Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition

Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition celebrates the classic platformer with a collection that brings together five versions of the original Rayman alongside extras focused on preserving the franchise’s history, including an interactive museum and a playable prototype. While it offers an interesting look behind the scenes of the game’s development, the package feels limited due to the lack of variety, as each version delivers nearly the same experience. The gameplay retains the challenging feel of its era, with rigid controls, though modern features like rewind help soften the difficulty. Overall, it works better as a historical celebration for fans than as a content-rich collection.

Compiled with love and care for its iconic mascot, Rayman's 30th Anniversary Edition has some odd and major pitfalls, but it's still a worthwhile package for those interested in gaming history.

Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition celebrates the past with some extras and details from the franchise's history, but forgets to polish the present, delivering a simple and flawed package in its execution, far short of the celebration Rayman really deserves.

It’s not a bad collection by any stretch, and Rayman fans are bound to have some fun with the package, but I can’t get past that sinking feeling that Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition is a rush job that, had it been given a little more time, could have been something truly special.

This comprehensive 30th-anniversary celebration of Rayman delivers an invaluable digital museum, excellent emulation of multiple game versions, and a challenging yet rewarding platforming experience. However, the inexplicable decision to replace the original, iconic soundtrack with a 'reimagined' version severely detracts from an otherwise near-perfect historical preservation.

Rayman: 30th Anniversary is a great re-release marred by the inexplicable absence of the original soundtrack. Rayman is a true classic that, despite its extreme difficulty, remains a very fun and surprisingly beautiful title, and this new edition offers almost all of its versions, well emulated with good image filters, multiple accessibility options, and a selection of extras with exceptional documentary and historical value. But all this good work, without something as important and fundamental as Rémi Gazel's score to complete the experience, ultimately falls flat and greatly diminishes its overall value.

Even as someone who isn’t the biggest fan of the original Rayman and its penchant for punishment, I still found a lot to love in the 30th Anniversary Edition. The many tweaks and enhancements make it the way to play the original, and the detailed documentary is a great extra on top of it all. It’s just a shame that the party is pooped a bit by the missing soundtrack and some teething problems.

It may be let down by its lack of original sountrack and the fact that four of the five games here are practically identical. But the museum content makes Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition a worthwhile purchase for fans – and there's no denying that Rayman still stands the test of time as one of the best platformers from the 90s.

If you remember the original Rayman and/or are interested in how the gaming industry worked 30 years ago, before it was actually an industry, but was instead driven by passion and enthusiasts who just wanted to make something cool, then Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition is a lovely little package that you can get for less than £18, which is a really good price.

Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition offers an excellent journey into the origins and history of the first Rayman adventure. However, the absence of the original compositions lower the overall rating, as the atmosphere clearly suffers without them, and therefore it cannot be described as the definitive release.