Connie and the Essence of Chaos

For better and frustrating, this is exactly what you're looking for if you want to relive that nostalgia of the first Rayman game. And by "Frustrating", I mean namely the levels can be hair-pullingly hard in the most positive way I can say it.

This game feels like taking the first Rayman and applying Kirby aesthetic to it. Connie is an absolutely adorable protagonist and the world has a lot of charm to it, with lots of colors and fun designs of the characters. While the story is simple, I don't see it as a negative, as I much prefer more down to earth writting with this kind of game. The controls are very responsive and tight, although the grapple mechanic is something that player needs to get used to. Also, I think it's a shame there is no "run" button or any "charged punch" mechanic, like it was in the original Rayman (and Redemption). While 3/4 of the ideas around the level design is very clever and satisfying, with some simple puzzle solving and the way some secrets were hidden, the remaining 1/4 gave me a lot of frustrations. Basically, this game also inherited Rayman's over the top difficulty, which includes some very awkward placements of certain obstacles, some very precise, PIXEL-PERFECT platforming, enemy attacks you won't be ready for and rather questionable design choices in general (like putting ice physics on tiny moving platforms in a snow world). Overall, I'm very glad I played this game. I'm into difficult platformers but I'm also aware this may not be for everyone.