As someone who enjoyed Rayman Origins, despite it being a bit on the light side, I was excited at the news of Legends. And once I was able to get my hands on it, I played through the sucker and enjoyed it immensely. However, I couldn't help but feel there were some bits that seemed a bit lacking.
First of all, the controls remain as buttery smooth as they did in Origins and they even added a new gameplay feature with the use of Murphy and it blends in fairly well. The game also continues to be reliably funny, as the animations and actions of the characters are quite humorous.The game also looks beautiful, with gorgeously rendered characters and really nice lighting. Which pains me to say that the aesthetics of the levels are kinda dull. Not dull in the sense of details, as those are great, but just the colors. From the monochromatic greens of the Toad chapter to the overall darks of the undersea level, it just kinda felt underwhelming compared to all the bright and varied colors of Origins.
The level design is also something I felt was lacking. While Origins never drew away from its platform intensive level design that was all built around getting past obstacles using seamless skills you acquired, Legends tends to focus more on level gimmicks than platforming, making some of the levels feel a bit shallow. And while the levels are all based around some fun ideas for settings, the severe lack of story makes them pretty dang disjointed. And I know some people could care less about what little story the game has, as Origins had just about as much, but it feels more apparent here and by the end I couldn't help but feel it was a fruitless endeavor.
However, don't take from my criticisms that Rayman Legends is not a good game, as it most certainly is. On its own, it's a fantastic platformer that looks great, plays great and provides a great experience. As a followup to the more tightly woven and coherent Origins, I just feel it falls just a smidgen short.
A Brilliant But Disjointed Sequel
As someone who enjoyed Rayman Origins, despite it being a bit on the light side, I was excited at the news of Legends. And once I was able to get my hands on it, I played through the sucker and enjoyed it immensely. However, I couldn't help but feel there were some bits that seemed a bit lacking.
First of all, the controls remain as buttery smooth as they did in Origins and they even added a new gameplay feature with the use of Murphy and it blends in fairly well. The game also continues to be reliably funny, as the animations and actions of the characters are quite humorous.The game also looks beautiful, with gorgeously rendered characters and really nice lighting. Which pains me to say that the aesthetics of the levels are kinda dull. Not dull in the sense of details, as those are great, but just the colors. From the monochromatic greens of the Toad chapter to the overall darks of the undersea level, it just kinda felt underwhelming compared to all the bright and varied colors of Origins.
The level design is also something I felt was lacking. While Origins never drew away from its platform intensive level design that was all built around getting past obstacles using seamless skills you acquired, Legends tends to focus more on level gimmicks than platforming, making some of the levels feel a bit shallow. And while the levels are all based around some fun ideas for settings, the severe lack of story makes them pretty dang disjointed. And I know some people could care less about what little story the game has, as Origins had just about as much, but it feels more apparent here and by the end I couldn't help but feel it was a fruitless endeavor.
However, don't take from my criticisms that Rayman Legends is not a good game, as it most certainly is. On its own, it's a fantastic platformer that looks great, plays great and provides a great experience. As a followup to the more tightly woven and coherent Origins, I just feel it falls just a smidgen short.