By Alayna P.
The newest entry in Rayman franchise, and newest sequel to Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, both unquestionably superb titles with amazing music and art, Rayman Adventures is a great example of free-to-play done right. Now, when they released Rayman Adventures, a game for mobile devices this time, rather than for consoles and PC, and free-to-play, I was a bit worried that it would be a lesser game to some extent. The previous Rayman games made based on the same style as Origins and Legends for mobile had been simple endless runners (albeit paid-for apps), so when I heard about a new Rayman game for mobile, I expected another endless runner. To my pleasant surprise, when I started the game, I found that it had just as high-quality art and sound as the other games, and it was a proper platformer! And it does a great job at being free to play, as well, as I will go over in more detail in a bit.
The controls were something I was curious about, I wasn't sure how they'd make it work on a touchscreen, as Rayman has a wide arsenal of moves at his disposal. I think they did a fine job of translating it here, however, so if you enjoyed the other games and had similar worries as I did, then you can rest assured: this game feels just like Origins and Legends.
The controls work like this: swipe a direction, and your character starts running in that direction (this game has no walking or stopping (unless you're against a wall), so that took the most getting used to, but it is very intuitive once you get the hang of it), you tap to jump (and hold for floating), you swipe the direction you are moving to attack, and swipe down for a downward attack. As simple as it gets! The only things missing are charged attacks (because you need to stand still for those, and this game has no standing still), and attacking up. The stages are built with these things in mind, though, so it all works out just fine, and it doesn't feel like a step down. It feels like a worthy entry in the series!
All that said, the game's status as a free-to-play might still be putting some off. But in this game they did a very fine job of avoiding the oft accused "pay to win" format. You can quite easily get through the entire game without ever paying anything, and the game does a perfectly fine job of giving you enough of the items you use in the game that there is no need to buy any. And this game has unlimited continues just like its full retail counterparts. That's great! So many free-to-play games make you pay for or wait for the simple right to try again, but this game does not do that, and that is a wonderful plus for it. Both Origins and Legends eschewed a lives system in favor of unlimited continues, and that is a trend I hope more and more games start to follow, because it really does help the flow and pacing of a game when you never have to worry about a game over. The one thing this game does do that makes you wait is waiting for the eggs of the Incrediball creatures that you find to hatch (more on the Incrediballs shortly), but honestly, all free-to-play games are gonna make you wait for something, so you have no right to complain about it, really. You should never go into a free-to-play game expecting to not have to wait for something if you don't pay.
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Other than those things, this game plays just like Origins and Legends (and even shares several locations with Legends), and expands on a few mechanics, such as the creatures and the Lucky Tickets from Legends. The creatures have been expanded the most, going from a purely extra feature, to a major part of the game! Creatures come in many families and give you many different helpful powers, such as being able to find secrets, make it easier to collect Lums from afar, or give you invincibility if you get hurt. They're all really fun, and I absolutely loved the music that plays when you get a new one!
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The game even has a ton of levels compared to the other games, over 100 of them, in fact! It is a great game to keep you occupied between other things for a long time!
So, all in all, I gotta recommend this game, especially if you've played Rayman Origins and/or Rayman Legends and are craving more. It makes a good game to play once a day, too, I think. They totally nailed the Rayman feel, and they totally nailed the free-to-play model. I think more free-to-play games could take a lesson or two from the excecution of this game! I hope my article gets this game a few more players, and wins over people who weren't quite sure on it or who maybe didn't even know it was around! Feel free to let us know what you think on Rayman Adventures and anything discussed in this article in the comments below!
So, all in all, I gotta recommend this game, especially if you've played Rayman Origins and/or Rayman Legends and are craving more. It makes a good game to play once a day, too, I think. They totally nailed the Rayman feel, and they totally nailed the free-to-play model. I think more free-to-play games could take a lesson or two from the excecution of this game! I hope my article gets this game a few more players, and wins over people who weren't quite sure on it or who maybe didn't even know it was around! Feel free to let us know what you think on Rayman Adventures and anything discussed in this article in the comments below!