Rayman 4

Rayman 4 is a platform video game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Ubisoft. It is the fourth main title (actually the 6th one) in the Rayman series and the direct sequel to the 2003 game Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Xbox Project Scarlett, and PS5 platforms in August and September 2020.

Rayman 4 received critical acclaim upon release. Critics praised the game's visuals, level design, controls, soundtrack, overall gameplay, and the large amount of content. Some critics went as far as calling Rayman 4 one of the best platforming video games made, and the game won several awards from video gaming publications. The game experienced sluggish sales at the beginning of its release, but sold well and contributed to the company's earnings just a year after, this game sold over 18 million copies.

Gameplay
The game carries on the style of gameplay from Rayman 3 in which up to eight players (depending on the format) simultaneously make their way through various levels. Lums can be collected by touching them, defeating enemies, or freeing captured Teensies. Collecting Teensies unlocks new worlds, which can be played in any order once they are available. Along with Rayman, Globox, and the Teensies returning as playable characters, players can now control new female character Barbara and her sisters, once they are rescued from certain stages.

In addition to the main playable characters, Murfy the greenbottle, who first appeared in Rayman 2: The Great Escape, appears as an assist character. Murfy can perform various actions such as cutting through ropes, activating mechanisms, grabbing hold of enemies and assisting in gathering Lums. These offer a range of levels in which co-operation is required to progress. In the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 versions of the game, an additional player can control Murfy directly with touch controls, using the Nintendo Switch handheld mode, the Xbox One's controller, and the Dual Shock 4 touchpad respectively. In single-player mode, control will switch over to Murfy during certain sections whilst the computer controls the player's character. In the Microsoft Windows, macOS, Google Stadia, and Xbox Project Scarlett versions of the game, Murfy moves automatically and can be prompted to interact with certain objects with button controls.

The game features over 280 levels, including 120 remastered levels from the original Rayman Legends, which are unlocked by obtaining Lucky Tickets, which can also win additional Lums and Teensies. Some levels feature remixed 'Invaded' versions, which must be completed as quickly as possible. The game also offers daily and weekly challenge stages, in which players can compete with other players via leaderboards in challenges such as collecting a certain number of Lums in a short time, or surviving the longest on a stage. More challenge stages can be accessed by raising the player's 'awesomeness' rating, which increases by collecting trophies earned by rescuing Teensies, collecting a high number of Lums in each level or by having a high leaderboard position at the end of a challenge. A local multiplayer football game, Kung Foot, is also featured, in which players use attacks to knock a football into the opponent's goal.

Plot
Its plot takes place 5 years after the events of Rayman Legends. Rayman, Globox and the Teensies have been sleeping for 5 years. During that time, the Bubble Dreamer's nightmares grew in strength and numbers, and so has the Magician (who has escaped the Red Moon on Rayman Legends), who has split into 10 "Dark Teensies". Rayman and friends are awakened by their friend Murfy who tells them about the bad news, and tells them that the 10 princesses of the land (including Barbara) and the Teensies have been captured by the nightmares and the Dark Teensies. Rayman, Globox, the Teensies, and Murfy set out to defeat these new threats. After defeating 9 of the Dark Teensies and fighting the worst of the nightmares, Rayman and friends go to Olympus Maximus and confront a giant cloud of pure nightmare. After the darkness has been destroyed and the last Dark Teensie is sent to the moon, the credits roll. If four-hundred teensies are saved, the player unlocks the last world of the game, Living Dead Party. Once completed, the nightmares are defeated and the player is awarded with 10,000 lums and 6 new invasion paintings. Once the player saves all 1,200 (or 1,600 for NS version) Teensies, they unlock the golden Teensie.