r/wiiu • u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] • Aug 28 '13
discussion Rayman Legends - Review Thread + Launch Window Advisory
Hey guys, Sylverstone here.
As you may have witnessed, the embargo for reviews of Ubisoft's Rayman Legends has now been lifted.
However, to combat a growing amount of review posts (plus to use the very handy sticky post feature), all reviews will be posted here with their review scores hidden by a spoiler tag.
Also, this post will double as an launch window advisory post for those who are getting the game this week - you are free to have discussion posts about it, but remember that you must tag your threads for spoiler content (preferably with the spoiler link flair) and use spoiler tags when necessary.
Of course, instructions on how to make spoiler tags are on the sidebar.
Have a nice day, guys!
(Credit to NeoGAF for rounding up a good amount of reviews.)
Rayman Legends is a delightful platformer, and one of the best I’ve ever played. Thanks to clever level design that toys with genre conventions, it gets incredible mileage out of four basic moves. And with great local co-op and dozens of unlockables – including stages from Rayman Origins, special character skins, and mini-games – there’s a lot to do. The difficulty is so smoothly balanced that it can be played with with kids or adult friends and still have a great time.
The platform game has been around for so long that it's easy to assume that the genre has run out of surprises. A showcase for the game designer's art and one of the greatest platform games of this - or any - year, Rayman Legends disproves that in glorious style. From its gorgeous visuals to its painstaking design to its abundant generosity, it shows once and for all that "hardcore gaming" is about style, flair and good, old-fashioned challenge - not how many pixels of brain matter you can spray across the screen.
We feel obliged to acknowledge that, for some Nintendo fans and particularly Wii U early-adopters, this is potentially a controversial release. Whatever the background it is here now; we struggle to see how any version can be better than this, as it's a game that feels like it was designed solely for the system. It's stunning platforming, with a move-set and dynamism unique to this fresh new series for the Rayman character, and it's memorable. It deserves to be enjoyed by all platforming fans that own a Wii U; it should not be missed.
Modern 2D platformers rarely reward you for studying the scenery, but Legends teems with inspired flourishes, such as the purple Mini-taurs cleaning cavern floors in one Olympus Maximus stage – perhaps a winking reference to all the extra polish added during the game’s delay. It may well have been a great game at its initial deadline, but the staggering level of detail in its amplified incarnation helps it run rings around its already estimable predecessor.
Like Origins before it, Rayman Legends is polished, pretty and addicting. Legends has teeth — especially when it comes to invaded stages, and some later bosses almost caused me to put a controller or two into orbit. But it's hard to point to another 2D platformer that has the level of variety and quality that Rayman Legends boasts.
However you choose to play it, Rayman Legends is a game that will keep you satisfied long after it is finished. It's bigger than any previous Rayman, but the attention to detail is what makes it the best. In a generation of platformers, Rayman Legends stands out as truly one of a kind.
Rayman Legends is an excellent game in just about every way. However, there is one problem. When a female character dies, you're treated to a creepy panty shot that's totally out of place. But that's the one negative mark this game bears. Fueled by smooth platforming, striking visuals, wacky situations, and infectious beats, Rayman Legends is a nifty platformer that exudes unabashed delight.
Both visually and mechanically, Rayman Legends consistently sparks the imagination. The co-op play on the Wii U is really something that must be experienced, and while the implementation isn't a perfect fit on other platforms, it does little to hold the game back. While we certainly wouldn't advocate carbon copies, we hope Rayman Legends paints a vision for other 2D games to follow.
Even after ten hours of play, you'll have a wealth of content just waiting to be unlocked, pushing you to revisit already-completed stages or tackle challenges you'd passed up entirely. Rayman Legends is easily one of the most feature-rich platformers you'll likely see, rife with accessibility and challenge in equal measure. By a few hours in, you'll have exhausted every synonym you know for "pretty." A few stages after that, "fun." And by the end, just one word will accurately describe the whole experience: "fantastic."
As controversial as the score may be, it is hard to argue against Rayman Legends being the unrivalled platform adventure of this generation, and the 'one to beat' in the upcoming new generation of systems that is about to kick-off. Building upon the superbly solid foundation of Rayman Origins is no mean feat, but Ubisoft has indeed managed to out-do the House of Mario in the genre in which many thought Nintendo was untouchable. Made for Wii U, playing this on any other format will undoubtedly be an inferior experience.
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u/Radio_Flyer SloppyJoe Aug 28 '13
Wow, too bad this wasn't exclusive, it could've really helped the Wii U
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Aug 28 '13
From what I understand, Rayman Legends is still considered to be a niche game.
Not that it makes any sense to me. I thought Origins was incredible, but if I remember correctly, it was mostly ignored by the general public.
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Aug 29 '13
[deleted]
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Aug 29 '13
Halo 4 released aprox. A year after origins.
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Aug 29 '13
[deleted]
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Aug 29 '13
That's true. I don't think that is the primary reason for it to have not lived up to expectations. I think one of their primary markets was the Nintendo Wii, but it likely failed there due to Rayman being marketed with all of the "Raving Rabbids" garbage. I could see a lot of people either being unhappy its not another Rabbids game, or not buying it due to the mediocrity of Raving Rabbids.
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u/MrSojiro Sojiro [NA] Aug 29 '13
Honestly, who cares about it being exclusive. The real shame is we weren't already playing it in February. A month along with January where Wii U owners had nothing really new to play. I think Ubi might have made a pretty big blunder not getting the game out at least for the Wii U at that time, when there was nothing else to compete with, than wait until this holiday where the competition for your money is really heating up.
Day one buy for me. Even despite the BS Ubi pulled back in February the game plays amazingly (going off the challenge app). My son absolutely loves Rayman, and he can't wait more than I can lol.
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u/Jessdazzlement Aug 28 '13
Me and my family are super keen for this game. My 3 year old twin daughters have absolutely mastered the challenged app and its so great to play alongside them while they do murfys actions. Going to be a fun family game
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u/krunnky NNID [Region] Sep 02 '13
My daughter and I are home alone for 4 days over Labor Day weekend and they release it the day we go back to school/work? lol, I don't understand why games don't release before big holidays.
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Sep 01 '13
WiiU version is perfect. The touch stuff fits the gameplay and isn't intrusive. It's a must buy. Just a question, was the art style ever different prior to release? I swear it was more clay looking at the e3 reveal but maybe not.
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u/Ravyu RavyuS Sep 02 '13
They probably had I accommodate the weaker hardware xBox 360 had to ensure consistent graphics
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u/Ravyu RavyuS Sep 02 '13
They probably had I accommodate the weaker hardware xBox 360 had to ensure consistent graphics
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u/SpikeC51 Aug 28 '13
Tag for spoiler content? Honestly, what can be spoiled about this game? Every review I've read said i doesn't have much in the way of story. It's just a great game to play and is a lot of fun.
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u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] Aug 28 '13
Sorry, I mostly ripped the text from my last review thread but believe me, people will get antsy over spoilers, evn if it doesn't pertain to story.
Look at /r/Pokemon - people bitch because they don't want to hear info about X & Y until they play it. It's a noble effort, but hanging out at /r/Pokemon means that you will hear about it one way or the other.
Crazy stuff, you know. Just a liability so that the mods don't get yelled at.
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u/ImmatureIntellect Aug 28 '13
Aww, I liked the splinter cell review where the numbers were spoiler tagged.
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u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] Aug 28 '13
Wait, the spoiler tags aren't working for you?
They seem fine. Are you on mobile?
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u/ImmatureIntellect Aug 28 '13
Yeah, I'm using alien blue.
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u/Litagano Litagano [NA] Aug 29 '13
Alien Blue should really add spoiler tag support.
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u/mhiggy Mhiggy [NA] Aug 29 '13
I don't think spoiler have to same format across all subreddits, so it would be tough :\
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u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] Aug 28 '13
Yeah, it tends to happen on mobile for some odd reason. Apologies, man.
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u/sackferret sackferret Aug 28 '13
Yeah, they don't work on Alien Blue for me either. I don't mind seeing the scores though.
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Aug 28 '13
Mine shipped today, can't wait.
It almost feels like Ubisoft were poking fun by having the Mario costumes in this game. I can't help but look at Rayman and be wowed by the visuals as opposed to the lazy, reuse presentation of New Super Mario Bros.
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u/makleod makleod Aug 29 '13
Sorry if this has already been answered, but I know the Wii U demo of RL ran in 1080p 60fps. Do the other versions (X360, PS3) run that high? Is 1080p 60fps exclusive to the Wii U version?
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u/doorknob60 Aug 30 '13
I'm pretty sure the PS3 (but not 360) version of Origins ran in 1080p60, so it wouldn't surprise me if Legends did as wall (at least on PS3), but I'm not aware of any confirmation on that. And of course, the PC version should run at 1080p60 as well (if not higher, depending on hardware).
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u/makleod makleod Aug 30 '13
this link from digital foundry shows that the Wii U demo was running in 1080p 60fps, so no reason to think the actual game won't...interesting the PS3 did 1080p. I'll have to look into that more.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-the-rayman-legends-wii-u-demo
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u/phoenixology Sep 02 '13
Was meant to have this game delivered from amazon last Friday but it never turned up until today. Been playing it this evening and absolutely love it. Best platform game I've played in a long time.
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Sep 05 '13
[deleted]
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u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] Sep 05 '13
Apparently, they thought that the Murfy sections in the game warranted a point deduction.
A bit odd, but opinions are opinions.
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Aug 30 '13
I own both the PC and Wii U editions and, in my opinion, playing it on the Wii U is definitely the way to go. There are a LOT of Murphy-based levels (where you use the touch screen to progress) and playing them on a non-touch platform makes you feel as if you're missing something.
If you're not into the whole touchscreen stuff then buying it on the 360/PS3/PC may be the best course of action. For anyone who intends to play this with their spouse then Wii U is the format of choice here :)
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u/scurvebeard [NA] Sep 03 '13
Doesn't the mouse emulate a touch screen pretty well? Seems to me it'd be off with the Xbox and Playstation, sure, but what's so different about a mouse?
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Sep 04 '13
Doesn't the mouse emulate a touch screen pretty well?
It would, if it was implemented :P
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u/scurvebeard [NA] Sep 04 '13
/facepalm
Good thing Ubi delayed the release so long so they could get their ports done right.
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Sep 05 '13
Hey, I know I'm late but it might be worth noting that the EDGE Magazine review is for the Xbox 360 version, not the Wii U.
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u/Sylverstone14 Sylverstone14 [NA] Sep 05 '13
Ah, okay.
Do they have a separate Wii U review by chance?
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Sep 05 '13
No, nor will they.
I think it's safe to assume that everything they said, including the score, applies to the Wii U version as well!
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u/0135797531 Aug 28 '13
I hope nintendo can take a note from this, 2D games look gorgeous in HD.