by Danreb VictorioOne of the biggest surprises at Summer Game Fest Play Days was the presence of a Nintendo Switch 2 booth. Though nothing first party was featured, they did have more than 10 upcoming games with some surprises. One nice surprise at their booth was Ubisoft showcasing Rayman Legends Retold, which had just unveiled its debut trailer a few days before, with some mixed commentary from players. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an interview, so I didn’t ask questions about some of the issues, but I did walk away from the experience feeling confident that people who give the game a chance will like it.
The game is exactly what its title says. It’s Rayman Legends… Retold. The game isn’t a remaster. It’s a fully remade in 3D platformer from the ground up, and while its visuals were definitely a point of conversation online, the animation using Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine was as smooth as it gets.
In the three levels I played, everything looked and felt snappy and responsive, and that’s all you can ask for in a platformer. I got to try what was pretty much the first level from the original game, a dragon-riding level, and a new musical rhythm level–which was my favorite kind of level from the original game.
Gameplay was familiar. It’s typical Rayman platforming with minimal combat. Of course, since this isn’t the Wii U anymore, when playing in single player, there’ll be times you have to use Murfy to move obstacles around in order to have a way to make Rayman go from point A to point B. This is especially imperative if you wanna run through each level perfectly, saving all the Teensies (the blue people who are usually caged in every world).
The dragon level was especially fun because this is the experience that felt the most new. In the original Rayman Legends, the riding levels played like the series take on sidescrolling shmups. In Legends Retold, they’re pretty much on-rails ala Star Fox. There’s so much happening at every moment, and sometimes you’ll have a split second to blow fireballs at walls that’ll restrict your path and hurt you. Of course, more complex maneuvering will lead to more collectibles and Teensies to save, and the level we played was just a joy.
The last level was Castle Rock, which people will remember as one of the most iconic levels in the series because it was the first musical rhythm level. A lot of people credit this level with launching its trend, and as a result, we’ve seen so many musical levels on Super Mario Maker and other builders. I don’t really have to say more than that it’s as awesome as I remember it being when I played it the first time.
One thing I didn’t mention is that the game supports from one-to-four players, and it is very much multiplayer-driven. I only played alone, but this is definitely a title all ages can enjoy, as nothing was overly difficult–at least with the levels offered during the session.
Rayman Legends Retold is scheduled to release on all modern platforms on October 1. It’s definitely going to be a crowded time with all the other AAA titles releasing around it, but hopefully, the fact that it’s the only game with its look and feel will help it. We hope to have a review at around that time.
Rayman Legends Retold
