Rayman returns to running, jumping and punching things in Rayman Fiesta Run, an upgrade from last year’s Rayman Jungle Run.
Rayman Fiesta Run: On the plus side
Rayman Jungle Run was easily one of the best mobile games released last year. At one level, admittedly, it was just another endless runner, but it was an endless runner with both visual fidelity — thanks to the liberal re-use of art assets from Rayman Origins — and a finely honed and still challenging game metric that evolved as you played through the game.
Rayman Fiesta Run follows the same basic path, with visual assets from this year’s excellent Rayman: Legends laid on top of an endless runner that follows through a complex map that uncovers 72 levels to play through. Levels are short and challenging, but there’s always the lure of getting every last Lum from a level, an activity that typically also unlocks further levels.
Some may have complained about the difficulty spikes with Rayman Jungle Run. I can’t say I was one of them to speak of, but I get the idea, and that’s presumably why Ubisoft’s thrown in powerups that make specific levels a little easier. Powerups cost Lums to activate in each level, and they’re relatively plentiful if used sparingly.
Actually, I say sparingly, but I’ve got to be honest here; I’ve only ever used one, and that was to check that they did indeed work the way I thought they would. It’s entirely feasible, and indeed pleasantly challenging to tackle each level on its own merits without powerups.
Rayman Fiesta Run is still an endless runner, but Ubisoft’s tried to inject some difference into it with modified levels that unlock when you finish the basic version of that level. They’re harder, but that’s often because you’re being chased, whether it’s by flames or flying piranhas. You can also swim, although this is a lightly used mechanic that really only affects your movement speed.
Rayman Fiesta Run: On the minus side
Rayman Fiesta Run is a paid title, but it includes IAP, because you can buy Lums in game to use for powerups. They’re moderately priced at least. On the iOS version I tested with, 8,000 Lums costs 99c, 20,000 Lums is $1.99 and the top tier of Lums is $2.99. Again, frankly, they’re really just bolted on to the side, which is a pleasant approach to IAP. You can use them if you must, but you’re in no way forced to or penalised for not doing so, at least as far as I’ve gone in the game.
(No, wait, that was Altered Beast, wasn’t it?)
Rayman Fiesta Run is still a game about perfectionism and getting that “perfect” Lum score, but that brings with it a few problems. It does break one of the cardinal rules of platform games, in that many levels are all but impossible to perfect in one go.
That encourages replay, but it does so because you will frequently die simply because you didn’t know of an upcoming obstacle. Death isn’t a huge problem and restarts are quick, but it’s still somewhat sloppy game design.
The other issue here is that once you have perfected each level, there’s not much impetus to return to them. Thankfully there are plenty of levels and level remixes to play with.
Rayman Fiesta Run: Pricing
Rayman Fiesta Run costs $3.81 on the Google Play store and $2.99 on the iTunes App Store.
No, I don’t know why the Android version is 82c more either. It just is.
Rayman Fiesta Run: Fat Duck verdict
At one level, Rayman Fiesta Run is just more of the same, and if you played Rayman Jungle Run and got bored with its core mechanic, then…
actually, if you did that, I’d strongly argue there’s something wrong with you, and you’re allergic to fun. That must really suck for you.
It’s still a valid criticism, however, because Fiesta Run is definitively Jungle Run Redux. It’s done well, however, and that makes it an easy app recommendation.