Ubisoft's role-playing platformer Child of Light drops today for PC and the respective PlayStation and Xbox platforms, and it's been praised by most outlets, with a few detractors here and there. Who'd have thought that a narcoleptic protagonist would've been so damn charming? Apparently, quite a few, and you can check out their highlights in the collection of reviews below:
IGN, 9.3 - "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 the RPG 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...This feeling of warmth and sentimentality can be seen in every aspect of Child of Light, from the character portraits in the menus, to the lovingly detailed hit animations in battle. The net result is an experience that feels less like a power fantasy, and more like the cherished memory of a childhood bedtime story. Some modern RPGs suffer by either abandoning too much of the choice and depth that first made the genre interesting, or by piling on needless, bloated systems that don't add anything to the experience. Child of Light makes neither of these mistakes, striking a near-perfect balance across each facet of its gameplay."
Destructoid, 8.5 - "Ubisoft Montreal simply nails it aesthetically, as the game looks like a painting in motion, and certain scenes that deal with the manipulation of light and the showcasing of stained glass look fantastic. It's not just generic fantasy either, and there's lots of detail in the backdrops like steam emanating from factories or cold winds blowing about. Oh, and there's totally a bird with a top hat -- enough said. Even the presentation of the dialog is wonderful, with layered text and individually colored dialog...All of the other RPG staples are here as well, like leveling up, speeding up the time gauge with spells such as haste, assembling a party with a variety of skills, and most importantly, working your way through a giant skill tree. In short, skills work kind of like the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X, in that you can choose a few branching paths to go through. There's no real 'defense, attack, or magic' tree as everything is kind of jumbled, but you still have the option all the same, and every level-up will grant you a point. It's not terribly deep though, as practically anything you choose will help in the long run, eliminating a true way to customize your build...Child of Light will satiate pretty much everyone but the most hardcore of RPG fans, and even then, they'll find plenty of enjoyment. There are a few minor issues here and there that hold it back from instant-classic status that could be enhanced in a sequel or future work, but regardless, Child of Light is a noble effort from Ubisoft Montreal, and another win to put in the studio's diverse portfolio."
CVG, 8 - "The world of gaming often feels barren of such characters... then along comes Aurora, the driving force behind Ubisoft's beautiful 2D JRPG throwback...But it isn't perfect. We can't help but compare it to other fantastical climes that we've been whisked away to. From Jim Henson's Labyrinth, to Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth the best parallel fantasy realms boast tangible connections to reality to reflect upon. In Lemuria there are a series of pools in which Aurora can catch a glimpse of her ailing father in the real world. Sadly, these are static screens, constantly repeated throughout and a missed opportunity to lend Aurora's plight an emotionally investable focus. And the ending woefully disappoints. There are excuses to go back and explore past the ten hour story, but the narrative bookends much too abruptly. Many of the barely alluded to plot points are bound into one catch-all final cutscene, again plagued with motionless imagery. Child Of Light doesn't wholly tap into the spirit of Ghibli. But then, it could be argued, that even Ghibli itself, with a helping hand from the folks at Level-5 couldn't perfectly re-create its brand of fantasy across a whole game. Regardless, Ubisoft Montreal's efforts come incredibly close and shine a light on the very best elements of Japanese style role-playing games."
Polygon, 6.5 - "I wanted to love Child of Light. And in the light of its beautiful presentation, I did. At least, at first. But as I dug for more below the surface warmth and depth, I came up wanting...On the surface, Child of Light's systems seem pleasantly streamlined compared to the more demanding, hardcore RPGs that have serve as its inspiration. There's no gear to buy; everyone has their default kit that never changes. Instead, you'll find gems called oculi that modify attacks, defense, character immunities and resistances. Even combat is simplified. At any one time, you can only have two party members active in a battle. On paper, this seemed like a nice enough change to the RPG status quo...This dynamic carries Child of Light for a while, in tandem with its gorgeous art and charming characters, but over time, the admittedly intentional-seeming limitations of its battle system wear thin. Other RPGs start more or less accessibly, but the amount of customization and potential for enemy variation slowly compound into something that searches for an ideal kind of complexity. In Child of Light, I felt starved for more depth than I ever found...With no loot or gear, the thrill and anticipation of winning a battle relies instead on leveling up. And strange as it feels to be complaining about this, levels in Child of Light come so often, and feature so many miniscule character improvements that they feel inconsequential...There are some wonderful sketches of characters in Child of Light, hints at motivation and desires and personalities, but it all feels cursory. And the world of Lemuria itself is gorgeously rendered, but often heartbreakingly underutilized. I finished Aurora's tale wanting more, wondering what might be there below the surface that Ubisoft Montreal is content to only scratch. That's the problem with Child of Light, ultimately. It's a beautiful, familiar trip evoking stories I've heard and places I've imagined before. But it's all so ephemeral — less than a day after finishing it, I can already feel my memories of my time in Lemuria and the characters I met there drifting away."
Edge, 5 - "The story is a procession of fairytale clichés with a twee, forcibly rhyming script. Its low point is a twist that will struggle to catch even younger family members off guard, and which anyone who played Far Cry 3, a game with which Child Of Light shares both a creative director and a writer, will have seen coming a mile off. Thankfully, Aurora is a delight, a strong-willed, kind-hearted soul who not only saves the day in Lemuria and Austria, but just about rescues Child Of Light as a whole. She’s delightfully animated, her long red hair swishing as she turns, her wings fluttering delicately as she zips up the side of a mountain. While she, like everyone else, is unvoiced throughout, she gives the game its greatest sound effect: the soft clap of the soles of her feet when she lands on a stone floor. Had the same attention to detail been lavished on Child Of Light’s pacing and structure, Ubisoft Montreal might have had a hit on its hands. Instead, Child Of Light is an already slow game that’s needlessly bogged down by those signature Ubisoft systems. The leveling is the worst culprit: by the time the credits have rolled, there will be over 70 skill icons on six separate trees, and most offer up the same minor bonuses you get automatically when you level up. It may be designed for families, but Child Of Light is too cluttered and too slow to hold the attention of lone players, let alone multiple generations sharing a sofa. Bickering over whether to spend a skill point on a couple more magic points or a minor damage buff isn’t much of a family pursuit, after all. It’s a game that, for all the intricacy of its systems and the charm of its painterly world, feels oddly empty."
