Child of Light was a game that I, and many others, were anticipating. It was arguably the biggest release of last week. Now that it’s been in the wild and you’ve spent a fair amount of time with the game, how do you feel about it?
My opinion hasn’t changed greatly since I went hands-on with the game earlier in April. The game has its strengths — a surprisingly in-depth combat system, one of the most gorgeous art styles I’ve ever seen. But its weaknesses seemed to disengage me a little from the experience. Mediocre level design, not enough variety in environments. The part I most took issue with was the writing — the entire thing is written in verse but it rarely works, it rarely feels fluid and lacks a sense of rhythm. I literally found it difficult to read at times.
So, not quite the game I was hoping it would be, but I think the most important thing is this: a game like Child of Light exists. Hopefully it’s part of an ongoing strategy from Ubisoft — to experiment with downloadable games, to try strange, different ideas. I’d like to see all the big publishers do the same thing. Child of Light has a unique indie feel to it and even if it isn’t all the game we hoped it would be, it is a powerful step in the right direction.
What did you think of Child of Light? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments
15 responses to “Community Review: Child Of Light”
I love the production values. The writing is fairly not good, but to be honest it’s what I expected. Fairy tale-esque cliches and the like. What keeps me playing is just the fun combat mechanics, the beautiful music, the incredible art and just the fun I seem to be having as I play. Also got me back into a turn based RPG mindset and spent my weekend with Shadowrun Returns. 😀
Coeur de pirate did the music! Anyone know that? I didnt know that. Why didn’t we know about that? …I havent played the game
Ubisoft, if youre reading you can use this for a quote if you like
I’ve only just started playing but I agree about the writing. It just doesn’t seem to work very well at all.
For me, it feels a bit clunky trying to control Igniculus with the right stick. I wish there’s a button where it lets him jump to wherever Aurora is. There’s that dash button but that’s close to being useless, since it can only go left to right.
In battles, it feels like I’m doing too many things at the same time, i.e. trying to pick out which enemy to slow, and when to grab the health flowers. I guess I can always not bother with him in battles, it just makes battles feel less fluid then it should be. In Grandia it was so much fun, here I think the extra unnecessary depth makes it less so. Not sure what it’s like with a second player though, probably better?
The graphics look stunning. The rhyming thing doesn’t bother me too much.
In the Wii U version during battle you can use the touch screen to press who you want Igniculus to hover over.
I think the game is great. I wasn’t looking to be moved by the storyline, rather just enjoy a unique game for what it is……a light piece of entertainment.
The RPG elements in it are good, but I’d like to have had some more actions to take advantage of.
Really enjoying it. Love the artwork and the music, and the game itself is pretty laid back so it’s a great low-stress sort of game to relax with.
The story is simple
that much is true,
but if I said twas no fun at all,
would be a lie unto you.
I feel the verse writing defined Child of Light for what it is, a beautiful art, a love letter to JRPG. It was not simply there but it actually matches the game quite well.
To me the game feels like a piece of art. One biggest disappointed I had was my game crashed during ending credits and save file corrupted :(. Been replaying it and probably a few more hours to go to complete it again.
Finished it on the weekend really enjoyed won’t win any awards but by far the best dl game in long time. Graphics are beautiful but didn’t live up to the hype, the gameplay is very Rayman feel to it seeing as it’s running on the same engine, combat is a lot of fun has a bit if strategy to it trying to interrupt the enemy attack if you do it right you can just now them down without them ever attack. All and all I say it’s a solid worthy of the $20 price tag.
im playing it in parallel with stick of truth and you can definitely tell what a well written story or just basic dialog can add to a game.
not sure which combat i prefer yet.
both are really good evolutions.
i love the time bar in CoL planning your moves to interrupt is pretty fun
I have to say I love the music in this. It almost tells the story by itself.
Both combat and exploring are more fun with a second player controlling Igniculus although I’d call it a 1.5 player game (not 2 player). The combat works well, skill trees seem interesting and varied enough, crafting is simple and I having more characters join your party adds to the game as well.
Worth it for $20.
HI Guys….. I am keen to try this game out, but to be honest, I am doubting my ability to play anything other than trials…… Is this game going to be able to hold my interest well enough to make me not want to just keep playing trials??? (If trials is not your thing, insert other addictive game ie: Dark Souls II…..). I have Titanfall, Forza, and AC4 sitting by my XB1 feeling unloved, so I don’t want to add to my pile of shame if possible….
I only got about an hour into it on the weekend, so far I’m enjoying it. I completely agree with @dc, the writing is pretty bad, but the art and music are fantastic. The combat is fairly enjoyable too, and for me that’s saying a lot, coz I normally find turn-based combat really frustrating.
“Arguably the biggest release of last week.” Well, if that box quote doesn’t sell you, nothing will.
Finished last night, all in all a very good game, play it for what it is, a fairytale. Definitely worth the price of admission.
I’ve played up to chapter 4 over the weekend, a few hours in. In all, great art and music. On the fence about the writing tho. One fantastic thing the devs did was to modify the control scheme if you play by remote play on the Vita, changing igniculus glowing key from L2 to L, this one change made the game very playable on Remote Play.