Child of Light

This was a very pleasant surprise and, all around, one of the most welcome and refreshing little experiences I’ve had in a game.  I decided to pick this up for a friend, to see whether or not the game was worth having.  What essentially started as playing guinea pig, quickly turned into a very enjoyable journey that I’m glad I was talked into taking, as I probably would not have taken it otherwise.

Ubisoft hasn’t had the best rap as of late, with good reason.  From the controversies surrounding Watch Dogs with its exclusive limited editions and the issues with Assassin’s Creed: Unity.  Ubisoft have been proving themselves to be up there with the likes of Gearbox when it comes to screwing over consumers and releasing products that, in no way, reflect what they show off during conventions.  While their controversies may not be as abhorrent as the Colonial Marines debacle, they’re still quoting from the same book, so I wouldn’t say mildly less lies gives them much of a pass.

Anyway, considering the company behind the game, I did have some reservations when it came to getting this game, but I figured, what the hell it sounds neat enough.  Y’know, if Ubisoft released games of this quality and with this much love and care they’d be up there with the greats.  It’s not like they were never a respectable company, these people used to and even continue to make some truly superb games.  The Sands of Time trilogy is among my favorite series in the industry.  When they try, they manage to create some truly splendid material and, in this case, Child of Light is no exception.

Given its greater focus on story, we’ll get that out of the way first.  Going for a storybook approach, Child of Light has a heavy emphasis on rhyme scheme in its storytelling and dialogue, giving it the feel of an extended poem.  Some of the rhyming is a tad forced, but for the most part, it works and gives it a unique fairy tale charm that’s rarely, if ever, seen in the medium.  The story is quite simply your typical good vs. evil/light vs. dark fairy tale.  While that may seem off putting given its predictability, it’s handled with such love and care that it’s easy to overlook the genre clichés and storytelling beats.  Honestly, I found the narrative so well handled and the characters so well executed that I would definitely welcome a storybook or film adaptation. I mean from the beautiful, simplistic art style to the storytelling and characters, it just has this wonderfully timeless folklore vibe to it that keeps it, at once, refreshing and familiar.

If I had any real complaints about the story, it’s that some events seem to be glossed over, rather than fully developed.  For instance, at one point, a major party character just up and joins the party minutes after suffering a pretty tremendous loss.  Instead of really giving any insight into the character’s situation, the game just kind of rushes through the event so the main story can get back on track.  The speed at which these instances are resolved or glossed over, gives the sections an abridged feeling, like we’re getting the footnotes as opposed to the full story.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing and the overall narrative really doesn’t suffer from these, admittedly, few moments, but it is an issue I had.

As for the gameplay, it’s pretty standard rock/paper/scissors turn based RPG fare.  Certain enemies have weaknesses, as do you, you exploit them etc. to gain an advantage.  While relatively simple, there is a modicum of depth and strategy to the overall combat.  The combat works on a standard active time gauge, meaning each turn is only permitted once a character maxes out the bar.  Each character progresses through the bar at different speeds and their basic stats can be boosted either through leveling or specially crafted Oculi.  If your character takes damage in the middle of casting, their attack/spell will be interrupted and they will be set-back on the AT bar.  Strategically slowing enemy progress and boosting your own is a must, especially since certain attacks/spells can take longer than others.  There are various buffs/debuffs that you have at your disposal in order to remedy the risks that come with longer casts.  The most beneficial being Unstoppable, which grants the selected ally the ability to take damage while casting, without being interrupted and set back.

Given that you are only allotted two characters in combat at once and can only bring another in during turns, you must strategize and know who to bring out and when.  Each party member specializes in certain fields and each comes with strengths and weaknesses.  For instance, Aurora, the main character, specializes in light based attacks and damage buffs, but her standard attack doesn’t hit as hard as the others and her defense is rather low.  You need to learn each character’s strengths and weaknesses and know when it’s appropriate to bring them out.  There's also a nice little touch with a firefly character, Igniculus, who is allowed to move freely during combat without an AT bar.  He can slow down an enemy on the timeline, heal active party members and open flowers that give the party a small amount of HP/SP.  He sounds game breaking, but once things get going his abilities are balanced by stronger enemies and his limited power bar, which requires a recharge once depleted.

As for leveling, it’s focused less on a single character build and more on a party build.  Each character comes with three different skill trees that mostly focus on certain strengths in combat.  Each tree will focus on a particular attacks or spells, leaving the player to decide which tree is the best option for which character, depending on play style.  It’s pretty basic overall, but given the emphasis on the party, it gives the player room to experiment with their own custom builds based on their preferences, which should be enough to satiate the desires of even the most traditional of RPG fans.

I’d mentioned Oculi earlier, which are stat boosters for armor, weapons and magic.  Essentially the Oculi system is the obligatory crafting system that seems to show up in everything these days.  It’s a pretty basic system for the most part.  Each type of Oculi will grant special bonuses depending on which slot (weapons, armor or accessory) a certain Oculi is placed.  For instance, the Ruby Oculi, will grant fire damage in the weapon slot, fire resistance for armor and a health bonus in the accessory slot.

 

There are four strengths (rough, tumbled, faceted and brilliant) for each Oculi, with each grade granting stronger bonuses.  Combining three of the same base will result in a stronger version of that specific Oculi.  For instance, three rough Ruby Oculi can create one tumbled Ruby Oculi and three tumbled can create one faceted Oculi and so on.  Mixing different types of Oculi can result in crafted Oculi, which are special blends that cannot be found in chests or awarded after combat.  There are also special Oculi that cannot be crafted and require a bit of exploration to find.  Like I said, it’s a pretty basic system and, to me, recalls the crafting system found in Bayonetta, though with a bit more diversity.

To sum things up, Child of Light is one of those special kinds of games that comes around every so often.  It’s not terribly difficult and its mechanics aren’t all that deep, but it doesn’t need to be.  It’s a timeless and simple story that doesn’t try to be anything profound or complex.  It aspires only to spark childlike wonder and imagination and it succeeds completely in that respect.  It’s a hell of a good time and an experience that should not be missed.