Game Review: Child of Light (Xbox One)

Child of Light centers on Aurora, a girl from 1895 Austria who contracts a physical ailment that causes her to fall into a comatose like sleep. 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. Aurora is tasked with recovering the celestial bodies with the help of her playable companion Igniculus the firefly and several unlikely allies, Aurora must face her darkest fears in the hopes of ultimately reuniting with her father. As if all that wasn’t enough unfortunately her father has become very sick due to the pain and stress over the situation with Aurora; so much so that he may die if she does not return very soon.

The first thing you’ll notice when playing Child Of Light is the visual design of the game which is simply phenomenal. As you make your way across the vast landscapes you’ll find yourself gazing at the intricately designed backgrounds, each only surpassed in beauty by the next one you will come to encounter.

The hand painted art style of Child Of Light is what makes it truly special and if you’re anything like me then you’ll find yourself forgetting that you’re staring at a video game and not a water colour based piece of art. Controlling Aurora as she elegantly floats through the sky with her long red her flowing behind her, reacting realistically to changes in the wind is simply stunning.

Child Of Light is a side-scroller platformer with RPG elements such as levelling-up to increase stats over time. Battles with enemies utilize a system similar to the Active Time Battle system found in games like the Final Fantasy series. One of my favourite things about the game is the intelligent, modern take on the turn based battle system; a system that many have claimed is out dated and stale. Child Of Light proves that this is not the case and doesn’t attempt to add any new unwarranted dynamic to the system like many other RPGS have done wrongly, instead we are left with a near perfect mix of turned based and live action battle elements that are fun and easy to master.

Another aspect that Child Of Light does well is that it doesn’t fall into the trap that many RPGS do and that’s never being boring between battles. I think the reason for this is because Ubisoft were very smart to allow Aurora to fly very early on in the game which makes travelling and scavenging the vast locations nothing but a joy. There are some puzzle solving segments in the game but for me it never felt tedious because each puzzle is executed in such a smart way that it’s enjoyable.

As with all great RPGS there are a host of interesting, wonderfully designed companions for you to pick up along the way to help you on your quest to restore Lemuria. There are also other characters, some of which who will give you side quests that are all worth doing if nothing but to prolong your time playing the game.

One of the things I have to mention that I wasn’t the biggest fan of is the rhythmic dialogue that happens throughout the entire experience. I just felt that at times it felt a little forced and there were definitely moments where things just didn’t rhyme at all. It certainly added another layer of uniqueness to the game so I guess you have to give them credit for being ambitious.

Playing through the game you’ll experience Aurora’s transformation from a frightened child to a well versed warrior and you certainly feel a connection to the character and are compelled to see her succeed as her time frame for doing so becomes smaller and smaller.
I really enjoyed the soundtrack to the game as well; it managed to add even more atmosphere with beautiful music playing throughout the journey.

The worst part about my journey in Child Of Light is that it had to come to an end at all.