UPDATE
Do you hope that Ubisoft gives this man a chance to bring Rayman back in full? Let us know in the comments below!
ORIGINAL STORY
When it comes to video game icons, gamers sometimes have a misconception that every game with them is good and that their titles come out at a good clip to ensure their “icon status” stays as it is. However, that’s not true, and it’s not uncommon for an icon to go on “hiatus” for one reason or another. A great example can be found with Ubisoft. While they have numerous titles and IPs that they’re working on, none of them involve the gaming icon that was associated with them for so long. But the Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Creative Director wants to change that.
In a chat with Nintendo Everything, Davide Soliani revealed that if Ubisoft offered him to make a new game with Rayman, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so:
“If I had the opportunity, I would be crazy to not take that chance. To be honest, yes. I mean, Rayman is the type of game that has no realistic element. And because there is no realism, everything that you create in the game comes from your fantasy and the fantasy of the team. And so, [everything] from a chair to a table to an enemy to the environment is a form of art, is creating something from scratch. So to me as a developer, it’s the pinnacle of all the possibilities. You can go crazy and create your own stuff, as we did in Sparks of Hope. I think I would be crazy to not take that opportunity if given the chance.”
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope brought Rayman back into the gaming fold via their last chunk of DLC content, highlighting many things about Rayman. For example, his unique abilities were on full display. But with the DLC’s villain, The Phantom, he directly called out how the Rabbids had overshadowed Rayman. If you recall, it was his franchise that brought them to life. It sounds harsh, but that’s actually true. Once the Rabbids got popular, Ubisoft ran with them, putting them in multiple games and even getting them a TV show! Plus, the crossover with Mario was a huge hit on Switch in 2017 and allowed Soliani to go bigger with the sequel that was released last year.
So, will Ubisoft bring back Rayman? It’s hard to say. They have many things in the fire across numerous IPs and systems. But with Nintendo launching its next system next year…you never know…