November will undoubtedly go down in 2011 history as being the best or worst month for gaming, depending on how badly your wallet suffered. While legions of gamers were booting up Skyrim and Uncharted 3, an equally epic, yet seriously overlooked masterpiece was quietly released. Rayman Origins is a game that I, too, was guilty of shrugging off as just another platformer, but I am oh-so-glad I gave it a second glance. In an age where grit and gore has become common video game fare, the luscious and carefree levels of this quirky and charismatic platformer are just what the doctor ordered.

An old formula with a new coat of paint

Rayman Origins has no real story to speak of, but no one really plays a platformer for the story, right? (How many times do we need to see Mario save Princess Peach?) The reason we play platformers is for the whimsical action, and Rayman Origins has that in droves. With five main “worlds,” each centering around a familiar adventure game trope with a twist, and over 60 levels total, there is more than enough platforming to satisfy anyone’s cravings. This game’s got everything from shmup-inspired shooting frenzies that find you saddled on top of a giant mosquito to frantic challenge levels where the fastest of reflexes are required to chase down a fleeing treasure chest containing some skeleton’s ruby teeth.

And did I mention the local co-op? Rayman Origins, taking a cue from Super Mario Bros. Wii, allows you to play with up to three of your friends. They can also jump in and out of your game at any time, which is particularly helpful when things get tough to do alone, and they probably will, as this game has just the right mix of moderate to tough levels. Once again taking a cue from Super Mario Bros. Wii, a hit character will become “bubblized,” requiring a simple pop by a colleague to be back in the game. Playing through the levels with an additional player was an absolute blast, though on occasion the camera would remain focused on a bubblized character, causing an unnecessary death to the remaining player.

With lums and electoons scattered all over the vast worlds, there’s plenty of reasons to replay each level. Even if you’re not a completionist, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to play levels multiple times just so that you can take in all the detail of the beautiful range of locales. Rayman Origins’s combined toe-tappingly good music, artistically inspired levels, and cohesive vision make it a joy to play in HD on a big screen. The underwater levels were an absolute joy to play (which is surprising given the history of water levels in platformers), and the tribal/music/bird-themed desert and hot and cold food worlds were particularly unique from a design standpoint. Without a doubt, Rayman Origins is the most beautiful platformer of this generation. Even as someone who doesn’t quite get Rayman and his cohorts’ weirdly cute appeal, the whole package is so immaculately executed that I couldn’t help but be taken by the living illustrations’ charm.

Necessary nitpicks

Though part of me wishes I could say I had an absolute blast with this game and leave it at that, there are a few nagging things I feel need to be addressed. For the most part, the game’s pacing is very good – with each new world you discover, your characters receive a new, permanent ability such as gliding or walking on walls – but towards the end of the game, a mysterious powerup similar to Mario’s ice flower appears randomly with no explanation. For me this was not only jarring but also quite confusing. Suddenly throwing this new, non-permanent powerup into a few of the levels just because they spike a bit in difficulty (I assume this was the reason) strikes me as very odd. At the very least, I would have liked to see something to indicate that I was gaining the power for the first time instead of having a reaction like this: “What’s this blue thing? Oh, what, I’m shooting something?! Oh, I used them all. Huh.”

Oh Betilla, what happened to your cute dress? Betilla as she appears in 'Rayman Origins' shown on right.

Each new ability is given to the characters after rescuing the nymph in each realm. The first fairy you rescue is Betilla, who should be familiar to Rayman fans, but her design is much different from that of her pervious appearances. Herein lies my biggest problem with Rayman Origins: the nymphs are all big-breasted, scantily clad women. I know I’m probably going to get a lot of flack for saying this, but in a game where all the playable characters are male, and the only obviously female characters are the nymphs (I suppose you could say the electoons are female since they have ponytails), I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in the choice to sexualize them. I could write a whole article on this topic alone, but suffice it to say, I was not amused the developers chose to dress them in skimpy clothes and play alluring music when they grant you with new abilities — subsequently sexualizing characters in a series where they never were before. And don’t get me started on the fact that the only female characters in the game are ones that you have to rescue.

The last in the series of relatively minor critiques of this otherwise brilliant platformer would have to be the unlockable characters. Amassing electoons (there are over 250 in total) will unlock a variety of things, including challenge levels that must be beaten in order to access a secret level, as well as “new characters.” Unfortunately, these new characters are essentially palette-swapped versions of the main three, with no different attacks or anything to distinguish them (but if you want to play as a Teensie that looks like Rayman, you can do that, I suppose). They are purely cosmetic, and though some may enjoy picking their favorite design out of the lot, there’s no real motivator to collect electoons to unlock them all unless you’re a completionist by nature. Other collectables such as medals and trophies for finding a certain number of lums or beating time trials also have no real significance either than being something you can show off on your gamer tag.

Overlook minor quibbles and you’ll find a hidden gem

It’s hard to get any more succinct than this: if you like platformers, you need to play Rayman Origins. Even if you don’t like platformers, you should probably play Rayman Origins. It’s already clear that it probably isn’t going to see the sales figures that warrant more games in the same vein, which is a crying shame. Rayman Origins is as much of a work of art as it is a massive offering chock full of content and undoubtedly worth every penny (though by the time of this review, you’ll probably find it at the top of the bargain bin). Though Rayman Origins falls just short of being a perfect experience in my eyes, it comes just about as close as any game can, and it is surely going to live on as one of the most overlooked gems of this generation.

Review Statement: Rayman Origins was played to completion on the Playstation 3. Both single player and co-op were tested, but the majority of the game was played with 2 players.

Written by Anne Lee  (192 Posts)

Anne will tell you whether or not you’re missing out when it comes to those pesky Japan-only releases. When she isn’t researching gender and sexuality in Japanese popular culture, she’s playing the quirkiest games she can get her hands on. Region locking is the bane of her existence.