If you liked Astro Bot, do yourself a favor and play Rayman Legends

According to reports, a Rayman revival is finally happening after ten years. With the commercial failure of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, members of developer Ubisoft Montpellier have been moved to other projects that will benefit from their expertise. That apparently includes a new Rayman remake, and I sincerely hope it's a proper return to form for the legendary French hero.

While he's appeared in a handful of different media over the past decade, including the Netflix animated series Captain Laserhawk as a coked-up version of himself eating sushi from attractive cow ladies, Rayman hasn't had his own game in a long time. He only appeared briefly in the DLC for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, but continued to play second fiddle to other characters despite fans clamoring for a new game.

Rayman Legends is a 2D platformer classic

Rayman Legends

Now it's finally here, in the form of a remake, and I hope it takes inspiration from Rayman Legends when it comes to creating a new vision of its world. Legends was originally intended exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U and was released in 2013 to great success. But despite launching on all platforms available at the time, it didn't sell particularly well.

While the studio moves to new territory, I still recommend you pick up and play Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It's one of the best games of the year and deserves love.

Rayman Legends is a direct sequel to Origins and builds on the aesthetic that had been present on consoles and mobile devices for some time at the time of release. It was beautiful, varied and characterized by a painterly visual style and quirky French humor. There was something so distinctive and charming about his identity that immediately caught the eye, made even better by the fact that both “Origins” and “Legends” were mastered like butter. Smooth and satisfying, but not afraid to challenge the player with some truly devious level design.

On the surface, it was a fairly traditional 2D platformer, where you jump between levels to save Tinsies and reclaim the land from an ancient evil. But it was executed with so much flair and imagination that every single stage felt like a welcome surprise.

You could dodge a series of lasers in a dank and dark dungeon, dive deep underwater to discover an ancient civilization, or take part in musical levels based around classic rock songs. Apart from Mario, there was virtually nothing comparable in platforming. Well… until Astro Bot.

…and it's the perfect way to follow up on Astro Bot

Astro Bot poses with all the bots at the crash site.

When reviews of Team Asobi's masterpiece dropped in September, one of the most common arguments was whether it was as good or even better than Super Mario Odyssey. Not only is it on the same level, but it surpasses it in several ways. As does Rayman Legends, which strikes a magical tone that few existing games have ever managed. Every level has the potential to make you grin like an idiot, be it an unexpected cameo, a cool mechanic, or a combination of graphics and level design that puts it on a pedestal above all of its competitors.

These days you can buy Origins and Legends for pennies, not to mention that they can be played on almost anything.

Astro Bot captured our imagination because it wasn't afraid to have fun the old-fashioned way in a sea of ​​top-tier blockbusters focused on a specific brand of prestige storytelling and live service giants. It only has a few buttons to walk, jump or punch, but is still able to conjure up an endless number of creative scenarios in which we can lose ourselves. A smiles-a-minute game with a lot of potential, and the last time I really felt Rayman Legends was a platformer. But it stayed under the radar and some younger players may not have even heard of it.

Rayman Legends

Team Asobi will continue to release free speedrunning updates for a few more weeks, and there's always the chance of paid expansions later, but now that Astro Bot is on the way out, there's no better platformer to follow in its place could Rayman Legends. A remake is currently in development at Ubisoft Milan, and knowing what's right will build on everything that made the game so good. If you haven't played it yourself yet, what are you waiting for?

Rayman Legends

The sequel to Rayman Origins, 2013's Rayman Legends is an acclaimed platformer in Ubisoft's legendary series. Rayman and his allies must defeat a nefarious wizard to save Barbara and the other princesses.

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