Rayman Legends

Rayman Legends was released on PlayStation 3 in 2013 by Ubisoft Montpellier as a direct sequel to the highly acclaimed Rayman Origins. The game expands on its platforming foundation with new levels, characters, and game modes while retaining the series' characteristic hand-drawn art style and smooth, precise jumping and attacking controls. The standout feature is the musical levels, where character movements and obstacles sync to the rhythm of a song, creating unforgettable moments that combine action and music. Besides the classic levels, the game also offers zones featuring the character Murfy, controlled by touch or the second analog stick, who helps the other characters remove obstacles and open up the path forward.

The gameplay is built around four playable characters including Rayman and Globox, who can be controlled simultaneously in co-op by up to four people on one screen, making it one of the best cooperative platformers of the generation. On PS3, the game looked visually stunning thanks to the UbiArt Framework engine, which enabled detailed, colorful environments reminiscent of an illustrated fairy-tale book full of small animations and witty details. The audio, including original tracks adapted for the musical levels, is among the game's strongest aspects and, together with its art style, forms one of the most recognizable audiovisual packages of the generation.

Legends was received with great enthusiasm by critics, and many called it one of the best platformers of its time. Although it was originally meant to launch exclusively for Wii U, the versions for PS3 and other platforms secured it a much wider audience and helped it reach far more players than the limited audience of a single console would have allowed. Even today the game is praised for its level design, humor, and precise controls, and it ranks among the titles worth trying no matter when a player discovers them.

Why play it: For platformer lovers who will appreciate the precise controls, humor, and level design of one of the best platformers of its time, made available thanks to the PS3 version to a much wider audience than a Wii U exclusive could have reached.