Quick Look: Rayman Legends Demo on Wii U – With Gameplay Video

Rayman Origins impressed lots of platformer fans earlier this year after it appeared across many different platforms, from the PS3 or Xbox 360 to the PC, 3DS or PS Vita.

Now, for the Nintendo Wii U, Ubisoft is preparing a special kind of sequel, in the form of Rayman Legends, which takes all the characters from Origins, adds new ones, and sends them on all sorts of impressive adventures throughout history.

While the full game is set to appear in March, Ubisoft has now posted a special free demo onto the Wii U's online eShop.

We decided to try out the trial version of the puzzle platformer and see if it's worthy of calling itself a sequel to Origins or if it falls off its own platform.

Rayman Legends will be instantly familiar to anyone who played or at least watched gameplay from Rayman Origins as it uses the same UbiArt Framework to create some truly stunning environments and make the whole experience feel fast and fluid.

You still have most of the same mechanics, as you need to jump from platform to platform, collecting Lums and beating enemies with their array of abilities.

Legends truly shines, however, when players start to control Murphy, a new character that floats around the screen and can do all sorts of things, from changing the position of certain platforms, to tickling enemies in order to expose them to the other players, all by using the Wii U GamePad.

When playing alone, gamers get to control Murphy while an AI-controlled character zips around the screen in a pretty smart manner, even if he won't pursue more hidden areas.

Rayman Legends is best played, however, with one character controlling Murphy via the GamePad, while others control Rayman and his friends by using Wii remotes, as you'll have lots of fun helping each other or, in some situations, sabotaging your friends.

Check out a stage from the Rayman Legends demo above.