Captain LaserHawk: A Dragon Blood Remix is an animated Netflix TV show that was released on October 19. I wasn’t really interested in the show at first, but that changed once I saw images going around the internet that showed Rayman from the Rayman series shooting tommy guns and doing drugs. Hey, at least it isn’t as weird as the time he sang Sexbomb. Turns out the show was made in part by Ubisoft, with many characters from the show either paying homage or coming straight from some of Ubisoft’s biggest games like Rayman, Far Cry 3, and Assassin’s Creed.

The story, at first glance, seems to follow the usual heist plot, only for it to make a complete 180 and kill off its characters and have the character’s missions result in a total flop which I actually really like. The show isn’t afraid to kill off characters and by having the characters fail just when they were so close, helps establish how powerful and dangerous of entities Eden and the opposing characters are. Although, killing off characters doesn’t really give the audience enough time to get attached, so while the death of main characters like Jade or Pey’J sure were shocking, they never got any tears out of me. 

I would say I was close to tearing up at the animation, though. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it is beautifully done. It’s so expressive, and when fight scenes occur, it gets cranked up to 11. The backgrounds and neon lights of the city really showcase how great of a city Eden would be to live in, while the dark and murky colors of the underground can demonstrate the corruption that lies within. There are also moments that implement video game elements ranging from combat, to exploration, to visual novel games. One of my favorite uses of it was when they mixed 2D animation with live action models of Dolph and Sarah, while keeping them pixelated throughout the whole thing.

Now, I did mention Rayman at the beginning and I have to say, he’s probably my favorite part of the show. I never grew up with Rayman but I did know about him and seeing him along with other Ubisoft inspired characters makes for a B plot that is genuinely good and manages to stand on its own 2 limbless feet. Rayman is introduced as Eden’s poster boy and spreads their propaganda, unaware of the horrors that lie beneath. Eventually though, he finds out the truth and what follows is a character arc I really enjoyed, and I’m excited to see how Rayman’s incorporated in future episodes; If Netflix doesn’t cancel it before then that is.

The show proceeds to end on a cliffhanger, with one of the main characters turning to be a double-double crosser who was working for Eden by working against them. …It makes sense when you watch the show…….no, no it doesn’t. Overall I found these twists kind of clever but I also felt like they were going so fast there was barely any time for me to process them, and it just didn’t sit right with me. Upon rewatching the show a few more times, I could notice that the pacing felt awfully fast in some areas. I still thought the story was great and all, but I assume it’s kind of hard to condense part of a big plot like Captain Laserhawk in just 6 episodes lasting around 20 minutes. Overall though, I did really enjoy the show, and I can see even someone who hasn’t played any Ubisoft games enjoying it for what it is. 7/10.