Rayman Legends Retold Preview: Shaping Up To Be Legendary

I’m Completely Sold On Rayman Legends Retold, But I’m Glad It’s Been Delayed Published Sep 22, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. When rumours first started flying that Rayman Legends would be getting the remake treatment, my initial reaction was a strange cocktail of bewilderment, exasperation, worry, and just the tiniest dash of hope. Thanks to its gorgeous art style, Legends is about as timeless as a video game can be, and it’s made it onto pretty much every platform in the 13 years since it was released. Combine that with other Rayman games that made much more sense for a remake, and it's no surprise everyone was left confused. Revisiting the game that the entire series got stuck on for more than a decade as the first major push to bring Rayman back just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Most of that scepticism quickly helicopter-haired itself out the window when Retold was actually revealed, sporting some stunning new visuals, a handful of brand-new levels, and a renewed focus on an important area that the original Legends didn’t bother with - Rayman’s world and characters. With all of that in mind, I was pretty excited to finally figure out how I felt about Rayman Legends Retold when I got to play two hours of the remake myself. That time was more than enough to sell me on Retold’s surprisingly grand ambitions, as well as make me grateful for the last-minute delay to polish things up a bit more before launch. Retold Somehow Makes Fiesta De Los Muertos Feel New My preview kicked off with Rayman and the gang arriving in the sandy deserts of Mystic Mesa, the new name for Legends’ Fiesta de los Muertos level. In the original game, you’d just hop into the world’s painting and then have a few themed stages, but one of the most impressive parts of Retold is that it’s all part of an interconnected world, with each realm having its own hub world to run around and explore, as well as voiced cutscenes expressively tying everything together. There’s also a costume shop with some brilliant outfits, including the return of all the Ubisoft crossovers, with the exception of Far Cry 3’s Vaas. It’s a small detail in the grand scheme of things, but as a Rayman fan who cares just as much about the world beyond the fantastic platforming, it’s a huge improvement. As much as I love Origins and Legends, it’s a blessing to have Rayman’s actual heroic personality back instead of just noises and yelling. I’m also all-in on Retold’s standout 3D visuals, which are as gorgeous and full of charm as the original game’s, but in a more modern Pixar direction. As for the Mystic Mesa levels themselves, they’re unsurprisingly just as good as they’ve always been, even if that’s not the highest honour for the realm that gave us the dreaded duck stages. I’ve replayed Legends more times than I can count, but I was impressed by just how much Retold’s new style and tweaked camera angles make them feel brand-new. Speaking of brand-new, my preview also let me check out the dragon ride levels that have been introduced in Retold. I usually hate these kinds of auto-scrolling shooters (looking at you, Origins Mosquito levels), but the dragon rides are a refreshing change of pace and feel shockingly epic, giving you a closer look at how much work has gone into making Rayman Legends’ settings feel like actual worlds instead of just platforming backdrops. After clobbering the Luchador, I was able to move on to The Iron Shell, Retold’s reworked version of 20,000 Lums Under the Sea, which now has a gorgeous island hub world to explore. I didn’t get to try out every level here, but what I did play also wonderfully showed off the new visuals and better sense of progression to everything. It’s just a shame that 20,000 Lums Under the Sea is my least-favourite realm, right next to Fiesta de los Muertos. There are some things that a remake can’t fix. The Land Of The Livid Dead Is Retold's Most Interesting Addition Once I’d played enough of The Iron Shell and its Invasion levels, my preview concluded with an all-too-brief look at the bit of Retold that excites me most - the brand-new end-game levels set in The Land of the Livid Dead. The home of Origins’ infamously challenging bonus chapter has been turned into its own realm, complete with what appear to be some of the toughest levels in the game. The stages I played had incredibly tight platforming and the closest thing Legends has to puzzles in the form of the realm-specific Fairy Blessing gimmick. With the push of a button, Rayman and friends can throw out a ball of light that can be used to move platforms and purify enemies to make them vulnerable. At first, I was a little wary of another gimmick in a game that already has the divisive Murray, but it suits this realm well and gives it a more challenging edge that seems perfect for a finale. Sadly, I only got to play two levels from The Land of the Livid Dead, but they were enough to convince me of how much good it’s going to do for Legends as a whole. Considering the original game’s ending was so anticlimactic, I’ve got high hopes for Retold getting an actual satisfying conclusion (or really, any conclusion at all) beyond simply adding more levels to a near-perfect platformer. Origins Enhanced Is What You'd Expect, And You Won't Hear Me Complaining The final part of my preview was a quick demo of Rayman Origins Enhanced Edition, which comes free with every copy of Retold. I’ve always said that Origins is better than Legends in nearly every way and shouldn’t be experienced through the Back to Origins bonus stages, so having the whole game remastered and bundled in with Retold is an instant win. Origins Enhanced is a much more traditional revisit that upscales the visuals to 4K, brings over the PS Vita version’s Relics, and adds some quality-of-life features, but everything new is undeniably a plus. Murfy can now be summoned to help you find any collectibles, level results can be sped up (thank GOD), a handful of outfits have joined the cast’s wardrobe, and there’s a big gallery in the Snoring Tree that’s full of concept art, beta screenshots, and a viewer for all the new end-level standees. Basically, it's Rayman Origins, but made better across the board. From what I’ve played, Rayman Legends Retold is shaping up to be the best way to experience an all-timer platformer, one that somehow feels new again despite mostly being more than a decade old. You’d think that would make me sad about the recent delay, but if it gives Rayman the breathing room it needs in a stacked few months for games and helps polish up some minor bugs and visual oddities I saw in my demo, then it’s nothing but a good thing for the return of one of my favourite series. Rayman Legends Retold Released December 3, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact Developer(s) Ubisoft Publisher(s) Ubisoft Multiplayer Local Co-Op Franchise Rayman Genre(s) Platformer, Action, Adventure