Wish I would have played this back when it was released because some of the mechanics haven't aged that well. But there is still some cleverness to be found here and it certainly has its positives. I just can't feel the undying adoration for it that fans can.

This is an odd game where I found the side activities more enjoyable than the main game itself. The photography elements were cleverly designed and optional areas were fun to navigate. The main game; however, is really overrated. The main plot is asinine, the puzzles are even simpler than Zelda's, and the combat is even shallower. The stealth sections have some neat puzzle-like elements, but the mechanics of stealth itself is awkwardly design since the core mechanics weren't design around them.

A wonderful mix of genres propels this well-written, well-acted adventure towards the climax of its brief runtime. You'll come to love the characters and their journey as you take in the breathtaking visuals and listen to the crisp music, but the ending may leave quite a few questions rather than answers.

I was mostly enjoying it, until the final boss at least, which took me way longer than it had any right to. There were some frustrations with mechanics in the game, in particular the camera, but overall it feels like a game that was ahead of its time. Story is pretty good, or at least the worldbuilding is, and I would certainly play the sequel if that ever ends up releasing. But yeah, some things have definitely aged and could be improved on.

The Rayman team at Ubisoft turn their hands to Zelda-ish action-adventure, and the result may not be terribly long or the tightest when it comes to the rather limited combat and stealth, but it is a fun and stylish world to explore for a little bit. And it is in exploration where most of the fun is—puzzling out how to photograph the different animals, poking around for little bonus areas, or how to slip past a barrier to open things up, etc.

I played it while my computer was dying so there was a lot of slowdown, I have a feeling I would have rated it even higher if I played it again on a fully working PC.

It is wonderful game indeed!

good game