Everyone under the sun knows of the exemplary work of animation studio Pixar, and this year Ubisoft Montpellier proved their in-house team can create just as much of a intoxicatingly joyous combination of hand-animated characters and bright popping environments. From the gorgeous sound effects that compliment every pixel-perfect jump, spin and thwack of Rayman and his crew's exploits across the game's many worlds, a true marriage of visual and audio are in the music levels. Said levels are timing-based visualisations of a particular song, that have you sliding down a rope as a guitar line stretches out, or slamming home a long jump just as a crescendo of percussion kicks in.They're nothing short of the definition of a good time, and the saccharine-sweet presentation that adorns every aspect of Legends is so infectious, its one of very few games to never outstay it's welcome, providing many reasons to revisit levels for the sake of high scores, hidden trinkets, or just to literally watch the animation play out again. 2013 is definitely the year of games making that step up to being regarded as a true artform, yet for all the big-shoulder-waving titles that explore adult themes in unique ways, it's also immense fun to turn back the dial and just relax with one of the most meticulously crafted platformers of the last decade. Watch out Mario, Rayman seems to know where you live, and with Legends under his belt, he's gunning for your red M-embossed crown.
