The Origin Of Sequels: Another Rayman, Maybe

I'm currently in the middle of a gentle altercation with other meejaa types on Twitter about my earlier worrying around posting about Kickstarted games that don't exist yet, and one of the things that's come up is that due to our by and large consisting of curated content (yeah, we are sometimes guilty of posting about Today's Big News, but that's because we do genuinely want to be part of the conversation even if the games in question aren't always to our tastes), most any even vaguely positive RPS post could well be read as an endorsement. Even when it's about something we haven't played yet - case in post, an alleged sequel to the lovely Rayman: Origins.

Even though the extent of my experience of this game itself is some leaked screenshots and details, I am posting about it with some excitement. This could, in some form, at some point, contribute to someone's decision as to whether spend money on that game or not. Or very well may not. But it might. How does that differ from posting about any old Kickstarter project that sounds good on paper?

Well, pedigree for one. I know Rayman: Origins the first was a good time. Therefore I have a reasonable amount of faith that another could be. I also believe that, if a publisher greenlights a title, the chances are fair to high that it will come to bear and have a decent budget. No matter how much talk a Kickstarter project from a lesser or unknown dev talks, there are far fewer guarantees. Anyway, enough soul-searching - here's what is known about the game I feel compelled to call Rayman: Apples.

Not much, really. But then the nature of the first Origins tells us plenty anyway - deliriously happy and inventive 2D platforming. The next one, if it happens - not a given, as this is based on leaked images to Kotaku - will move from the dreamy surrealism of Origins to more of a myth'n'fantasy setting. Is that to make it more mainstream-friendly or just because the devs fancy mucking around with dungeons and dragons? We'll find out, if this is real. Which is hard to say right now - the images came via a survey firm that counts Ubisoft among its clients, but could be mock-ups or pure theoreticals.

I like the concept, though. Seeing how the mad minds behind Oranges might twist fantasy staples is appealing. Plus, y'know, joyful jumping does a whole lot more for me than grimdark manshooting these days. I think I might be regressing.

More RO2-maybe shots at Kotaku, like.