Rayman Legends review

Rayman’s enjoyed a bit of a hiatus over the last couple of years with previous Rayman games. The character never really shined in 3D and was in danger of being replaced by his spin-off Rabbids until Rayman Origins came along with great platforming action and even better art direction. Rayman Legends delivers more along the same theme with tonnes of new ideas which are definitely worth the price of admission.

Once again, the story’s a bit weak but in essence you have to move through all the stages rescuing Teensies, collecting Lums and freeing some Viking sisters that are all playable if you go into the Heroes Gallery - and don’t worry, you can also play as his sidekick Globox as well!

Controls are pretty simple, it’s the usual run, jump, hit and bounce to move through the levels but it’s the great flow of action that you’ll notice straight away. It’s a joy to run, stomp and glide through the levels as you bash into bad guys and find secrets all over the place to collect and explore. There’s even a brand new idea here that’s blatantly designed for someone to assist on the Wii U Gamepad but also works well on an Xbox 360 joypad. Some stages see the arrival of Murfy - a flying frog-like fairy that can move platforms and tickle enemies at the touch of a button as you navigate through the levels. It takes some co-ordination to get this right but when you do, it’s incredibly satisfying. It’s also great that there’s no real punishment for dying. If you fall or get hit too many times, you instantly start from the last nearby invisible checkpoint to have another go. It’s nice to see a platformer that doesn’t frustrate and rewards you for daring to finding secrets and not for playing it safe.

Other level types worthy of notes are the musical levels, which almost play like a rhythm game as you jump and attack to the beat of well-known songs tweaked slightly such as “Black Betty”. Boss fights are also a joy, with massive 3D creatures to fight as you still move about on a 2D plane.

With tonnes of extras including a 4-player co-op mode, a football mini game and remixed levels from Origins to unlock and play through, this has to be one of the highest quality, best value platformers to date so it gets 9 out of 10.

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Related: Rayman games, Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends review on Youtube