As a Rayman fanman, I’m not confident we’ll be seeing any more of him in the future.
I’ve gone into the weeds a bit with slagging off Ubisoft, but Origins is so good that it makes the rest of what they’ve done look terrible by comparison. Let Ubisoft realise with Assassin’s Creed Infinity 2 and Far Cry 12: Live-Service Island that not everything needs to be online before they drag Rayman up from the ground and turn it into a battle royale with a Splinter Cell hat. To that end, maybe it’s best that Rayman remains in the dark for a little while longer. Origins is just vibing as one of the best games ever made without anything holding it back. Unlike Legends a few years later, there’s no forced online elements, no pre-order guff, and no endless re-releases. Not only is it a reminder that Ubisoft doesn’t really give a shit about 2D platformers, UbiArt, or Rayman anymore, but Origins is one of the last ‘pure’ games the studio ever released. Whether you’re running through it on your own as a completionist and collecting all the Electoons, or breezing through with your mates and slapping each other off cliffs, there’s nothing in the Ubisoft catalogue recently that can give you the same simple joy.Īs great as it is to look back, Origins turning ten is a bittersweet anniversary. The clue is right there - it does everything right. I could go on and on about everything that Origins does right, and I have. No, it doesn’t count that almost all of the Origins levels are in Legends too, shut up. They’re not stuffed with clearly-here-for-the-Wii-U gimmicks or trying too hard to stick to a theme - they’re instead laser-focused on tight, hard-as-nails platforming that only rarely deviates from the winning formula. The five other Rayman fans reading this right now might be pushing for Legends as Ubisoft’s best, but Origins far-and-away has the better levels. That’s a tough balance to get right, with only a few games like Ori, Celeste, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze managing to get it right since. Rayman can get through levels with a rocket up his non-existent arse but still feels as smooth as butter to control. None of this would mean diddly-squat if the gameplay wasn’t up to snuff, but Origins is unbeaten here too. We get it, it’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ but Rayman. Origins looks godly, but it sounds even better, and even Legends’ fantastic music-based levels don’t quite live up to it. Even my underdeveloped 12-year old brain knew that the serenading sound of Sea of Serendipity, and the absolute banger of a track that is the Desert of Digeridoos, were something special. Guys, I think I might be in love with Rayman.
Ubisoft may have made Rayman a lazy idiot from Origins onward, but he’s never looked more expressive full of stupid faces when he’s hit and a grin that could thaw ice when you’ve perfectly done a level. With such vibrant colours and sharp outlines everywhere you look, enemies aren't the only thing popping like balloons.Īs beautiful as the backgrounds and levels are, all these years later my favourite thing about the visuals is the characters. The phrase ‘it’s like a painting in motion’ might be better suited for Legends, but Origins is the doodles of an artist come to life. One of the most obvious examples is the use of UbiArt, which gave Origins a timeless look that hasn’t aged a day. I don’t just say that as a lover of all things Teensie - there’s plenty about Origins that hasn’t been replicated or improved upon since.