November 15, 2011 - that was the day that Ubisoft decided to wake up, release the best game it ever made, and then promptly put Rayman back in his cage. Ten years later, the studio has released dozens more titles and none of them - not ev🔜en Rayman Legends -ಌ have come close to capturing that magic of Rayman Origins once more.
You can sling your Valhallas over 🐭your shoulders, pack your Watchಞ Dogs in a box, and chuck your Siege off the roof because there’s nothing quite like Rayman Origins.
I don’t just say that as a lover of all things Teensie - there’s plenty about Origins that hasn’t been replicated or improved upon since. One of the most obvious examples is the use of UbiArt, which gave Origins a timeless look that hasn’t aged a day. The phrase ‘it’s like a painting in motion’ might be better suited for Legends, but Origins is the doodles of an artist come to life. With such vibrant colours and sharp outlines everywhere you look, enemies aren't the only thing popping like balloons.
As beautiful as the backgrounds and levels are, all these years later my fav🌃ourite thing about the visuals is the characters. Ubisoft may have made Rayman a lazy idiot from Origins onward, but he’s never looked more expressive; full of stupid faces when he’s hit and a grin that could thaw ice when you’ve perfectly done a level. Guys, I think I might be in love with Rayman.
Oh, and the music, my lord. What a collection of bops. Even my underdeveloped 12-year old brain knew that the serenading sound of Sea of Serendipity, and the absolute banger of a track that is the Desert of Digeridoos, were something special. Origins looks godly, but it sounds even better, and even Legends’ fantastic music-based levels don🔯’t quite live up to it. We get it, it’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ but Rayman. Very good.
None of this ⭕would mean diddly-squat if the gameplay wasn’t up to snuff, but Origins is unbeaten here too. Rayman can get through levels with a rocket up his non-existent arse but still feels as smooth as butter to control. That’s a tough balance to get right, with only a few games like Ori, Celeste, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze managing to get it right since.
The five other Rayman fans reading this right now might be pushing for Legends as Ubisoft’s best, but Origins far-and-away has the better levels. They’re not stuffed with clea🌄rly-here-for-the-Wii-U gimmicks or trying too hard to stick to a theme - they’re instead laser-focused on tight, hard-as-nails platforming that only rarely deviates from the winning formula. No, it doesn’t count that almost all of the Origins levels are in Legends too, shut up.
I could go on and on about everything that Origins does right, and I have. Just now. That’s what you’ve just read. The clue is right there - it does everything right. Whether you’re running through it on your own as a completionist and collecting all the Electoons, or breezing through with your mates and slapping each other off cliffs, there’s nothing in the Ubisoft catalogue recently that can give you the same simple 🧔joy.
As great as i🐠t is to look back, Origins turning ten is a bittersweet anniversary. Not only is it a reminder that Ubisoft doesn’t really give a shit about 2D platformers, UbiArt, or Rayman anymore, but Origins is one of the last ‘pure’ games the studio ever released. Unlike Legends a few years later, there’s no forced online elements, no pre-order guff, and no endless re-releases. Origins is just vibing as one of the best games ever made without anything holding it back.
To that end, maybe it’s best that Rayman remains in the dark for a little while longer. Let Ubisoft realise with Assassin’s Creed Infinity 2 and Far Cry 12: Live-Service Island that not everything needs to be online before they drag Rayman up from 🃏the ground and turn it into a battle royale with a Splinter Cell hat.
I’ve gone into the weeds a bit with slagging off Ubisoft, but Origins is so good that it makes the rest of what they’ve done look terrible by comparison. As a Rayman fanman, I’m no♎t confident we’ll be seeing any more of him in the future. Origins might turn 20 in the time it takes for everyone’s favourite man, vegetable, thingamajig to return, but I’m sure it&rsquꦜo;ll still be the best thing that Ubisoft has ever done.