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Editor's Note: This article was written and published prior to the announcement that the release of Rayman Legends had changed to September and that the game would instead launch for Wii U, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Ubisoft have already offered a generous number of games to Nintendo's new platform, but its next, Rayman Legends, stands out as the first Rayman game in the main series to be released exclusively for a Nintendo console. Its prequel, Rayman Origins, was a sensational comeback for the limbless lad, and Legends is set to be even better if the free demo released on Nintendo eShop is anything to go by. The demo features three levels from the main game, supports the full range of control methods, and even includes the Dressing Room where you can switch between five different characters.
Every control method is offered and available in single-player: the Wii U GamePad, the Wii U Pro Controller, the Classic Controller Pro, the Wii Remote, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuk can all be used, even if you're playing on your own. The game's menu - accessible via the +/Start button - will display the control setup for whichever controller you're using at the time. Up to five players can play at any time with any combination of controllers - the player with the Wii U GamePad can either play in his or her right as one of the five characters or can aid the other players by taking control of Murphy on the touch screen.
The three levels included in the demo each offer a different experience and an insight into the variations in gameplay Rayman Legends provides. The first level you'll play is Teensies in Trouble, which best shows off the use of the Wii U GamePad. You'll begin in what seems like your usual platforming level by controlling Rayman (or whichever character you've picked), collecting Tings and saving Teensies from their cages as per usual. Partway through, you'll be prompted to release Murphy by tapping the touch screen, at which point the gameplay transfers to the GamePad for you to continue (or in multiplayer, this is where the GamePad player gets their time to shine).
While the gameplay stays on the TV, it also moves to the GamePad screen, and as Murphy you can touch certain areas on the screen to help the other players - or the computer in single-player - make progress. For example, you can touch enemies' large eyes to defeat them or force them to withdraw, or you can hold onto moveable platforms to push them around. You can even tickle some enemies to allow the players to attack them. In single-player mode, the computer will take control of your main character, so you'll need to make sure to let them make the right progress if you want to divert them (to save hidden Teensies, for instance) or move them further on.
The second playable level is Toad Story, a more "traditional" platforming level which requires no use of poor Murphy at all - though of course you can continue to aid other players by using Murphy if you choose to. This level tests your character's ability to float by including updrafts to use and obstacles to avoid, while continuing to collect Tings and save Teensies (of which there are ten in both this level and in the first). When you finish a level, you keep all the Teensies you've saved, so if you've missed a couple you can easily return to the level to find them, though in the demo there are no rewards for doing so - unlike the full game, we'd expect. Toad Story also tests your ability to knock out enemies while mid-air.
The final level is the shortest, but our personal favourite. Castle Rock is one of the game's rhythmic levels, in which you need to time your jumps, kicks and punches to the beat - a version of Black Betty - and get to the end of the level. It's an incredibly fun level which you'll likely end up replaying a few times over, headbanging your way through a minute and fifty seconds of pure joy while remembering to hit the right buttons at the right time so as not to disrupt the rhythm. Music fans and lovers of rhythm games are going to love this - we're hoping for a good selection of rhythmic levels in the full game, since they add a great sense of fun to the demo.
Throughout the entire demo - which you can enjoy for as long as you please, since you can pick and choose which levels to play - the visuals are nothing short of gobsmacking. Anyone who had sworn off 2D visuals will soon find themselves betraying their love of 3D gameplay: it's hard to say there's ever been a platformer with 2D visuals as vibrant and as beautiful as Rayman Legends. Nothing has been skipped on and there's a mass of detail wherever you look, both in the foregrounds and the backgrounds. Accompanying the stunning visuals is a marvellous soundtrack; Toad Story's orchestrated theme in particular is so relaxing that you might just forget to actually play the game. Of course, there's also the rhythmic levels like Castle Rock, which, as we've already said, will keep you going back for more.
If this demo is anything to go by, Rayman Legends is going to be one of the best Wii U titles to come this year - it's certainly going to rival New Super Mario Bros. U for the title of best platformer, at the very least. Ubisoft has picked three fantastic levels to include in this demo, while the inclusion of all the control methods and various playable characters is a very welcome bonus. If you own a Wii U, you have to download and play this demo: it's not massive (it weighs in at 521 MB after installation) and you can play it up to thirty times before it expires. This promises to be one of the best titles on Wii U this year, and you owe it to yourself to give it a go before it launches later this month.
