Rayman Legends Definitive Edition Review (Switch)

Rayman made is triumphant return last generation with Rayman Origins. It was a gorgeously animated adventure with highly addictive but skill-based gameplay and featured some of the best level design seen in the series. The game was also created using the UbiART Engine which was then used to develop a couple more games including a sequel to Origins. Rayman Legends is the second game in the series developed using  UbiART engine and it is easily the most gorgeous out of all games.

Rayman Legends has been released on numerous platforms but the release on the Nintendo Switch is marked as the ‘definitive edition’ of the game and it is true for the most part. You get almost every piece of content released for the game including the Nintendo exclusive content that was only available on the Nintendo Wii U, but in addition to this, you also get to experience one of the best co-op platformer on the Nintendo platform. This is thanks to the the unique control schemes offered by the Nintendo Switch giving the player a wide variety of options to try for multiplayer.

As for what’s new in the so called ‘definitive edition’ of the game, to be honest, there is nothing really noteworthy here. While the previous version of the game was only playable on the consoles with the only handheld version being the PS Vita release, which was great on its own, the Nintendo Switch version of the game is actually best of both worlds here. You get the handheld version features of the PS Vita release where you can utilize the touch screen to control levels, you can get the console experience on the big screen with co-op multiplayer. The game supports up to 4 player co-op and there is also the addition of local co-op for your handheld experience so Ubisoft has made sure to keep almost every aspect of the game included in this package.

Rayman Legends was already a fantastic game on its own. Not only it offered some striking visuals with its animated art style, the game continued on the well designed approach for levels seen in Rayman Origins with secrets to discover in each level. It also has a pretty good replay value this time with the co-op mode featuring mini games like the Kung Foot that has additional new features added for the Switch version. There are also the additional challenges that let you play through a level with a set of tasks and they are quite fun to replay again.

There is a lot of content to play here in Rayman Legends Definitive Edition. Aside from offering new levels, you ca also try to play almost every level from the original Rayman Origins. These were all available in the original release of the game so this is not something added for the definitive edition of the game. The biggest selling point of this port is perhaps the intuitive use of the Nintendo Switch controls. You can use the gyroscope to move platforms or touch screens to control the actions of Murphy. The visuals look great no matter if you play on the handheld or in docked mode on the big screen.

Of course, I can’t really ignore the price point for this release because despite lacking on clearly ‘new’ content, the game seems rather expensive at the moment. It is currently being offered for $39.99 and this is not a bad price if you have never actually played the game. It has a lot of content to offer and the addictive nature of the levels make the replay through each of them fun, as you try to discover their secrets and strive for 100% completion. But for those who have already experienced the game on any of the previous platform, the incentive to upgrade to this version all boils down the price and how much they are willing to pay for it.

When all is said and done, Rayman Legends feels like the perfect game to take the portable and co-op nature of the Nintendo Switch. It offers a wealth of content and provides an experience that is currently unmatched on the Nintendo Switch hardware and if you haven’t played the game yet, there is absolutely no reason to miss out on it if you own a Nintendo Switch.