Because of the final boss, I never gave up on entire genre, but the wonderful Rayman 2: The Great Escape hasn't aged a bit

There are some genres I’ve never really clicked with. With some of them, I’ve been incompatible from the very beginning of my “career” as a gamer. My dislike of others, meanwhile, comes from less-than-pleasant experiences with particular games. For a while, 3D platformers belonged firmly in the latter category. The game responsible for that was Rayman 2: The Great Escape.

I look back on Ubisoft’s classic with a great deal of nostalgia. When I decided to revisit it while preparing this article, more than two decades after we first crossed paths, all those fond memories came rushing back. So what exactly did Rayman 2 do to make me turn my back on an entire genre?

The Final Challenge

Well, the final boss was absolutely brutal. When I first faced him in 2003, I had little more than my still-developing gaming skills and a keyboard that was hardly the ideal way to play a 3D platformer. Needless to say, I got destroyed. I spent days trying to beat him and simply couldn't do it. Eventually, with the finish line almost within reach, I gave up on Rayman 2 and decided that maybe 3D platformers just weren't for me.

Looking back, it's hard not to find that decision a little funny. Twelve-year-old me didn't find it funny at all.

I still remember how disappointed I felt when I realized that a game I'd poured so much time into had seemingly betrayed me at the very last hurdle. Over the years, though, I discovered that I wasn't the only player to struggle with this particular boss. More importantly, I eventually got over my “trauma.” I learned to enjoy 3D platformers, and Rayman 2 ended up becoming my personal benchmark for what a great Rayman adventure should be.

So let's go back to the beginning.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Source: Ubisoft / GOG.

The Great Escape

Rayman 2: The Great Escape was released in 1999 for PC and Nintendo 64. It eventually made its way to a number of other platforms, although, as you may have guessed from my story above, I played it on PC.

The game takes place in the fantastical Glade of Dreams, which has been invaded by an army of robot pirates led by the sinister Admiral Razorbeard. The invaders have destroyed the Heart of the World, stripping Rayman of most of his powers and capturing him in the process. His friends have suffered a similar fate.

Fortunately, Rayman manages to escape from prison.

And that's where the adventure begins.

Our hero travels through a series of colorful environments, collecting four mysterious masks belonging to Polokus in an effort to awaken the powerful spirit of the world and send the invaders packing.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Source: Ubisoft / GOG.

A Surprisingly Dark Adventure

Revisiting Rayman 2 gave me an unexpected realization. I remembered the game as being bright and wonderfully colorful, but there's actually a surprisingly dark streak running through the entire adventure.

Sure, plenty of its environments are lush and green, but the robot pirates bring an unsettling presence with them. Their grim-looking machinery feels strangely ominous against the game's otherwise whimsical world, and the enemies themselves can look downright menacing.

Rayman's Abilities

Fortunately, Rayman has plenty of ways to deal with them. He can fire glowing projectiles from his fists, and later gains the ability to charge his shots for extra damage. That comes in particularly handy during boss fights. The game also throws plenty of traditional platforming challenges at you, from jumping between platforms and clearing gaps to avoiding traps and navigating environmental hazards.

Sometimes, simply getting from A to B requires a little more thought. Rayman can throw explosive barrels or solve environmental puzzles to open up new paths.

Most of these puzzles are fairly straightforward, usually involving switches and locked passages, but the game occasionally asks you to think a little harder. At one point, for example, you'll need to carry special spheres across gaps. There's just one problem: carrying them means you can't jump, so you'll have to figure out how to throw them where they need to go.

Another memorable sequence involves a missile. Instead of simply running away from it, you have to keep it chasing you until it's exhausted, then jump onto it and use it to cross a dangerous section of the level.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Source: Ubisoft / GOG.

And Rayman can do considerably more than run, jump, and shoot. He can strafe from side to side, allowing him to dodge enemy projectiles while keeping up the pressure. He can swim, grab ledges, hang from vines, swing across gaps, and even spend a little time in the air.

That last trick is made possible by his hair, which works like a miniature helicopter rotor. Initially, it simply slows his descent, but later on it gives Rayman the ability to fly freely for short periods.

Strength in Numbers

New levels are unlocked by collecting Lum, the glowing creatures scattered throughout the world. Some Lum also provide information about the game's world, but the real walking encyclopedia is Murfy, Rayman's flying companion. He turns up whenever you need him and explains what's going on without making you feel like you're being dragged through a tutorial.

I have to admit, I appreciated that a lot when I was a kid. I don't remember ever feeling genuinely lost in Rayman 2, which was quite an achievement at a time when getting hopelessly lost in video games was something I experienced all too often.

Rayman also spends much of his journey freeing prisoners, including the inhabitants of the Glade known as the Teensies. Breaking their cages isn't just an act of kindness, either. Doing so rewards you with additional Lum, while every ten freed prisoners increases the length of Rayman's health bar.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Source: Ubisoft / GOG.

A Visual Style That Has Stood the Test of Time

Rayman 2: The Great Escape was widely praised for its visuals when it launched. And while I'm usually pretty unforgiving when it comes to the way games from this era have aged, I have to admit that Rayman 2 is one of those rare exceptions that still looks good today.

Of course, it can't compete visually with modern 3D platformers. The textures are blurry and the character models are unmistakably low-poly. Yet there's something about the game's art direction that still works. The character designs and environments have enough personality that I'm still able to buy into the aesthetic more than 20 years later.

And that's not something I can say about every game from the late '90s.

What Came Next?

The developers behind Rayman 2 pulled off another impressive trick: they successfully transformed a character who had made his debut in a classic 2D platformer into a fully 3D adventure. Even today, that kind of transition can be difficult to get right.

Rayman 2 was warmly received by both critics and players, giving Michel Ancel and his team the green light to continue the series. Before the next mainline game arrived, however, Ubisoft experimented with the franchise.

There was Rayman M, a multiplayer-focused action game that, thanks to a review in Polish magazine Click!, I remember as something of a response to Quake. Then came the racing-focused Rayman Rush. Eventually, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc arrived in 2003 and followed in its predecessor's footsteps, becoming another success. After that, however, fans had a long wait ahead of them.

In the meantime, Ubisoft began building the Rabbids brand, which started life as a Rayman spin-off before eventually becoming a franchise of its own. It wasn't until 2011 that the next major Rayman game arrived in the form of Rayman Origins.

This time, Ubisoft went back to basics, returning the series to its 2D platforming roots. Several subsequent Rayman projects followed the same formula.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Source: Ubisoft / GOG.

Could Rayman ever return to 3D platforming? There are no signs of that happening right now, but I'd certainly like to see Ubisoft give it another shot someday.

How to Play Rayman 2 Today

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is still available on GOG, where it normally costs PLN 19.90. The game is also part of the GOG Preservation Program, which means it will receive ongoing updates and compatibility work to keep it running on newer operating systems and hardware.

You Should Probably Install This Mod

If you're planning to play Rayman 2 today, there's one thing I'd strongly recommend doing first: install the Ray2Fix mod.

It addresses practically all of the technical problems you might encounter when running the game on a modern PC. Among other things, it fixes frame-rate drops and performance issues, adds support for high-resolution widescreen displays and modern controllers, and lets you remap controller buttons.

If you're playing the Ubisoft Connect version, I'd consider Ray2Fix essential. Even if you own the GOG release, however, it's still worth installing, as it fixes several issues that weren't addressed as part of the Preservation Program.

1. Download Ray2Fix

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

November 4, 1999

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• Overview

• Ubisoft
• oldschool / retro
• Rayman (franchise)
• FTP
• 3D platformers
• Retro Gaming