Why We Love Ubisoft's Child of Light

This gorgeous homage to 16-bit RPGs completely won us over. Here's why.

Child of Light is one of those games where you can't help but tell everyone about it the second you put down the controller. The creative team behind Far Cry 3 have harnessed the power of UbiArt Framework, the engine that helped bring vibrant life to Rayman Origins and Legends, and used it to create a gorgeous homage to classic 16-bit RPGs like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.
Part turn-based RPG and part platformer, Child of Light tells the story of young girl lost in a waking dream, and the lengths she'll go in order to become a woman strong enough to save those she loves. After spending about an hour playing though a small slice of the game cooperatively, two IGN editors couldn't help but gush about their experience.

Marty Sliva, Associate Editor

Seriously, I'm not quite sure where to begin with Child of Light. On paper, it seems to have everything that I want from a game in 2013 -- a vibrant and imaginative world filled with interesting characters, a script carefully written in the form of poetry, and a battle system that draws from both Final Fantasy's classic ATB and Grandia II's underappreciated action-bar mechanics. But while I knew that I'd love these aspects of the game, I had no idea that it was going to be Child of Light's multiplayer that left me pining for my next chance to play the game.

Andrew Goldfarb, News Editor

I agree, the multiplayer was a definite highlight, which is something I never expected to say about a game with turn-based battles. You’ll be able to play Child of Light on your own, but playing co-op is especially cool. One player is Aurora (the young girl who’s the main character) while the other is Igniculus, a glowing blue orb. Each one is completely different. Aurora plays like a standard JRPG character, choosing from physical attacks or magic and targeting single or multiple enemies. Igniculus, though, can blind enemies to slow down their progress on the battle timeline (letting Aurora attack multiple times) or interrupt them in the middle of an attack. He can also collect HP and MP orbs from around the battle, or heal Aurora (and other party members) when health gets low.
In practice it’s really tactical, and it’s actually rewarding for both players. The nice part is that the differences between Igniculus and Aurora extend to exploration too, so both players always have something to do.

Marty Sliva, Associate Editor

For sure, Child of Light's asymmetrical nature exists throughout the entire experience, which is pretty damn rad. While Aurora is able to freely fly around the stunning locales, she's still limited by the geographic layout of the environment, meaning that she's stuck the moment she hits a wall. This isn't the case with Igniculus, which I quickly found out as I floated my little Miyazaki-esque sprite through the wall of a cave only to discover a hidden chest filled with gems that Aurora and company could equip for a stat boost.
While games like Super Mario Galaxy make the second player feel like they're relatively unimportant in terms of overall progression, Child of Light made my actions as Igniculus feel just as substantial as Andrew's as Aurora. I could stun enemies before a battle, harness health and magic refills from flowers scattered throughout the environment, and unearth secrets within various walls. In another interesting feature that brought to mind shades of Dark Souls, you can leave notes and symbols via Igniculus that can be sent into your buddies' game worlds. Whether it's pointing out a hidden secret, giving a tip on a tough enemy, or a crudely-drawn phallus, Child of Light encourages all manner of multiplayer.

Andrew Goldfarb, News Editor

That’s not to diminish the single-player experience, though. We played through co-op in our demo, but there’s plenty to love even if you’re on your own. Child of Light has a surprisingly deep upgrade system. As you go, you’ll find Oculi (gemstones, essentially) that you can equip in three different slots including your sword and shield. They’re ranked the way real jewelers rank stones (from rough to polished) and can give you buffs like increased damage, movement speed, etc. On top of that, you have a deep skill tree for each character in your party that Ubisoft told us will take more than one playthrough to complete.

All of that is incredible and makes me excited, but it’s the visuals that I walked away thinking about. Child of Light is beautiful, and none of that would be possible without UbiArt Framework.

Marty Sliva, Associate Editor

Yeah, the main thing that stuck with me after playing Child of Light was just how incredibly gorgeous it and every other game created within UbiArt is. The team's goal with Child of Light was to harness the beauty and wonder of Yoshitaka Amano's concept art for Final Fantasy games, and turn those still images into interactive characters. As is evident with something like Rayman Legends, UbiArt allows creators to pretty much rip concept art directly into the game, and create some of the most picturesque landscapes and characters imaginable.
From simple things like the way Aurora struggles to lift her massive sword before an attack, to the way that elements of the background foreshadow where your adventure will take you, Child of Light is simply a joy to behold. Even when we were in the thick of a particularly tough boss battle, I couldn't help but lose myself in the world that Ubisoft has created here.
Child of Light will come to Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC and Wii U in 2014.
We'll have more impressions of leading up to its release, but until then you can find out more by reading what inspired creative director Patrick Plourde to make the game, plus read about today's other UbiArt Framework announcement, the similarly gorgeous Valiant Hearts.

Child of Light

Published by: Ubisoft

Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal

Genre: RPG

Release Date:

United States: TBA 2014

Australia: TBA 2014

UK: TBA 2014

Also Available On: PS3, Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360

Also known as: Child of Light