Rayman is one of Ubisoft’s most iconic characters and was one of gaming’s iconic characters during the mascot platformer era of the late 1990s. Unfortunately, Rayman was overtaken by the Rabbids and hasn’t seen much light over the last decade plus. The last time he got his own game was thirteen years ago with Rayman Legends which many tout as one of, if not the, best game Ubisoft has ever made. Now, the game is getting a full remake, and, at Summer Game Festwe got to go hands on with it.
Now called Rayman Legends Retold, the game is a full remake of the 2013 original and is now in 2.5D with some 3D sections as opposed to the fully 2D original. The remake also includes full voice acting, new levels and minigames, and brand new story content. Thus, making the game far more than a typical remake but almost a remake and expansion of the original game.
The demo we played consisted of three different levels which included the first level of the game, the famed musical level featuring the song “Black Betty” by Ram Jam, and a new level where you ride dragons. We also got to try the game in both single player and multiplayer as a second, third, and fourth player can seamlessly join the game at any time.
The returning levels still feel great to play and seeing them in the new art style, despite the original art being so memorable, gives them more life and depth to the level. Backgrounds especially have more detail and animations to them as the 3D aspect allow for more expression to the backgrounds. The new level had us riding dragons, and, instead of just completing the level, we had to keep at least one Teensie on the dragon through all the mayhem about the level. We started with a good amount, but it was very easy to lose them as getting hit could knock multiple off the dragon.
Overall, Rayman Legends Retold seems to be a really cool remake for an iconic 2D platformer that doesn’t change too much, but adds a ton to it. Rayman Legends Retold is set to release later this year on October 1, 2026.