Child
of Light is a platforming role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal
and published by Ubisoft. The game puts players in the shoes of Aurora, a child
stolen from her home, who, in her quest to return, must bring back the sun, the
moon and the stars held captive by the mysterious Queen of the Night.
It
was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox
360 and Xbox One in April 2014, andPlayStation Vita in July 2014. It is powered
by UbiArt Framework, an in-house engine by Ubisoft previously used forRayman
Origins and its sequel, Rayman Legends.
Child
of Light centers around Aurora, a girl from 1895 Austria who contracts a
physical ailment that causes her to fall asleep. Upon waking up, Aurora finds
herself in the mythical world of Lemuria which has had its sun, moon and stars
stolen by the Dark Queen, Umbra. Aurora is tasked with recovering the celestial
bodies and ultimately reuniting with her father, who is a duke.[2] Helped by
her playable companion Igniculus the firefly and several unlikely allies,
Aurora will face her darkest fears in this modern take on a coming-of-age
story.[3]
Gameplay
is described as having attributes of a side-scroller with RPG elements such as
leveling-up to increase stats over time.[4] Battles with enemies utilize a
system similar to the Active Time Battle system found in games like the Final
Fantasy series and Grandia.[5]
IGN
describes the game's multiplayer experience as being co-operative and features
Igniculus, a blue orb character who can help out Aurora during battle.[5]
Initially
revealed at GDC Europe 2013 by Patrick Plourde, Child of Light is said to be
inspired by Studio Ghibli andYoshitaka Amano in its art style, and in
presentation similar to games like Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy VIII
andLimbo.[4]
Most
of the core creative team is formed of people who worked on Far Cry 3; both
games share a similar upgrade skill tree.
Reviewed
on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One Child of Light.
Elegance.
It's a word I've rarely found applicable where video games are concerned, but
there's no better way to describe what Ubisoft has achieved with Child of
Light. With its earthy, hand-painted art style and charming character designs,
it deftly sidesteps the tropey land mines that have littered theRPG landscape
for the better part of a decade. Yet it still pays loving homage to what's come
before it with enjoyable exploration and puzzle solving, and a combat system
that's second to none. The intelligent simplicity with which it's been crafted
makes it both easy to grasp, and rewarding to master in a way that very few
RPGs can match.
From one
screen to the next, Child of Light commits fully to its hand-crafted
aesthetic. Each stunning, water-color backdrop looks ready to be framed and
hung in an art gallery. That's not strictly because of the high level of
overall quality, but also due to how warm the characters and environments all
feel. Dark silhouettes of gnarled, ancient trees scroll through the foreground,
adding a sense of depth to painterly forests, and oppressively dreary caverns
give way to towering windmills amidst rolling hillsides.Each area possesses a
rare, naturalistic beauty that words honestly fail to capture.
The
endearing, if slightly forced Shakespearean iambic pentameter reinforces the
fairytale sensibilities of the plot, but it also kept me from getting fully
absorbed in the characters.
THE VERDICT
Every aspect of Child of Light has an unmistakably
artisinal, organic feel to it. None of it feels focus-tested, or designed to
appeal to the broadest possible audience; rather, it always comes off as
exactly the expression its creators intended. The artwork on display is
stunning, and the combat is constantly engaging, and the characters openly defy
genre convention. But perhaps the best thing I can say about Child of Light is that I was often unsure
as to whether I was headed in the direction I was supposed to, and I never once
cared. I just wanted to fly to every corner of the world, take it in, and
smile.
ADDITIONAL REVIEW
ADDITIONAL REVIEW
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
| CPU: | Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 or AMD Athlon II X2 240 |
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| CPU Speed: | Info |
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| RAM: | 2 GB |
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| OS: | Windows 7 |
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| Video Card: | nVidia GeForce 8800 GT or AMD Radeon HD2900 XT (512MB VRAM with Shader Model 4.0 or higher) |
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| Sound Card: | Yes |
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| Free Disk Space: | 3 GB |
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