First-Look: Rayman Legends Retold Impressions, Changes, and Release Date

1 week ago 3

Published Jun 2, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

Ethan Krieger is an Editor at DualShockers, where he covers reviews, guides, lists, features, previews, interviews, and gaming news. He began writing professionally in 2017 as a sports writer before moving into games coverage with DualShockers in 2024.

Before joining DualShockers, Ethan wrote for the FanSided Sports Network, including 8 Points, 9 Seconds, where he covered the Indiana Pacers, and Pelican Debrief, where he covered the New Orleans Pelicans. His background in sports writing, editing, and content strategy now informs his approach to gaming coverage, especially around reviews, rankings, guides, and event reporting. Ethan studied English at Arizona State University, with a focus on writing and text editing.

One of 2013's best platformers, the original Rayman Legends honestly holds up extremely well to this day for anyone that still pops in now and then or is considering going back for it. The game is still beautiful, plays very well, and has enough content to keep players hooked and engaged throughout the entirety of their time in the lovely Glade of Dreams.

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All of that said, Ubisoft is now primed to bring the game back to modern audiences in 2026, and even though the OG still pulls its weight, the newly revealed Rayman Legends Retold is improving, tweaking, and adding enough to make it an upcoming platformer that fans absolutely should circle on their calendars.

Recently, I got to go hands-on with an early build of the game via Ubisoft streaming, and I gotta say, I had a blast with what I was able to experience thus far. Here's what Rayman Legends Retold is all about, what's been changed, and when you can expect to play it yourself.

The Legend Continues

In the footage of the game's first level above, "Once Upon a Time" from the Old Teensie Kingdom world, you can get a feel for how Rayman Legends Retold looks in this newest iteration. The original Legends was known for its gorgeous artwork, and I must admit, when I heard that Legends Retold was going for a 2.5D, fully redone presentation style, I was a bit trepidatious.

Luckily, Legends Retold still looks absolutely amazing in this new form factor, as the team at Ubisoft clearly understood that the original's art was one of the most loved things about it, so Legends Retold needed to bring the heat here again. So far, it absolutely seems like they did, as everything I've seen from Legends Retold to this point looks really, really great, and just as unique and stylish as always.

Legends Retold is a joint effort between Ubisoft Montpellier (Rayman 1 and 2, Rayman Origins/Legends, Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown) and Ubisoft Milan (Mario + Rabbids series), and it's the first time these two teams have worked directly in tandem together. Not only is that a ton of shared Rayman expertise, but also just a lot of excellent video game production in general under their belts.

The game is running on the Snowdrop Engine, which Ubisoft has also used for The Division, Star Wars: Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. It really seems that this engine switch is allowing Montpellier/Milan to put forth a Rayman title that looks better than ever, and with an art-style that still rules.

During my time actually playing the game's early demo, I worked through various levels in two realms (worlds): Old Teensie Kingdom and The Stinkbog. Before this demo, I'd gone back for a refresher in 2013's original Rayman Legends, and a lot of the levels I saw in Legends Retold were the same as before, now just in this cool, new art style and accessed from a different, much better hubworld.

Legends Retold still looks absolutely amazing in this new form factor.

Controls were just as fun, snappy, and engaging as ever, with Rayman controlling precisely how he should, combined with the ever-helpful Murphy flying in at times to disrupt enemies, cut ropes, and get up to all his usual shenanigans. Exploration in levels is as amazing as ever, and I absolutely love finding every nook and cranny to save Teensies, complete optional challenge rooms, and find other fun secrets and treasures.

Still, even though Legends Retold felt familiar in many ways, there is still a lot going on here that feels new, fresh, and worth this entire endeavor.

What's New

Let's just give you some nice bullet points to lay out several new things that Ubisoft is bringing to the table with Rayman Legends Retold in comparison to the 2013 title, in addition to the new presentation style via the Snowdrop Engine:

A brand-new, sixth and final world
New cutscenes with full voice acting, including David Gasman for Rayman and Billy West for Murphy
A new story, complete with a new main villain character
Christophe Héral's original, incredible soundtrack completely redone by Héral himself, but now also partnered with the legendary Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee, Donkey Kong 64, etc.) for brand-new music as well
All new hub world and game map, which seem heavily improved
New, speedrun-type challenge levels where trying over and over, perfecting your routing, and improving your time is a blast
Dragon riding levels with shifting perspectives that act as your means to travel between game worlds (I played two of them, and they are very enjoyable flight-based obstacle courses and genuine spectacles)
Improved audio design overall, including tons of additional things like many added character barks and quips
Additional musical levels, like the beloved Castle Rock/Black Betty experience from the original game
An expanded/improved version of Kung Foot, now titled Kung Foot Evo

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Ubisoft made it clear to us that they felt like what they have in Rayman Legends Retold is more than just a remake, and it really does seem like that is the case. It's really not just the Rayman Legends of old, brought into a new engine and an art style with more depth. There seems to be a ton of additional content and polish on all fronts of the game.

To me, someone that loved the 2013 experience, I feel like I have plenty to be excited about, and I'm definitely looking forward to being able to play Legends Retold in full later this year.

Oh, and once again, the entire game will be playable solo, but also features the same "up to four-player" local co-op with the same lovable cast of characters we've all come to love from the original.

Release Details

For anyone else ready to jump in, here's all the release info we know about Rayman Legends Retold:

Release Date: October 1st, 2026
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, UbiConnect, Epic
Price: $39.99
Pre-Order: Available Now

Personally, between my love for the original game, as well as my very positive experience going hands-on with this new version last week, I have Rayman Legends Retold high on my list of games slated to release later in 2026. The return to the Glade of Dreams this October seems to be something we can all look forward to.