The pacing in general is more frenetic than your average "hop and bop past the dancing flowers" Mario level, but it mostly works towards Rayman's favor. Just don't think you can stop and smell the roses, at least on your first few playthroughs. The roses, as it happens, are actually out to kill you.
The variety of level design in Rayman Origins stood out the most in our demo. Most games throw a fire stage at you and call it a day. Rayman Origins wants to do the same, but does so by filling the screen with things associated with fire instead. You'll swing on red peppers over bubbling cauldrons while cartoon chefs squirt hot sauce at you, and you will die a lot. Everything burns the same as your traditional platforming ensemble, but in a way that rethinks the way we're trained to identify those things, and constantly.