Ubisoft’s mascot Rayman has really surprised me recently. I was never fond of the odd creature and always felt that he was more annoying than anything else. Then last year, we were given the amazing Rayman Origins which rejuvenated my love for the platforming protagonist. It also proved that you do not always need fancy graphics with high-tech engines to get the best results. Its vibrant art style and slick game design won me over and despite not setting the charts alight, gamers and critics who played Origins loved it. Can Ubisoft replicate the same success with their latest game Rayman Jungle Run for mobile devices?

Jungle Run tries to mimic Origins and gives you most of the same powers from the last game. Instead of using some kind of weird, overly complex control system, Jungle Run tasks you with using just one power at a time. Rayman can jump, fly, punch and wall run. The game automatically has your character running forward and it is up to you, to use your specific power to get to the end of the level.

All of the aforementioned powers are responsive to your touchscreen taps. Bouncing barriers, vines and lums, the glowing creatures of the Rayman universe, make sure that there is enough for you to interact with; while spikes, drops and lava pits will destroy Rayman, forcing you to start the level again. It all comes together and makes a brilliant game out of a very simple concept. On paper it may sound boring but in practice it works brilliantly.

The only issue we had with the controls was when flying. During these sections Rayman must evade spiky bushes. The only problem here is that when you clip these plants you are locked into an animation that often puts you right back on another spike, leading to an inevitable death. It’s by no means game breaking, but almost phone breaking, as on a few levels we almost threw our gadgets across the room in rage.

As you complete each level you collect glowing creatures called lums. Get enough of these and you can unlock extra levels in a similar way to Super Meat Boy’s Dark World. Here’s where the real challenge comes in, as you need to obtain all of the lums to get the most out of the game. This may sound boring but the game is designed so well that missing the odd lum or two always feels like your fault. There are even secret sections to find in levels and Jungle Run never feels like it is being lazy by making you replay sections.

Rayman Jungle Run is about as close as we are going to get to Origins on a mobile device, but still manages to retain all of the what made the console game so much fun, bar a some small control issues.

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