Definitely a big improvement to the Rayman series
The interface is very cartoony and goofy which I believe most people will find very appealing. The whole approach to the game is funny and childish while the game itself is actually very serious if you follow the story.
STORY:
At the beginning of the game you are greeted by a quite long cutscene where you can see Rayman and his friends sleeping and producing different sounds that turn into a hilarious beatbox techno song and it is quite bothering the creatures living in the trees. The woman creature, or should I just say woman, gets very annoyed and cannot stand the racket so she sends her minions after you and captures everyone.
Once you begin the game, you escape the cage and start your quest to release all of your friends.
GAMEPLAY:
By keeping the old Rayman feeling Ubisoft has created a very smooth fun game and definitely improved the Rayman series.
You are able to run, sprint, jump and Rayman is able to punch and kick, on the ground or mid air, you can choose while other charaters have different combat methods. Later in the game you get additional movement options which I will not reveal, no point spoiling it all!
You can play as 3 types of characters, Rayman, Globox or Teensies. Globox is a weird frog like creature, he is Raymans best friend and is often scared of everything that is happening in the game. Teensies are short long nosed creatures which often help Rayman in his adventures. They are the most common race in the Rayman universe. If you played every Rayman game you know that Teensies have different but important roles in every Rayman game.
Your main goal in the game is to collect Electoons, little pink happy friends which are caged all over the Rayman universe. They are required to get the Old Masters sanity back and bring order to your universe again. Each level will also have a certain amount of Lums, yellow flying thingies which, if collected enough, will bring you additional Electoons.
When playing you have one main location where you can unlock new characters which is called The Snoring Tree, name clearly points out that that is where they were all sleeping at the first cutscene.
You have an interactive map where you have different levels and in every level different stages. As you advance through the game you get more levels and more options. Each level has one stage which is different than the rest where you can acquire Skull Teeth . Each stage has a set amount of Lums that you need to collect to get the Electoons but also to get the Medal which you get if you collect all of the Lums the stage has. Unfortunately I'm too incompetent so I have not gotten any of those yet. There is also the possibility to play Time Attack and win an additional Electoon as well as a trophy. This I managed to do.
At the end of every level you have to fight a boss, these bosses are all different and you have to use different techniques to beat each one. Boss fights are generally easy if you know what to do, the game itself is easy to complete but collecting all Electoons and Lums is quite difficult.
Rayman Origins has multiplayer and supports up to 4 players. Players are not dependent of each other so anyone can easily log out while the other players continue the game which is great. Unfortunately I do not have any multiplayer footage of the PC game since I got it 5 minutes after release and played 5 hours straight and wrote a review. Epic no lifer right here.
MY THOUGHTS:
I love this frickin game but sometimes controlling with the keyboard gets clumsy and my fingers start to hurt cause I start pressing like an idiot in hope that it will make a difference so I recommend using a gamepad and rebinding all keys.
The feeling of Rayman is amazing, exactly the same like the first Rayman I played on PS1 but with better graphics. His amazing hands are still here and the feeling of punching bastards is very satisfying
The music and effects are amazing and I often stop playing and listen to the music just cause its great. Failing and dying can get frustrating but its all a part of the game.
FINAL SUMMATION:
PROS:
Amazing graphics, very smooth and fast paced gameplay, funny childish dialogue, great music and effects, a lot of different stages and various enemies, multiplayer support up to 4 players non-dependant of each other.
CONS:
I really can't think of anything worth mentioning other than the minor keyboard issues.
As a 2D platformer this game fully delivers and you have everything that you can possibly want from it. Despite the minor issues with the keyboard I believe everyone can enjoy this game. It costs 30 euros on Steam and compared to the fun you can have the price is very rational.
Video is up on my youtube channel, check my profile for details