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Rayman Legends (Definitive Edition) Review

  • Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier

  • Publisher: Ubisoft

  • Genres: Platform

  • Platforms: PS3, PS4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360,                                         Xbox One, Windows, Wii U, Nintendo Switch

  • Release date: 

    • Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U: August 30th, 2013

    • PlayStation Vita: September 12th, 2013

    • PS4, Xbox One: February 21st, 2014

    • (Definitive Edition) Nintendo Switch: September 12th, 2017

  • Playtime: around 12 hours

  • Reviewed on the Nintendo Switch

​Rayman Legends is a brilliant game. From the fluid gameplay to the huge diversity of content, this game has everything that you could want from a 2D platformer! The cherry on top of the cake is that, as the name implies, this is the Definitive Edition, so all the platform-exclusive content from previous releases of the game is available in a single package, on the Nintendo Switch.

Let’s start off by the gameplay itself, focusing on what we have in the over 100 (main) stages spread across a handful of worlds. The stages in each world can be connected through a theme (such as the first world’s castle) or through a gameplay mechanic (such as the sentries in the fourth world). What’s makes these stages worth talking about are the colorful environments, characters you find along the way (both playable and enemy characters) and the constant introduction of new things, be it gameplay mechanics, enemy types, or even the pure sense of progression as you see the scenery change across the stages in a world.

What makes Rayman Legend’s stages truly stand out from others in the genre is the diversity available and the implementation itself. Usually, the stages are “common” 2D platforming levels where you advance through until the end, but the boss stages are adrenaline filled rushes where you can be fighting a giant toad in the air or swimming through an underwater hideout at breakneck speed to avoid getting beaten by an aquatic creature. There are also the music-rhythm stages, always the last in each world, where you’re purely running as fast as possible while a special song plays in the background (in one of them it’s actually the famous Eye of the Tiger). Then each action you perform (kicking an enemy midair, sliding through a rope, …) will “match” what’s happening in the song playing. This creates a dynamic where you want to nail every single thing that comes your way just for the simple reward of letting the song play as you progress through the stage.

Though, while there are so many “main” stages, the “side content” has kept me engaged for hours upon hours. Beyond the said stages, the game has a 1v1 Kung Foot mode where you and your opponent try to score goals against each other (this mode has up to 4-player co-op available, much like almost every other mode), Murfy’s Touch that makes use of the Switch’s touch screen by putting you in control of guiding a character through a level by getting rid of obstacles and enemies in the way and, last but definitely not least, the game even has entire stages and worlds from the prequel, Rayman Origins. Unfortunately, to unlock these you need to obtain them as rewards from scratch tickets that you get by completing the other available stages. Oh, and there’s also daily and weekly online challenges, that generally involve objectives like “Collect X amount of Lums as fast as possible” or “Reach as far as you can”. These are nice distractions that you can engage in whenever you feel like and don’t impact rewards or unlockables in any way.

The last piece of the puzzle is the simple existence of (unlockable) character skins. That’s right, free, in-game unlockable character skins. There’s a total of four playable characters: Rayman, Globox, Barbara and the Teensie and, while the characters share the same moveset, the characters still feel distinct due to their completely different designs and animations. Back to my point: from the get-go you have around a dozen of skins to choose from across the four characters. However, the more you play the more Lums you collect which, as you reach certain milestones, unlock brand new skins, giving you a constant reason to go back to the Hero Gallery and pick up a shiny new skin to use.

To conclude, Rayman Legends is shock-full of content for you to play. However, the reason why Legends stands out is how it makes every second you spend with it special. From its simple but delightful gameplay to the brilliant game design and the amount of content available, this is a game that should be played by anyone, specially now that it released on the Nintendo Switch with all the content available in a single package. One last thing: thank you Rayman Legends for reminding me of how good it is to have in-game unlockable character skins!

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