Arm Yourself: Ubisoft Confirms Rayman Legends

In retrospect, it'd be kind of silly to name a game "Origins" and then bury the franchise immediately afterward, wouldn't it? And so, somewhat unsurprisingly, Ubisoft's given an official magically levitating thumbs-up to all the Rayman scuttlebutt that's been floating around for the past couple days. Specifically, the game's called Rayman Legends, and - true to the leaked screenshots and video (after the break, courtesy of Gamekult) - it takes place in a pleasantly painterly fantasy land. That said, Ubisoft cautions that those materials were intended for internal use only and "in NO way" represent the final game. So, for all we know, it could take place in space or (fingers crossed) a 1940s black-and-white detective film before it's all said and done.

In response, Ubisoft was sure to note that "this video was destined for internal production teams who often create game prototypes with work in progress development kits. Ubisoft confirms the development of Rayman Legends handled by Michel Ancel and his team in Montpellier."

To the first part: yes, I can believe that. In my experience, SOCIAL FEATURES and EPIC RENDERING ENGINES rarely reduce fans to frothily gushing piles of mush. To the second bit: awesome! Well, mostly. I fear this means we probably won't see Beyond Good and Evil 2 until rabid fans kidnap Michel Ancel and (perhaps somewhat literally) Kickstart the project - mostly with money, but also maybe with a few kicks. Regardless, Origins was delightful - not to mention refreshingly tough-as-nails - so more along those lines is hardly a bad thing. Now then, can we maybe get it on the same day as everyone else this time?