Rayman Legends, the original 2013 game, is a beloved platformer for a reason—it’s very good. We gave it a stonking 90 in our Rayman Legends review, which puts it up there as an all-timer. In fact, it’s so good that Ubisoft has decided to remake it in its entirety, swapping out 2D graphics for 3D worlds and throwing on some extra sauce.
I was invited to sit down and play the thing with Ubisoft for a few hours—progressing through several levels—and while I wouldn’t say 3D is inherently prettier than 2D on principle (especially with a game that has such a distinct art style as Legends), Retold is still a deeply gorgeous game.
Developed by Ubisoft Milan and Montpellier, the level of work here is more comparable to something like the Spyro remakes from Toys for Bob—we’re talking a top-to-bottom recreation.
It almost seems billed as a soft reboot for the franchise writ large. At least that’s the impression I get from production director Alessandro Arndt Mucchi, who says “In terms of story and world building, we felt like there was room for tying everything together, because there’s a lot in it but it’s a bit all over the place—and we wanted to set the starting point for the future of Rayman.”
That tying together includes added voice acting, cutscenes, and overworld maps to connect the levels.
“If you remember, in the original Legends, you were jumping into paintings from an art gallery,” Mucchi said, “so you didn’t have the feeling of being really in the Glade of Dreams, but now the hubs from which you enter into the portals leading you to the levels are set in the actual world of Rayman.”
It all certainly seems more cohesive. Even through the slight latency of a remote preview (that is, having the game streamed to me through the Ubisoft client), Rayman Legends Retold feels like it carries the same solid foundation of Rayman Legends without compromising on the platforming.
And the visual upgrade is deeply charming. Retold is a vivid reimagining—not just putting 3D assets over a 2D landscape, but recreating, re-scoring, and tweaking old levels to bring them up to snuff. The game’s justifying its existence with a few new features, too.
Retold will have an entirely fresh sixth world dubbed The Land of the Livid Dead with a new platforming power to mess with, as well as rehashed musical levels that, I’m told, will take advantage of the 3D perspective to do some delightful nonsense. There are also dragon riding segments, because why not.
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I got to play one of these, and while it was emphasised that they’re a huge work in progress, I’m of two minds: They’re gorgeously-made and spectacle-filled rail shooter romps where you get to bob and weave a fat little dragon, doubtless a delightful addition if you’re looking at the game as a fun little couch co-op time for the family.
Where I felt a little worried was the fact that the health system on these levels are the Teensies themselves—each time you get hit, a Teensie gets flung into the void. Which is all well and good, but it’s so easy to get struck by a stray bit of level geometry or bullet that I can imagine completionists are gonna tear their hair out trying to score a no-hit run.
Still, they’re a huge work in progress, and there’s every chance Ubisoft might make them less obnoxious for 100% gamers before release. Rayman Legends Retold plans to release October 1.
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