Ubisoft reworks Rayman Legends for Switch 2 with 3D visuals

Ubisoft rebuilt Rayman Legends for Nintendo’s Switch 2 using its Snowdrop engine. Rayman Legends Retold converts the original 2.5D stages into a new 3D presentation, adds a seventh world and other content, and will launch Oct. 1 priced at $39.99 / €39.99.

The Retold edition was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier with support from Ubisoft Milan and a German studio responsible for the Switch 2 port. Snowdrop maps level geometry created in the original UbiArt Framework into three-dimensional space. The version targets 60 frames per second on Switch 2 and replaces the canvas-style world navigation with a revamped world map.

New gameplay content includes the World of the Livid Dead, which introduces Fairy Radiance powers that allow players to aim and charge beams to remove a purple Radiance infection and open new paths. The release also adds four musical stages, five additional platforming levels distributed through the campaign, and on-rails 3D Dragon Ride sequences that have players protect Teensies while avoiding hazards.

Additional features comprise new Kung Foot rule modifiers and arena layouts, daily and weekly trials in the Cave of Trials, fully voiced cutscenes and updated character models.

Ubisoft says the core levels from the 2013 release remain largely intact. Technical designer Fabien Delpiano described Retold as “a 3D game which matches, very precisely, the level design we made using the Map Mode in the 2D UbiArt Framework.” Developers demonstrated tools that let designers switch between the original 2D view and the new 3D presentation in real time.

Production director Alessandro Arndt Mucchi said the team started from the original game’s foundation and added a short new story thread that centers on a mysterious dark figure. Rayman Brand Producer Loic Gougnon explained the studio chose Legends because it contains a broad set of characters and world variety to serve as a foundation for future projects, and brand leads indicated the next Rayman title is likely to be 3D.

Early hands-on previews conducted on a pre-beta PC build and a Switch 2 development kit noted the updated visuals bring more background detail and moving elements. Testers observed that increased detail and occasional camera shifts can make some level layouts harder to read for precise timing; developers say further refinements are possible before launch.

Rayman Legends originally released in 2013 and received a Definitive Edition for Switch in 2017. Ubisoft has stated the Retold edition and the Definitive Edition will coexist rather than one replace the other.