Review: Rayman Origins

Rayman Origins is a platform game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and the Nintendo Wii. It was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier.

The graphics are so good that the game looks like a cartoon, and does not suffer from pixelation at all. 

One day Rayman and his friends are making so much noise that the denizens of the underworld attack the land of the living and capture everyone, and Rayman has to save them.

Origins is broken up into eleven worlds, which have many levels, which in turn are divided into several areas. The main player controls Rayman, who can run, jump, wall jump, swim and punch. Up to three friends can play as Globox, Rayman’s friend, and two Teensies, plus more characters as they are unlocked.

Every world has a fairy that needs to be rescued. Rescuing it will give Rayman a new power, like shrinking or running on walls.

Origins’ levels are very fast and platform-heavy, combat-light. There are tons of pits to swing over, flying things to dodge, and disappearing platforms to watch out for. Levels are not straightforward either, a lot of the time Rayman is going up and down, or bouncing back and forth, instead of just walking to the right.

The main way to attack enemies is to jump on them or punch them. Hitting enemies inflates them, turning them into platform that Rayman can bounce off of.

The main goal of Origins is to free the Electoons. Collecting Electoons opens up the way to the last level of the world, and eventually opens up the last world. It is not necessary to find every Electoon to complete the game, thankfully.

There are three cages of Electoons in each normal level. One is at the end of the level, and breaking it completes the level. The other two are in bonus areas that are hidden in the level. While some of the cages can be difficult to find, none of them are so hidden that they are frustrating, for the most part.

The other living items to collect in levels are Lums. There are hundreds of Lums floating about in each level. Reaching a certain quota of Lums and beating the level unlocks another Electoon chest; and getting more Lums unlocks a second chest. There is also a medal for collecting a ton of Lums, but that is ceremonial.

Like the cages, Lums are not frustrating to hunt down. They are either in the open, or appear when Rayman runs past some objects. The only annoying part about hunting Lums is that the ones appear after Rayman runs past something disappear quickly.

What Origins excels in is having perfect gameplay. I did not find a single mechanic pointless, or unnecessary, or frustrating to use. Collecting Lums and Electoons was enjoyable enough, and while levels were difficult, getting killed never felt cheap. Plus, if you die, you have unlimited lives and just go back to the beginning of the area you just entered. It is like all Ubisoft cared about was making sure the game was enjoyable and did not worry about dragging out the challenge.

While the gameplay is solid, the rest of the game is really boring. There is nothing original about Origins, no hook that makes it more unique than other platform games. After a while I found it hard to focus on the game and would think about other things while playing, except for a couple of really difficult levels near the end. Even though it was easy to hunt for Lums and Electoons, I was never interested in revisitinng old levels to look for them. The only original parts, like the Electoon collecting and character design, stem from older Rayman games.

Level design is mostly tired, old ideas like the grass world, or the underwater world. There is one area that mixes a desert with musical instruments that is sort of neat, and another one that looks like a hot kitchen, but otherwise they are pretty basic. There is not a lot of activity or set pieces in the levels either, nothing to make any of the levels stick out.

The story, what little there is, is terrible. A video game does not need a grand story, but this one could at least explain why the underworld monsters are kidnapping the fairies and Electoons, or something to give Rayman more of a reason for doing anything; just someone saying “Go save the Electoons, Rayman.” At the end if the game there is this plot reveal, but there is no build up to it and no reason to care, and a boss fight unrelated to the rest of the game.

The music ranges from forgettable to annoying. The orchestral pieces are okay, but the songs with singing, which all have this chorus of unpleasant chipmunk-esque voices, are grating.

Rayman Origins feels like it was made for people who cannot get over the fact that the 1990s are done and want to play platform games that remind them of their childhood. If it is the first platform game you have ever played, or you can get it really cheap, or are desperate for any platform game, then Origins is decent.