Rayman finally returns to his 2D origins in Rayman Origins. After years of being Ubisoft's bitch and playing second in command to those Rabbids, he finally gets another game. What a glorious game it is.
Rayman Origins is a return to form for our limbess hero. It's the long awaited sequel fans of the original wanted, but never got. Even though Rayman 2 was great, it never felt as good as the first Rayman to me. I always preferred 2D platformers to 3D platformers as a whole. There's something about running to the right dodging everything in your way that is strangely satisfying. I have had a lot of fun with 3D platformers as well, and even rank a few in my favourite games of all time list, but I can name more 2D platformers than 3D ones that I have liked. I can also safely say that Rayman Origins deserves a place on my list of great 2D platformers. It is quite possibly the best 2D platformer of the generation, just rivalling Donkey Kong Country Returns.
The story if you can call it that, is done in a 16-bit SNES/Sega Genesis way where it's just an excuse to have the character run across various themed worlds. Rayman and his buddies are too loud, and bother an old dead woman in the Land of the Livid Dead, and summons the darktoons to imprison everything in the Glade of Dreams. No one really cares, and it's not really in the game except for a few cinematics. It's mostly there just to give light context for why Rayman would be jumping on giant watermelon.
Rayman Origins is a 2D platformers in the purest use of the term. You run, jump, and collect various hidden collectables to unlock more levels to run, jump, and collect various hidden collectables in. What sets Origins apart from other co-op platformers, is the animation. Ubisoft has used their new UbiArt technology to put and emphasis on hand-drawn visuals, and the visuals are stunning. The game is brimming with colourful and detailed worlds. As well as fantastic character animations that look like you're watching an animated feature instead of a game. Normally I would be against something like this, but it never gets in the way of the game. Unlike Metal Gear Solid 4, which wants you to look and not touch, Rayman Origins want you hands-on at all times.
The controls are incredibly precise, and require you to pull off most later levels with such finese, that almost everything put in the game was in there on purpose. Every jump, enemy, and platform are put in just a spot to let you create a precise acrobatic show that it's very impressive. The level design is so well thought out, that after a while, you can clear a level without ever breaking momentum. The game makes you to use every power Rayman learns, but it never feels forced, or unwanted. you never use one power far too much, that it gets to the point of boredom. There are also the signature mosquito stages that play like an old bullet hell game from the 90s.
The game may sound easy, but the game is anything but. It's not hard, but it's not easy either. The difficulty is like an easier version of Super Meat Boy, where you will spend numerous lives on the level trying to perfect that one jump, but it never feels frustrating. The abandonment of lives is the main reason the game can pull off such feat. You never lose several lives in one area and gameover, which leads to a lot less anger and quiting from the player.
The worlds are all very well designed, and imaginative. All of the worlds are very oddly themed, like a traditional platformer. You have the forest level, music level, food level, ice level, water level, etc. Although these kinds of areas are done to death, they never feel old. They always feel interesting and strange, even though we have seen them so many times before.
The soundtrack is also a God send. The soundtrack has so many catchy tunes, that you will find yourself humming them long after you're done playing. Each world uses music and instruments that fit the setting of the area.
The game also features four player co-op, but that's no longer new or interesting. Every 2D platformer is doing that now, it is implemented better in Origins than most others. Little Big Planet for example, had the shared lifebar, that would lead to new players wasting all of the lives the others had, which just caused problems. Super Mario Bros. Wii had all of the character made out of rubber and caused them to bounce all over the place, which also caused many feuds among friends. Rayman Origins does none of this, which makes it better to play with others, but you can hit your friends. There were numerous times where we smacked each other mid-air, which caused both of us to die. If you can look past that one little thing, multiplayer is great fun.
Overall, Rayman Origins is one of the best 2D platformers this generation, and I would even place it on an all time best list. The game controls great, has fantastic music, and imagative worlds. It's almost the perfect platformer, but only almost. The game just recently was released on Steam and the Vita, and has been released on the 360, Wii, and PS3 for some time. I would highly recommend this to all fans of platformers, young and old.
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