LogFAQs > #906010745

It's been said before that the 10 point review curve is flawed. Nowadays, 7 is considered the baseline of what constitutes "good", and anything below that is tossed out to the trash. I've fallen into a similar mindset, but I like to think that with the occasional realisation of this habit, it's possible to think about games and their ratings in less of a lazy, arbitrary way. What makes a 10/10 game so good? How should you feel about a game that's 6/10 - better than average, but not a game with a lot of staying power?

This topic is hardly an objective observation of that - it's gonna be me talking about games I like/dislike, and how I think they fit into the ten-point review scale because I think it'll be a fun little project for me to do. And I went so far as to begin this thread with a thesis statement, but it's ultimately just a fun little list idea for me to talk about some shit I care about. Have a look, have a chat, but ultimately let's have some fun.

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10/10: Rayman Legends

A 10/10 game can be many things. Ultimately, I think a 10/10 game should be able to stand on its own as a video game, independent of its series or genre - it should be one of the best games you've played, regardless of whether you're familiar with the genre or series that it hails from. In this case, it's Rayman - I've played very little of the Rayman series, having finished Hoodlum Havoc and Raving Rabbids and played a few minutes of 2, and it's always been kind of subpar to me. I like Rayman as a character, but he was never my favorite and I didn't particularly care for the series.

With this game and Origins, I was initially turned off by the art style. I don't like games with that stylised goofy art style, where the movement is all tweened between some JPEGs - and even with reviews and videos saying how good they were, I didn't touch these games for years. That is, until I saw them both on sale on the PSN store in like 2016 - bundled together for like $12.

Origins is okay. It feels a little half-baked in areas, but it's an alright game. It's perfectly fine, but the fact of the matter is that Legends blows it out of the water in every aspect.

The collectathon elements are challenging, but fair - things are hidden in clever ways that require both skill and smarts to locate, rather than always being hidden behind an obstacle course of death. The platforming gameplay is slick, responsive and fantastic across the board - though viewer beware, there are two levels that prominently featured swimming underwater. It's not terrible, but one water world is more than enough for the base game. It has these goofy and fun mechanics like the scratch cards, and the lums you collect in every level go towards unlocking new skins to play as - of which there are dozens. It has four player co-op, daily and weekly challenges, little pet monster things to collect, completion trophies to gauge your skill... and it remakes the entirety of Origins, bringing all of Legends' improvements over in the process. Nothing is left out of place in this game, and it all jives so well.

Rayman Legends is an incredible platformer that nothing could really match until recently - it's like a perfect blend of old-school Mario and old-school Sonic. It has a wealth of content for the price you can buy it for, and it's arguably the best platformer of the 2010's, period. It's a game you can enjoy whether you're familiar with Rayman or not. This game is a 10/10 for me because it rises above its series and genre to be the best of both, and it gives you enough stuff to do in the game that you will well and truly run the game into the ground during your time with it. But by the time you're burnt out on it, you're out of content to play - from my experience, the game doesn't overstay it's welcome, nor does it end on a bittersweet or sour note. It hits a perfect middle ground. Few games can claim to do this out of the box - but Rayman Legends certainly can.
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