Believe it or not, my PC backlog also covers games outside Steam and Epic Games Store. BACKGROUND:
I've only played the first Rayman for the PS1, and I have extremely vague memories of doing so. I've been interested in getting back into the series ever since I learned about this game and Rayman Legends (the series was dormant for a while), but I was too preoccupied with other games. Good news for me: this game was made free for a limited time, but the caveat is that it's only free on Ubisoft Connect (Ubisoft's own game launcher). Not to be deterred by having yet another game launcher on my machine, I made a Ubisoft account, downloaded the launcher, and redeemed the game. PLOT: Rayman and his buddies are chilling at the Snoring Tree, but their snoring annoys the shit out of a resident of the Land of the Livid Dead. In retaliation, she unleashes an army of evil creatures to cause chaos all over the Glade of Dreams. Rayman and co. are captured, and upon their escape, they find that the world has been plunged into chaos. Now, our heroes must journey across the land to free it from the clutches of evil. It's overall pretty basic stuff, but I was amused by the twist at the end that reveals who orchestrated the events that kick off the game. PRESENTATION: The art style is immediately eye-catching, as it's this nice-looking cartoony aesthetic with bright colors, fun character designs, and over-the-top animations. I know I use this comparison a lot, but it feels like a modern kids' animated series in game form. The music is equally pleasant, fitting the whole fun adventure vibe of the game quite well. I was rather impressed by the variety of genres the tracks cover; there's some chill ukulele tunes for the jungle levels, a jazz track that's reminiscent of the James Bond theme, something that I thought sounded like something a lounge singer would sing, and more. I also liked the inherent silliness of some tracks, since some of them feature the mostly gibberish voices you'll hear throughout the game. GAMEPLAY: Like the original, Rayman Origins is a 2D platformer. Run, jump, get to the end. You know how this goes. Rayman's abilities are mostly standard fare. You can attack, jump, ground pound, wall jump, and sprint. You also have a hover that slows your descent, the ability to wall run on curved slopes, and the curious ability to shrink or grow when entering funnel-shaped entrances. I found the last one odd since it's not so much something you do to get past obstacles as it is something the game forces on you with its level design. I wish it had been more than just a situational gimmick, but for everything else, I have no complaints. For the most part, I thought the game controlled just fine, though I did find certain aspects a bit odd and I had brief trouble adjusting to them. In particular, I thought that my aerial momentum completely stopping when I hit attack was weird, and hovering or swimming can be a tad too slippery at times. I've probably just played too many platformers that I can start to pick apart the minutiae like this. The main goal in most levels (of which there are 10 worlds' worth, which I thought was plenty) is to get to the end and free the Electoon creatures from their cage. Think of these Electoons as equivalent to the stars in Mario 64 in that you need to collect a lot of them to unlock the path to the next world. Many of the levels also have two hidden Electoon cages you can break if you look hard enough, and while I like that there are secrets in the otherwise linear levels, most of these hidden cages actually aren't that hard to find. Strewn about every level are the collectible Lums, glowing yellow creatures that you might liken to coins in Mario or rings in Sonic. There are various ways to acquire these, whether by collecting the ones simply floating around, killing enemies, whacking receptacles, or spawning them by walking past/standing on specific spots. You can also pick up Lum Kings that double the value of free-floating Lums, as well as Skull Coins, which are worth 25 Lums a pop if you can collect them (they have a delay before it counts as collected; get hit during this and the Skull Coin won't collect). At the end of the level, you see the grand total of Lums you collect, and passing certain score thresholds will reward you with bonus Electoons (the max is two). If you manage to reach a specific total, you're rewarded with a medal that doesn't actually do anything. Beating levels also unlock Time Trials, which you can access by revisiting said level. You activate the time trial by punching the floating clock, and you must reach a certain point in the level within the given time (thankfully, you don't have to do entire levels for any time trial). Making it within the minimum time rewards you with a bonus Electoon, while going much faster than that gives you a special trophy that, again, doesn't do anything other than tell you that you did a great job. You can get through the game quickly just focusing on the main objective (plus a few extras), but I found it worthwhile to get as many Electoons as possible. I mostly skipped the time trials, but it was always fun (and easy) to look for the hidden cages. As for the Lum collection, the difficulty of getting both bonus Electoons can vary greatly. Some levels are generous with Lums, while others require you to be close to perfect in terms of collecting everything. This usually means killing as many enemies as possible, collecting every Lum you can with the Lum King multiplier active, and grabbing every Skull Coin (many of which are actually challenging to get or otherwise easy to miss). Collecting the Electoons primarily opens up the next world, but there are other rewards. Hitting milestones will unlock palette swaps for the playable characters, and collecting many Electoons will unlock bonus levels on each world. Other than that, there's no real reward for getting 100% (let alone getting all the medals and trophies), but hey, I'm a "collect them all just for the satisfaction of it" kind of person. The bonus levels are special since completing them will net you special Skull Teeth. Collecting all the Skull Teeth and giving them to a specific NPC will unlock an incredibly challenging bonus level. This is by far the most worthwhile completion reward, and I always love when the game rewards you with more game for getting all the collectibles. Like I said, there are ten worlds total (plus one if you include the bonus level I mentioned), but a few of late-game worlds simply reuse visuals from previous worlds. That aside, I liked the variety of locales visually, and I appreciated how unique some of them are. In particular, I'm a big fan of the desert full of musical instruments, the food-themed levels (which alternate between an ice world with fruits and a fire world with chili peppers), and the steampunk level in the sky. I found the level design to be mostly enjoyable, as there are plenty of neat gimmicks (like bouncy platforms that you can ground pound on, slippery ice that is actually used for something other than to annoy you, underwater levels where you have to stay in lit areas), a variety of hazards to contend with, and a level of challenge that is respectable, but I feel is approachable even for less experienced players. I don't think the game quite reinvents the wheel in terms of its platforming mechanics per level, but I had a fun time, and the presentation does a great deal to make things feel fresh. That isn't to say I didn't have my share of frustrations. I found that some sections can be strangely unforgiving in terms of the precision that it asks of the player. This is especially rough in auto-scroller sections (of which there seemed to be more than I was comfortable with), which forces you to maintain a certain pace. It seemed like if you slip up even a split second, you're as good as dead. I also found specific sections to be not lenient in other respects. One example of this is a few annoying trial-and-error sections that only end up that way because you have no earthly idea what obstacles are ahead of you. Some sections even blindside you with hazards that don't give any prior indication that they're there, which is irritating. I have no problem with difficult platforming that requires me to try and try again (it is the kind of game I play all the time, after all), but I would prefer the kind that doesn't border on unfair. Despite all these small gripes, I never really found platforming sections I disliked truly infuriating. That's thanks in no small part to the game's lives system.... or lack thereof. Sure, you die in one hit to anything (or two, if you manage to pick up a heart), but even if you die, there's no actual penalty other than being sent back to the last checkpoint, and most checkpoints in this game are generous. You do encounter enemies in this game, but they mostly serve to get in your way or be used as unsuspecting platforms as opposed to foes you have to take active effort to vanquish. Interestingly, hitting them turns them into bubbles, which you can pop for bonus Lums, or jump on top of to get up somewhere. Bosses are more engaging, since a lot of them are over-the-top encounters that have you platform across some inventive set pieces, but they operate on the classic "rule of three" (expose and bop the weak point three times) and are easy to figure out. For as quick as the fights can be, though, I thought they were pretty entertaining. Aside from the regular platforming levels and the occasional boss levels, you also have levels where you ride a mosquito and go into a Gradius-style shoot-'em-up. This is pretty self-explanatory: fly around obstacles and shoot stuff in your way. I thought these levels were fine, but nothing special (apart from the fact that you can vacuum enemies and ricochet your regular shots; those were neat). The bonus levels where you get the Skull Teeth are also slightly different in that they're speedrun-style platforming levels where you chase a treasure chest, and I thought those were a fun challenge. You can play as other characters aside from Rayman, and from what I checked, they have pretty much the same abilities just with different animations. I saw no need to play them, and they probably see more use in co-op play. VERDICT: I don't think Rayman Origins is breaking new ground with its gameplay, but I thought its spin on the tried-and-true side-scrolling platformer formula came together to deliver a really solid experience that had me going for 100% (or close to it, anyway). Finding secrets was fun even if they were obvious, it was refreshing to collect the equivalent to coins and have them actually mean something, and I enjoyed the more challenging levels (especially the treasure chases) despite minor issues I had with some aspects of the level design. I liked this game a lot, and I hope that Rayman Legends expanded upon the things they established here. This is definitely worth checking out if you're in the mood for a 2D platformer that is approachable but gets challenging as you go along. I don't think it'll impress you if you're looking for innovative mechanics or a complex story, but if it's just a pleasant romp with pretty visuals you're after, this might be the game for you. Check out the game on Steam: Rayman® Origins on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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