something to a game, but otherwise I definitely appreciate a simple map screen or level select screen that cuts out the fluff and allows me to get straight into the action.

Rayman Origins was generally a really satisfying play-through, but was punctuated by some of the most frustrating moments I've experienced in a game in quite some time. Thus, I'll start with the negatives:

Right off the bat, I didn't like the way Rayman handles. Having grown up with the pixel-perfect precision of classic platformers like Mario and Sonic, Rayman feels floaty and clumsy to control. Everything from his momentum, to his bounce, to his attacks just felt wrong to me and took a while to get used to. Many of my deaths in the early part of the game were the result of Rayman slipping off a platform or not landing where I would expect him to after a jump. Mercifully, the game provides infinite lives and frequent check-points in order to keep any one death from being a major setback. This mercy is especially important in the later part of the game, in which the level design becomes especially brutal. The last few regular stages and most of the challenge stages are so unforgiving that they essentially come down to trial and error coupled with rote memorization. It was in these stages that I often came close to putting down the controller and walking away from the game, but I somehow always managed to pull victory from the jaws of defeat and progress forward in the end.

The negative factors of Rayman Origins are compensated for due to the abundance of two positive traits: charm and creativity.

The UbiArt Framework used in making this game's graphics really brings the colorful cartoon characters of Michel Ancel to life. The stages these characters inhabit are also works of art, both in terms of visual appeal and level design. An example of one of my favorite levels is a Mexican food inspired stage in which enemies attack by squirting napalm-like hot sauce at Rayman. I also appreciated that levels feature variety in terms of play style: traditional platformer levels, forced scrolling racing stages, and shoot-em-up aerial battles. Bringing all these elements together is a fantastic musical score that has the full range from whimsical to epic. Some of my favorite pieces sound as if they're being sung by the game world's inhabitants encouraging Rayman to press on.

Ultimately, the moments of joy I experienced playing Rayman Origins were enough to motivate me to persevere through the tough spots and come away with positive feelings about the game. Players that have a lot of patience and are looking for a platforming challenge will find a lot to like. However, platforming novices or those who get discouraged easily may find themselves over their heads with this one.