Child of Light

After Rayman Legends, UbiArt now has yet another great title added to its collection. Ubisoft’s latest release, Child of Light, melds a platformer with an art-style storybook theme, and it knows exactly what it wants to deliver. It’s a rare occasion when a small-budget game promises so much and carries out as expected. With a stunning 2D presentation and a traditional Japanese RPG combat system, Child of Light brings an outlasting experience that every gamer should have in their bags.
 

 

The story of Child of Light is a fairytale about Princess Aurora, the young daughter of an Austrian duke. A strange illness consumes her one day, and she finds herself trapped in a mystical world when she comes back to consciousness. Meanwhile, the evil Black Queen has stolen the Sun, the Moon, and all the Stars. Princess Aurora decides to recapture these light sources and restore them to the Kingdom of Lemuria so she can make her way back home. Aurora isn’t alone in the Kingdom of Lemuria; a charismatic little flame, Igniculus, accompanies her during this quest. Aurora must brave the darkness, solve puzzles that hinder her path, and finally face up to the Black Queen to restore light to the Kingdom of Lemuria.

As current-generation consoles go, Child of Light is the next big 2D platformer. Aurora starts off moving and jumping left to right, then eventually she flies around the environment. Aurora’s movement during the gameplay feels unique and refreshing. Movements, however, aren't the only thing that feel bracing; the dialogue immerses you in this mythical world. It’s truly remarkable that the dialog in Child of Light is written rhythmically.

The writers cleverly wrote character interactions in various forms of rhyme schemes. One of the most entertaining parts is when Aurora and Igniculus recruit a jester who can’t rhyme, causing both Aurora and Igniculus to constantly correct her. Aurora and Igniculus express themselves randomly when wandering around the environments. Hearing Igniculus rhyme when passing a cemetery, “Don’t they know? Rock planted in the ground will not grow,” breathe life to each of these characters instead of mindless avatars that are simply controlled.
 

 

Speaking of entertainment, combat is a delight to play. It’s a nice surprise to see how Ubisoft took an aged turn-based system and morphed it into something unique. The combat system features a progress bar that is fairly easy to understand. Characters involved in combat can only take turns once their icon reaches certain points on the progress bar. Aurora’s abilities are mostly physical attacks, magic, and targeting, while Igniculus provides more tactical abilities such as blinding enemies, collecting health, magic, and healing.

Players can see the order of everyone’s attacks, but the speed varies between the character and enemies. Characters can cast different attacks, and each of them takes a different amount of time for casting. Understandably, different enemies are vulnerable to varying elements of attack, and finding the correct elements for attacks in battle involves strategic moves. Battles can go terribly wrong for the players as well, timed attacks from enemies can knock the player’s icon back to the start, causing a delay of turns.

This doubles the intensity of battles and intensifies even more during boss fights. Players can cast powerful attacks, but this slows their turns, and if they are not paying attention, enemies can overtake the speed and eventually interrupt vital moves. No matter how many battles players go through, this intensity never dies down and requires constant attention.
 

 
 

During and after the battles, the RPG elements of the Child of Light become more apparent. Each battle earns Aurora points, which grants her new abilities depending on which skill tree you decide to invest in. The skill tree is complex, with as many as 100 skills per tree, allowing each character to build upon a unique set of upgrades.

Aurora can increase the damage dealt by her sword, or gain more fire, earth or wildfire-based spells, while Igniculus can increase his healing capabilities. Besides the platforming actions and combat, Child of Light has some well-structured puzzles. Igniculus can be controlled both on and off the battle arena, and this comes in handy while exploring hidden orbs scattered across the map. Collectable gems called Oculi can be found by discovering treasure chests, and these gems greatly increase Aurora’s battle powers.

Each Oculi has a special effect on the characters, while they come in several different types and states, in both raw and polished, they increase attack, defense, and magic abilities. Even though the game allows the equipment of only one Oculi per attribute, a crafting system lets players combine Oculis to make more powerful ones. With about 600 crafting combinations, being able to utilize them all is one hell of an achievement.
 

 

Aurora is a profound and moving protagonist. She starts as a little girl and eventually grows little by little into a young princess as the game progresses. During her stay in Lemuria, she can leave behind messages for others, along with some little hints on how to progress. Players can leave messages to their friends online and inside the game and aid other players in difficult tasks. For instance, if a boss fight gets spiteful, a player can leave a message saying “Minimum level 5” to warn others who haven’t played this far yet.

What makes Child of Light most exquisite is its presentation. The game looks like an animated painting and feels like it is progressing through a beautiful illustration. The game is fluid and elegant; it’s a breath of fresh air and demonstrates an incredible, visually astonishing world. Beyond the battles and puzzles, simply exploring the game can be a pleasant experience. The only thing that is lacking during the game is the spoken dialog outside the narrative. Players communicating in written dialog may sometimes feel a necessity for spoken words instead. The background music and sound effects faded any vexation I felt. The spontaneous piano melodies provide a livelier and invigorating experience throughout the whole game.
 

 

Child of Light came on the radar with high anticipation, and it doesn’t fail to deliver. It isn’t necessarily the type of release gamers expect from Ubisoft, as they are renowned for making blockbuster titles. In all fairness, however, it never feels like a whimsical, small, schemed RPG from any direction. From start to finish Child of Light is a delight to spend time with, and it’s without a doubt the best platforming experience I’ve had in a long time. For such a stunning experience, $14.99 is a minimal price. It’s a must for anyone who wants a break from our regular gaming experiences.
 

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed
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