I see Rayman: Legends Retold as a microcosm of Ubisoft. The France-based company has seen a rocky history of highs and lows, but has recently settled into a groove of where its output is either exceptionally mediocre or outright befuddling. It seems that the company’s leadership learns the exact wrong lessons from every success and stumble and commits millions of dollars towards projects that probably should have never gotten past the idea phase. I can only imagine that an exec gives a half-present thumbs-up for a project like Legends Retold while coughing out the last hit from their bong. What part of this character’s history should we modernize? Oh, how about we remake the last fucking major release in the series? I cannot even begin to understand the logic behind that. Out of every game in the Rayman series, I don't think it's at all controversial to claim that this is the one that needed a remake the least. If it had to be a remake of something, why not something from his original trilogy? Or—ya know—just make a new fucking game.

Rayman: Legends was fantastic; as far as I’m concerned, it’s an example of a perfect game. There’s basically nothing about it I would want to add or alter to try to make it better. The incredibly expressive, hand-drawn art is timeless and immediately identifiable. While the 3D graphics of Retold are certainly well-realized and do their best to retain the appeal and identity of the original game, but the respective appeal of 2D and 3D art is not necessarily interchangeable; some may understandably prefer the hand-drawn version over the flashy, 3D graphics with Ray-Traced reflections. The jury is still out on the voice acting and cutscenes for me as well. I would have honestly been delighted to see this expressive, 3D-modelled Rayman (creepy teeth notwithstanding) in this new art style... if it was a new game and not another edition of Legends...

The Rayman franchise is beloved by its fanbase, but is constantly underserved and done dirty by its owner. Ubisoft seems overly cautious in giving the limbless mascot opportunities to shine, which is honestly insulting for a character who pretty consistently elicits critical acclaim. I don’t know much about the financial performances of his outings, but the original Legends must have at least been good enough to game to reach pretty much every single platform that people have owned in the last 15 years. Remaking it is a baffling decision that I would be tempted to call out as being too safe, but I think it’s actually a much riskier venture than it seems. Rayman has so few chances to step into the spotlight as it is; staking his future on the success of a remake of his most recent game—one that holds up perfectly well and still widely available on modern platforms—is a needless risk that could potentially hamstring the franchise’s future prospects if it can’t convince enough people to double dip. Maybe I’m missing something, but this seems like a bigger risk than just making an entirely new, proper follow-up to Legends with this new 3D art direction.

I’ve already played Legends multiple times, on multiple platforms. It’s kind of just a rite of passage at this point for a new piece of hardware to get a playthrough of it in my house. As much as I enjoy the game, I would think that there are others like me who would have been way more receptive to a new experience in the same lineage rather than yet another retread. Part of me wants to support the game simply because I want to send the message that Rayman is a beloved and lucrative property that should get more attention. But I also don't want to shell out my money and time for a product that I see as an exercise in “high-effort laziness” (wait, did I just coin that phrase?). Maybe the additions to this remake can convince me over time, but I doubt it, at this point. I've played these levels too many times to seriously consider the thought of taking another tour.