Superb, a Hallmark in 2D Platforming.
2011’s Rayman Origins was a game that resonated with many, many gamers. The tight 2D platforming coupled with a cutesy aesthetic and musical charm was a neat throwback to the 90’s, the good old days, the days when Mario and Sonic ruled the roost. Rayman Legends builds upon the foundations Origins created, and then some. However, Legends had a bit of a rocky start. It was initially intended to be a Wii U exclusive due to release in the early days of the Wii U, it was seen as the potential killer app that many disgruntled early Wii U adopters hoped for. Despite being almost finished, the game was delayed for months to accommodate a simultaneous release for Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PS Vita. For reference, I played through on the PS3 version.
The game kicks off with Rayman and gang being awoken after a 100 year nap to find out that the 10 princesses and teensies of the land have been captured by the dark teensies. The plot is appropriately minimal, but its charm and tongue-in-cheek nature caused me to crack a smile on more than one occasion. If you play games mainly for the story, this game is not for you. That being said, I don't understand how any serious gamer could hate on Rayman Legends, and what it stands for; you’d have to be void of emotion to not have a teensy bit fun with it. See what I did there? Yeah, it was awful.
The aim of the game in Legends is to save the captured princesses and teensies. This is achieved across over 120 levels, with many collectables and goodies to collect along the way; it’s a perfectionist’s dream. There are 700 teensies to collect, with what can be taken as the endgame being unlocked at 400 teensies. The core game took me roughly 8 hours to complete, but stopping there would be a crime. There is so much longevity to this game, not just for the sake of it too, it’s quality content. Basically, each level has a certain amount of lums to collect and teensies to save, and you are accordingly given a gold, silver or bronze trophy for your efforts.
There are also an array of fun boss battles, which get pretty challenging towards the end of the game; I won't ruin them here, but they really should be experienced! You are also heavily rewarded for fully exploring the levels in the form of Lucky Tickets. These Lucky Tickets unlock extra lums (the game’s currency), enemy concepts and extra levels. There are also daily and weekly challenges, which pit you against the globe or your friends in addictive leaderboard-based challenges. That’s not all, Legends features: 40 remastered levels from Rayman Origins, time trials, an addictive football minigame and survival levels. That’s a lot of Rayman for thirty quid.
What is strikingly obvious is that the visual presentation of the game is top-notch. The hand-drawn style visuals and quirky characters radiate off the screen in a burst of colour and fidelity. The character animations are also extremely charming and fluid. For me though, the details in the environments are the visual high point in Legends. As a testament to the original Rayman on PS1, the game features an array of themed worlds for you to explore; everything from the standard (water levels) to the bewilderingly bizarre (a world based on the contents of a fridge). The proof is in the pudding with Rayman Legends, proving that a good art direction trumps pure processing power any day. Anyone who’s staunchly against the idea of video games being art, I implore you to watch (AND listen to) a few Rayman Legend gameplay videos. Enjoy the taste of your own words.
The gameplay in Rayman Legends builds upon the framework set forward in Origins. Rayman and company will be swimming, swinging, leaping, stomping and punching their way through whatever hazards, obstacles and enemies the game throws their way, and it’ll be throwing a lot their way. As with Origins, Legends can be played co-operatively with 1-3 friends locally. There is definitely some fun to be had with Legends as a party game; the sense of camaraderie in working together to explore the levels with friends is pretty fulfilling. My only quibble is that the ability to revive teammates somewhat softens the challenge.
One new addition to the gameplay comes in the form of a familiar face for Rayman enthusiasts, Murfy. Murfy acts as a secondary playable character who can aid Rayman and friends via: cutting ropes, distracting enemies, and tweaking the environment. PS Vita and Wii U versions of the game let you directly control Murfy directly on the touchscreen/GamePad. Upon playing the Wii U version briefly, I found the controls work very well; the multitasking adds a little something to the rhythmic aspect of the game. On other platforms Murfy is controlled loosely via one button; it works, but lacks the charm of its touchscreen counterparts. It was, after all, intended to be a Wii U exclusive.
Tempo and timing are central to the platforming experience in Legends. This is perhaps why the soundtrack is one of the most refined, varied and satisfying soundtracks in gaming, ever. The soundtrack features contributions from the likes of Incubus, Slimkid3, and DJ Nu-Mark. The high point in this game – and gaming in general this year– for me comes in the form of the rhythm-based levels. In these levels, every time you kill, collect or interact with anything in the environment it cues a musical element in the track. For example, on one level I collected 30 lums in rapid succession only to hear 30 note, face-melting guitar solo; the feedback is extremely satisfying and is hands-down one of my best gaming experiences this year. Renditions of popular songs such as "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Black Betty" by Ram Jam are included, and should be experienced by every gamer.
The whole gritty, serious, ‘mature’ aspect that the gaming industry is so obsessed with as of late is tossed into the abyss with Legends. Legends is about the fun factor, and nothing but the fun factor. No DLC, no season pass, no crap, just pure gaming ecstasy. The astonishing gameplay, charm, visuals and soundtrack of Legends all mix together to fuse a cocktail of gaming goodness. If you’re a gamer, with a fondness for games—which I’m assuming you are—I highly, highly recommend this game.
