Ubisoft: Remaking 1995’s Rayman is ‘near impossible’

Producer Loic Gounon addressed questions about a remake while presenting Rayman Legends Retold at a State of Play event. The new title is scheduled for release on Oct. 1.

Gounon said Ubisoft explored updating the 1995 Rayman but found the original’s pace and mechanics did not translate well to modern controls and expectations. He described the first game as ‘super slow’ and using ‘very old school game design.’

Changing the game’s speed and core metrics would, the producer argued, alter its identity and result in a different product. He pointed to Rayman Origins, released years after the 1995 title, as the series entry that effectively modernized the original by keeping some characters and locations while updating gameplay systems.

When planning the franchise’s 30th anniversary, Ubisoft chose to present the 1995 game intact and frame it as a look at how Rayman began rather than reworking it for current platforms. Gounon characterized that approach as more documentary in style, preserving the original experience.

Rayman Legends Retold will emphasize modern platform design while retaining the franchise’s hand-drawn aesthetic and rhythm-based levels. Gounon is producing the title and discussed the internal debates that led the studio to favour reboots and anniversary presentations over a direct remake of the first game.

Ubisoft’s position, as explained by Gounon, is that a faithful remake would require substantial changes that would make the result functionally separate from the original; the company views Rayman Origins and the anniversary presentation as the ways to represent the series’ transition to more contemporary design.