The original Rayman is an enigma. It gained popularity through its colourful art style and fluid platforming, but some curious decisions were made when it came to progression. Levels are full of invisible triggers and touching one can spawn collectibles anywhere in the level. All of these need to be found and gathered if you want to roll the credits. Despite how impenetrable the structure is, the positives showed enough promise for the series to cultivate a fandom.
After the original trilogy, Rayman went on a short hiatus before coming back stronger than ever. Considered our limbless friend’s best outings, Rayman Origins and Legends returned to the series’ roots of precise 2D platforming, only now it felt frictionless. Both games feature levels filled with secrets hidden by clever camera work that require inventive exploration to fully master. Rayman was so back, and then Ubisoft shelved the helicopter hair-spinning hero once more.
However, 2026 is Rayman’s year. The first game received a re-release via the 30th anniversary edition, and while its rough edges make it a hard sell for modern gamers, the release worked to return Rayman to the public consciousness. With a friendly reminder that our limbless lead exists, it’s the perfect time for the franchise to make a comeback with its best disembodied foot forward.
Rayman Legends was jaw-droppingly impressive when it released back in 2013, and unlike many other 13-year-old games, it feels as good as the day it launched. Not only is it a fast and fluid 2D platformer with over a hundred levels, but it offers co-op gameplay, multiplayer for up to four players, invaded speedrun levels, daily challenges, a gacha system that unlocks 40 of predecessor Rayman Origins’ 66 levels, and music levels that set Rayman’s platforming prowess to the beat. Rayman Legends is a robust package of platforming goodness that’s considered one of the best in the genre.
Because of this, Rayman Legends doesn’t feel like a natural fit for an overhaul. Yet, like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Ubisoft has targeted the best in the franchise for the remake treatment. Unlike the hidden blade-wielding remake, Rayman Legends Retold is an entirely different beast from the original. When I went to Ubisoft offices to try it out for myself, I was told it is “more than a remake”, and while I’ve certainly heard that before, it was obvious from the start that this wasn’t just a PR talking point.
The biggest difference is the art style, and while I prefer the original’s paper craft aesthetic, Retold is by no means unappealing. It maintains the bright colour palette key to the series and the richly detailed backgrounds are truly impressive particularly when the original’s were fairly plain. Much of Rayman’s charm comes from exploring a level where the camera purposely obscures hidden routes. The extra detail in Retold enhances the concealment of pathways while still leaving them findable.
Another easy to spot change are the additions to the sound design. Rayman Legends Retold keeps the distinctive sound effects of the original, such as the oohs and ahhs when finding a hidden path, but uses layering to create a richer soundscape. As for the music, Christophe Héral returns to compose some new tracks, as well as recruiting game soundtrack legend Grant Kirkhope to contribute his talents.
In fact, many of the creatives working on Rayman Legends Retold are returning developers. The project is being overseen by Ubisoft Montpellier, best known for the Rayman series, and Ubisoft Milan. Montpellier’s involvement is not only heartening because of its history with the franchise, but because the team recently worked on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, a game featuring delightful level design and platforming that rivals the limbless lad. Rayman creator Michel Ancel retired from game development, but has reportedly been brought back to consult on Retold.
Many of the levels are also returning from the original Rayman Legends, though you will notice a few key changes. Previously, the single-player protagonist switched between Rayman and Murfy, a flying assistant who interacts with the level elements to create a path for the AI-controlled Globox rather than platforming personally. In the ten Rayman Legends Retold levels I played, the titular character was the only one in charge, barking orders at Murfy while continuing to be controlled.
This is a good change. It’s often frustrating to indirectly control a character when you want to fully explore a level, even if they mostly go in the right direction. As the world’s premier PlayStation Vita enjoyer, I always thought that the sections where you have to rotate the whole console to manipulate the level were particularly fiddly, though blissfully this control scheme wasn’t part of most versions.
However, it would be a misstep to remove all vestiges of Murfy’s involvement. On platforms with touch capability, including the PS4’s DualShock touchpad, Murfy could be controlled this way. It gave the levels a tactile feel that will be lost if there isn’t at least the option to use touch controls where possible. Playing on the PS5 DualSense, all of Murfy’s actions were input using L1, R1 and the triangle button, simultaneously with the controls required for Rayman’s platforming. It’s an inelegant solution as you need to manipulate multiple things at once and frankly, the more control options the better.
Rayman Legends Retold also changes the game’s structure, including how new levels are unlocked. While some stages become available as you complete levels and collect Teensies, the game’s format is more linear than the original’s. The Lucky Tickets earned by collecting Lums that were used to unlock Rayman Origins’ levels were absent in the version I tried, and instead Lums were spent to grant access to the Invaded speedrun levels, which are available as soon as the regular level has been completed. Also, there were neither unlockable skins nor Rescue levels in this build, though they could appear by the time of release.
The plain corridor with paintings has been replaced with a fully realised overworld containing its own secrets, hidden paths, Lums and Teensies similar to the regular levels. Stages are still broken up by area with the first overworld region switching name from Teensies Trouble to Old Teensie Kingdom; Retold tries to create a more cohesive world for Rayman’s characters. Old Teensie Kingdom connects to The Stinkbog – formerly known as Toad Story – via a new style of level.
While some levels, like the Invaded stages, are optional, areas can only be exited by completing a dragon ride. These are autoscrollers where Rayman rides a dragon while 10 Teensies cling on, with one falling off every time you are hit. These levels are gorgeously cinematic and beautiful set pieces, but don’t feel as if they belong in Rayman Legends. There is still plenty of time to make adjustments, but the speed of the dragon is achingly slow, it is difficult to tell where you are aiming, making mashing optimal, and it’s impossible to divine the edges of the flight path. The subdued music also doesn’t fit with what is clearly intended to be a heart-pounding ride and adding an autoscroller in such a fast-paced platformer is an odd choice.
After the flight you can choose between sticking around to take on the boss or moving on to the next world. This is far more linear than the original, where players could skip all the way to the final area of the game if they had diligently collected Teensies in the first. The issue doesn’t only lie in how these flight levels close off the game structurally, but also how it makes the end of a region feel anti-climatic, compared to the most memorable levels from the original, the musical set pieces that rewarded players at the end of each zone.
I was told that these iconic levels are all still here and there will even be a few new ones to enjoy, though I didn’t get the chance to play them. Ubisoft also says there will be a new sixth area, World of the Livid Dead, which replaces the 8-bit remix levels of the original’s Living Dead Party. This includes five new levels, a new boss, a new ending, and a new ability to control light.
Aside from the 40 Rayman Origins levels, which are unlikely to be included, given listings for an Origins Remaster have begun appearing online, Rayman Legends Retold appears lighter on content than the original with several levels from Teensies Trouble and Toad Story absent from Retold’s first two areas. Whether new levels will make up for these omissions is yet to be seen.
Rayman Legends Retold is entirely different from the original it’s remaking, though it keeps the reactive, fluid controls and some of the same levels. With just a few hours spent playing a pre-beta build of the game, it’s impossible to say if it will be seen as a replacement for the original or be viewed by its own merits. There are definite pros in the ability to control Murfy and Rayman simultaneously, and the level-like overworld areas, but other additions don’t match Rayman Legends’ exceptionally high bar. The dragon flights will require serious gameplay adjustments to match Rayman’s fast pace, and the absence of many levels and lack of open design will certainly be felt.
Rayman Legends Retold will be available from October 1, 2026, and can be purchased for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Ubiconnect, Steam, and Epic Games Store for $39.99/€39.99.
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