What can be best described as a video game fairy tale, Child of Light is almost like stepping into one of those beautiful short stories we used to read as kids, complete with fantastical watercolours.
The story follows Aurora, the daughter of a widowed Duke who one night wakens from her sleep in an alternate universe called Lemuria, which has had its moon, sun and stars stolen by the Dark Queen. Aurora's first inkling upon waking up is to return home, but in order to do this she must defeat the Dark Queen and return Lemuria's stolen celestial belongings.
Helping Aurora along the path is Igniculus, a small ball of light. Igniculus is controlled with the right thumb stick and can be used to heal allies, solve puzzles, light up dark areas, and attack enemies. Igniculus can also be controlled by a second player as the game supports two player co-op. In addition to Igniculus, Aurora comes in contact with several misfits along the way, each of which represents a different tribe and can be controlled in battle.
The way the combat system works is that your characters and enemies icons move along a timeline at the bottom of the screen. There are two parts of the timeline: a wait part and a cast part. The timeline indicates when you are allowed to act next. You can choose between attacking, unleashing a spell and defending. When you're fighting against several enemies you need to often look several turns ahead to see when you're foes will attack next. If a character is attacked while they are in the cast portion they are kicked to the beginning of the timeline and have to wait longer for their turn. Igniculus can be used to blind enemies and slow their progress along the timeline.
Each of the game's characters has their own unique skill tree. Your characters rank up a lot faster in Child of Light than in other games as every battle rewards you with skill points. The incremental skill points and upgrades don't feel like they make a substantial difference from one fight to the other. This system does feel like it takes a little bit of the reward or feeling of accomplishment out of the game.
The game clocks in around ten hours or so and many could complain that the length, especially for an RPG, is a bit short. Also, the game is a bit on the easier side. You could play through the whole game and not die once through the battles. It's a good idea to start this game on a higher difficulty on your first playthrough.
Child of Light is a visually stunning game. Child of Light runs on the UbiArt engine which was the same engine used for the last two Rayman games. The game reminds me of old story books I use to read as a kid. The game has all the aspects you remember from children stories: an unlikely hero, a strange new world and plenty of rhymes along the way. The game's soundtrack was composed by Canadian artist Couer de Pirate and features a sweeping orchestral arrangement that suits the game's dark tone fairly well. My only problem with the game's presentation is that aside from the narrator, there isn't a whole lot of dialogue, so be prepared to read a lot of text.
Child of Light represents an interesting direction for UbiSoft. It's not very common that you see a big Publisher's take a risk on unique games like this. Too often, we sequel after sequel being released year after year. Child of Light is refreshing as it offers a unique art style coupled with great storytelling and fun gameplay. At only $15.00, Child of Light is definitely worth checking out.
- Siddharth Masand
Follow @jokeman23
The Good:
Beautiful art style and soundtrack
Awesome story telling
Combat system requires strategy
The Bad:
Maybe too easy for some
Could be considered a little short for an RPG.
Not much dialog outside of the main narrator
