Released in 2011, Rayman Origins is a platform game starring Rayman as well as his friend Globox and other Teensy friends. Returning back to his roots, Rayman Origins is a 2D sidescrolling platformer, and a great one at that. The aim of the game is for Rayman to run from left to right, jumping, dodging and fighting his way through. Rayman starts off with only the ability to jump but to help him on his way, he starts to gain powers including punching, gliding and changing in size. The beauty of this is how easy the game is to pick up. The controls are simple and intuitive, the objective clear and the game is so fluid that it looks fantastic in motion. In additional to environmental obstacles such as spikes, pits and platforms, there are enemies which try and impede Rayman on his journey. To dispatch these enemies, Rayman can either jump on top of them or smack them with his fists. They then turn int bubbles which Rayman can choose to pop or not. In addition, each level has "lums", which are glowing yellow balls with eyes which you will collect. Collecting a certain amount means you'll earn "Electoons" and medallions.
Errr, so what are electoons? They're needed to unlock more levels and more worlds as the game will block your progress until you get the required amount. It is not as horrible as it sounds as each level has three to six electoons to collect and you only need a modest amount to keep progressing. To put it in perspective, I was never once blocked from progressing due to lacking electoons. To add replayability, each level has hidden areas and medallions to collect by doing a good job. There are time trials in which you need to beat a level without dying as fast as you can. The game boasts 60+ levels; these include boss levels and challenge levels. Rayman doesn't only run and jump though, there are variations to the gameplay such as riding on mosquitoes to shoot enemies out of the air. The games earlier levels are easy to speed through, as you'd expect, the difficulty increases as you go on until you get to the point where you'll repeat a few sections again and again as you die. You find that in these sections, the game tends to force you to trial and error, repeating the same part until you've memorized the exact timing. It can feel annoying at times but never punishing. Checkpoints are usual generous; each level as several distinct sections that act as the checkpoints. For fans of boss battles, Rayman features plenty of these. They're fun in the beginning but they can also drag towards the ending of the game where you're pitted against several of them.
There were two boss battles in particular that were very annoying and required repeated attempts. What was frustrating about that was that the game forced you to memorize the patterns and perform actions in a specific manner and timing. This ruined the enjoyable as it essentially equated to following a scripted event. The last few levels were also very challenging and it was in those areas where you wished that there were frequenter checkpoints. The environments are varied but they are all in the bright colorful style. You'll run through jungles, frozen lands and fantasy worlds. The environment affects Rayman in ways you would expect, such as ice being slippery and Rayman being more floaty to control in underwater sections. The art direction is fantastic; Rayman looks great from the very opening scene to the gameplay to the closing scene. The game looks so pretty, the 2D art working very well and it looks amazing in motion. Speedrunning a level with minimal hiccups is so satisfying to play as well as to watch. A rarity these days but Rayman Origins features local co-op. You and up to three friends can play at the same time through the levels. It will sure to bring up your competitive nature as you strive to collect the most lums and laughs all around at your friend's misfortunes. Surprisingly, there is no online option, so if you want to play multiplayer, you will definitely need someone physically next to you.
Rayman features a bunch of unlockable playable characters and costumes. The music is special, it's one of those rare pieces that don't sound very special when you listen to it on its own but fits perfectly with the game. It complements it so well that you cannot imagine what it would be like without it. As typical of platformers, the story is definitely the weakest part of the package. The premise is this: Rayman and friends are sleeping and snoring loudly. Unfortunately, this angers a granny from the Land of the Livid Dead who releases evil creatures among the world, capturing electoons and Nymphs. This causes the Bubble Dreamer to go crazy and it is up to Rayman to free all the electoons, Nymphs and defeat the monsters. Apart from the opening cinematic, there isn't much more story pieces along the way until the end. It provides just enough reason for Rayman to run through area after area and eventually, saving the Kings to save his world. Overall, Rayman Origins is a fun platformer that's brimming with content, charm and difficulty. It can get hard at times requiring you to repeat certain sections of each level multiple times, and will test your patience here and there. However, that's minor in the grand scheme of things and Rayman Origins manages to reinvigorate the 2D platformer genre.
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