I highly recommend this for anyone that loves sidescrollers, as this is the perfect evolution from old to new. Origins goes back to Rayman's 2D roots, focusing on excellent platforming and the quirky charm that made Rayman so popular in the first place. The levels are designed excellently, with speed running in mind, meaning that they flow well from start to finish. While there are some punishingly difficult levels, they have save points along the way that make the grind feel less tedious. For those who want a truly difficult experience, collect all 10 Tricky Treasures which allows you to unlock "Land of the Livid Dead." This level is super hard, but also a lot of fun and encourages you to keep going with save points along the way. If you beat that extra level, you get to watch the credits again, but this time you get to demolish them as a character walking along the words in the credits.
I had a blast with this game. It was clever and charming. My only real critique is that it is short, but as long as you are aware of that and get it at a price you feel justifies a quick play through, then that's not a problem. While it is pretty much just a standard RPG, it's clever nods to gaming history are what make this game worthwhile.
This is a fun game, and I believe it is worthwhile. That said, some of the gameplay mechanics aren't great. Mouse sensitivity needs to be turned all the way down, and it still lets the camera squirrel around a bit too much. Also the side to side running is a weird combination of strafe and turn that takes some getting used to. Most problematic though, is the whip controls don't always sense when you can swing, so sometimes you have to go back and forth on the edge of a ledge a few times before you get the right angle. One other important note (but not a problem) is that the camera does NOT control ascent and descent in water, as it seems. If you are on the surface of the water, space bar dives. If you are under the water space bar propels you forward. Steering is NOT done with the mouse, but with WSAD like in airplane games. Once your body is angled in the direction you want to go, you can hit space bar to propel. The level design is interesting, but not always intuitive. Indy generally doesn't jump down off of things, because it hurts him... but then certain maps require you to make a long jump that also goes down farther than you would think you should. But with experimentation, it's fine. The design is engaging enough to overlook that small flaw. The graphics are good enough, but I recommend playing on a small-ish screen, as the camera can be a little nauseating. The sound design and ambiance are excellent. Either they got Harrison to do the voice acting, or they got a top notch impersonator. On balance, I'd recommend this game, especially if you have any nostalgia for it. If you don't have specific nostalgia, this game may feel a little more middling, but still worth a play through.
It's an okay premise, with lots of callbacks to the original games, but it lacks the creativity of the originals. The controls are awkward, the jokes are fewer and farther between, and the precision platforming is out the window. It's still enjoyable to explore and see what the developers were shooting for. I can't help but think that this game would have been not only acceptable but good had they just spent some more time refining it. Still, it is an interesting piece of gaming history that I'd feel incomplete without having played... but I didn't bother to pay it through to the end.
I replayed this recently, and it has aged well (dated, but it doesn't just feel old). BUT- be sure to change your video settings, as the default is super low-res. The story is rich, albeit a little weird, and engaging. The maps are well laid out and detailed. Gameplay is rich, though not terribly varied. It comes at a good pace, and the difficulty settings allow for either quick casual play or a challenge. With epic boss battles, good voice acting, great level design, and good support on modern hardware, it's hard to go wrong with this game. If you want extra enjoyment, play Enemy Territory, which runs on this engine but has wonderful team-based and class-based multiplayer (though you need at least 8 people for it to be epic fun).
A lovely meld of a text adventure and a 2D point and click explorer puzzle. This game is very hard, frequently frustrating, but also snarky, hilarious, and rewarding. I love this trilogy so much... warts and all. I recommend playing it with a walk thru open on another device. Try to beat it without the walk thru, but if you get stuck for more than 20 min, cheat. Sure, about 99% of the times you get stuck you could have figured it out if you'd just spent more time or tried more things, but about 1% of the time the solution is so obscure that figuring it out would be practically impossible... and that 1% makes a lot of people hate this game. I think cheating (but not after expending a fair amount of effort) is the perfect way to end up enjoying this game, rather than just being stuck forever on the many puzzles you WILL NOT figure out.
The graphics didn't age well, but the gameplay and even the sound did. The ambiance is enjoyable, the levels are challenging, and the design is excellent. The controls are a little wonky, but once you get used to them it works well.
This platformer has good level design and good graphics for it's time. Rarely do you get stuck wandering around confused because you are unsure where to go (which can happen with similar games). The controls are a little floaty, but once you get used to them that floatiness actually becomes an asset. So don't turn it off right away because the controls feel slippery. Do yourself a favor and wait a couple levels, so that you can appreciate the controls as a gameplay device rather than just an irritating quirk.
Commander Keen get a lot of love, and rightly so, but Cosmo seems to fly under the radar. This platformer is excellent and anyone that liked Keen should absolutely play this game.
While nostalgia definitely helps one get over the dated graphics, this game is fun even for newcomers. The controls take a little getting used to, as does the aiming, but after that it's a glorious and difficult experience. While it isn't as rich as DOOM, there something to be said for the visceral pleasure of shooting down Nazis. You can spend weeks exploring and trying to beat this game in a completionist way, or you can just enjoy it as an easy-in-easy-out no commitment arcade.
