Rayman Origins

Rayman Origins brought the well-known franchise back to two-dimensional platforming and did so with such care that the game quickly became one of the most praised titles of its genre on consoles of the time. Everything is hand-drawn and animated, environments move, breathe, and react to the music, so simply walking through a level feels like an animated film. At the same time, it's a game remarkably clean in terms of controls: the character accelerates, slides, glides, swims, and bounces off walls, and each of these movements has precisely calibrated momentum.

The structure is classic, meaning a world map with dozens of levels in which the player collects small creatures called Lums and frees captured friends, unlocking further content. The difficulty rises very gradually; the first worlds are friendly, but later sections demand precision at the level of experienced players, and several especially tough bonus levels rank among the hardest challenges platformers of that time offered. Chase sequences hold a special place, where the player flees a pursuer along a collapsing path in time with the music. Cooperative play for up to four players on a single screen is amusingly chaotic and suits shared laughter more than precise performance.

Music is one of the most striking elements, since the accompaniment changes with the action, and several levels are directly built around synchronizing jumps with the track. Reviews were enthusiastic, and the game helped spark a renewed interest in high-budget two-dimensional platformers, which Ubisoft followed up on with an even more refined sequel. Today, Rayman Origins has barely aged, since the hand-drawn style doesn't fall victim to fashion, and the controls rank among the best-tuned to be found in the genre.