Rayman Fiesta Run Review

Rayman Fiesta Run is the sequel to Rayman Jungle Run, Ubisoft's mobile version of their Rayman revival series, taking the form of a level-based auto-runner. Fiesta Run really only serves as an iteration on the previous one, but more of the familiar excellent gameplay and an improved level structure make this a better game.

Players control the jumps and punches of Rayman, who can't stop running for reasons both justified and unjustified depending on the level, trying to collect Lums and just get to the end of each level in however many pieces is optimal for Rayman because he has invisible limbs. Levels, which take on many forms from horizontal platforming to back-and-forth ascents - with the occasional wall-running and jumping, too - are challenging due to the timing needed to succeed and survive the various hazards.

Rayman Fiesta Run is absolutely beautiful. The UbiArt engine and the artwork done for the modern 2D Rayman games looks absolutely fantastic. The animation is fluid, the environment is colorful and detailed. It's a joy to look at. My only regret is that I played the game on the iPhone 5 and not on the Retina iPad Mini. Apple, hurry up with that already!

The game features 72 levels, and the structure encourages a non-linear approach. Levels are unlocked in a linear fashion, but good players who get up to four blue Lums (the ranking system for getting a certain number of the standard Lums) will have plenty of unlocked levels to play along with the more difficult "invaded" levels. So it's non-linear in a sense. But the game being more open in this way feels a lot more fun to go through than the original.

Rayman Fiesta Run does feature in-app purchases now. After the original shockingly excluded them initially, now the Lums that are collected can be used to buy boosts. However, I have good news: the most expensive purchase is only $2.99 and grants enough Lums to buy lots of boosts, new characters, and artwork. Even then, it's possible to grind levels to earn extra Lums, most of the early ones don't require the boosts for players with enough skill.

Even then, it's just more satisfying to play the game without the boosts, but they are there as a helpful thing. It's not overbearing, but that's the problem with the current realities of the market: it's too easy to assume that it will all be tilted against the player, and that developers have the room to do just that.

Rayman Fiesta Run is just an elegant game. The level design is fantastic, and it looks as amazing as always. There's a lot to do, and for those who missed the first game this is a better jumping-in point.