Rayman Origins is Rayman's glorious return with a revolutionary UbiArt art direction. Co-op up to 4 players, inventive levels, delicious humour. One of the best 2D platformers of the generation, a masterpiece.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer4 players7+
Co-op
Description
Ubisoft Montpellier 2D platformer reviving the classic Rayman spirit with UbiArt Framework. Published by Ubisoft, released in Europe in November 2011. Over 60 classic 2D levels, four-player local co-op, over 100 Electoons to free, signature UbiArt art direction, and Christophe Héral soundtrack. Platformer reference. European version.
Rayman Origins review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Hand-drawn animation of prodigious fluidity, dazzling colours and settings brimming with whimsy: the UbiArt engine works wonders. Every creature and every backdrop seems painted with an infectious joy. This 2D splendour, lively and inventive, remains a dazzlement at every screen.
Playful and inventive, the music piles up rousing melodies and zany finds, right up to levels entirely choreographed to music. Each world overflows with a joyful, colourful whimsy. This sonic generosity, creative and sunny, makes the game a pure pleasure for the ears from start to finish.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
A return to its roots in hand-painted 2D, it favors a snappy, precise platforming where every jump and every strike answers to a hair's breadth. Four-player co-op quickly tips into joyful chaos. Gorgeous and demanding, this revival keeps a lucid handling and an exuberance that make it a must of the genre.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The return of the armless hero in a platformer of enchanting animation, where every move breathes fluidity and joy. Bouncing, gliding and punching through fairy-tale settings delivers an instant, contagious joy of movement. Co-op, colourful and overflowing with inventiveness, a sumptuous platformer that reconnects with the magic of the genre, to savour solo or with others.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Platforming finds a joyful rigor here: each jump counts, each stage sparkles with ideas, and rooting out the hidden Electoons renews the urge to complete it all. The pace ramps up across the worlds without ever losing its clarity. Some running sections frustrate, but the artistic style and the spot-on handling keep an immediate grip.
Rayman Origins, the series' return to hand-drawn 2D platforming, praised for its dazzling art direction and level design, which revived the franchise after years away. Still common, its desirability rests on this status as the successful rebirth of a beloved license rather than scarcity. A prime piece for fans of polished platforming of the generation, accessible in a complete box.
Better with friends
A platformer of exemplary liveliness and beauty, whose four-player local co-op turns every level into a joyful dash strewn with traps and rewards. Mutual aid mingles with healthy one-upmanship: helping each other through a tricky stretch while squabbling for first place is the whole spice of it. Immediate and unifying, it restarts with the family for guaranteed fits of laughter.
Is Rayman Origins still worth playing in 2026?
Rayman Origins marks the return to grace of Ubisoft's mascot, and remains one of the finest 2D platformers of the generation. Its UbiArt art direction, made of hand-painted settings and animation of enchanting fluidity, has no equivalent and amazes at every level. The gameplay, of exemplary precision, combines generosity, inventiveness and a jubilant co-op for up to four players. The delirious humour and the sense of rhythm complete an experience tailored for fun. Slightly less rich than its sequel Legends, it is nonetheless a masterpiece, fully recommendable to fans of the genre.
