A franchise spanning almost three decades, with over 45 games under its belt, Rayman hasn't faded into obscurity just yet, but it could be on the way there. Debuting in 1995 with a shockingly great 2D platformer for the original PlayStation, the Rayman franchise has gone through a few major changes in its lifetime, and with each pivot the series finds itself losing more fans than it gains. But Rayman is far from finished, and a fourth Rayman game could really be what this franchise needs to keep going.

While Rayman has stayed fairly relevant for the last 28 years, it hasn't been solely due to his own efforts. The last mainline Rayman entry released all the way back in 2013, and since then, the playful purple mascot has mainly existed in a series of spin-offs that range from party games to Mario-led turn-based tactics titles. It's about time that Rayman got another game of his own.

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It's About Time for Rayman 4

rayman legends rayman playing the gutair with enemies running towards him

The first Rayman game debuted as a launch title for the original PlayStation, and it was meant with an immediate wealth of praise from critics and audiences alike. While the game's difficulty spike may be a bit unfair, its responsive controls, beautiful backgrounds, varied enemy types, and whimsical worlds made it an instant standout on the console. But the age of 2D platformers was long past, and the PS1 was all about 3D player spaces. Rayman 2 released in 1999 and transported the mascot and his platforming antics to the realm of 3D. While the game's swathe of modern-day ports have been pretty underwhelming, the game in its original form remains an all-time classic, and one of the best 3D platformers of its generation.

This leap into the 3D realm was a bold one, and showed that the series' developer wasn't afraid of taking risks and adapting to a changing, growing market. After Rayman 3, another great 3D platformer, the Rayman franchise took a bit of a turn for the worse. Seeing the rise of the Wii in the mid-2000s, the Rayman franchise focused its efforts on producing a series of party games under the Rayman Raving Rabbids banner, which is where the original concepts for a Rayman 4 came to an end. While these titles are actually pretty fun, they don't put the mascot front and center, and they don't offer type of gameplay that fans longed for.

2011's Rayman Origins, followed by 2013's Rayman Legends were a bit of a return to form for the beloved mascot franchise, hearkening back to the very first game in the series. These games took Rayman back to his 2D platformer roots, but rather than focusing on slow and methodical platforming gameplay, these entries emphasized speed and action. This change in direction proved to be the right move for the franchise, with fans old and new falling in love with the titular hero again.

There hasn't been a Rayman game for 10 years now. Though Rayman's set to appear in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and Ubisoft has re-released Rayman Legends countless times, Rayman hasn't starred in his own video game since 2013, and it's about time that changed. While Ubisoft could simply revisit its original concepts for a Rayman 4, release another 2D Rayman game in a similar vein to Origins and Legends, or make a 3D successor to Rayman 2 and 3, it would be more in keeping with the franchise to reinvent the series once more to coincide with the changing market. To really grab fans' attention, Ubisoft should make a Rayman open-world game, taking inspiration from Super Mario Odyssey and the recently released Sonic Frontiers. Rayman 2 and 3 featured fairly large hub worlds that players could explore, so the transition to a fully open-world actually makes a lot of sense. Pair that with Rayman's traversal abilities and attacks and an open-world Rayman 4 could actually be pretty great, managing to stand out in an oversaturated crowd.

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