Child of Light Ultimate Edition

Genre: Turn-Based RPG / Metroidvania

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: UbiSoft

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the compilation Child of Light Ultimate Edition + Valiant Hearts: The Great War along with Valiant Hearts: The Great War)

Child of Light is a Turn-Based RPG with strong Metroidvania elements. It takes place in a game with level design like a 2D platformer, with a fair degree of exploration, but battles all take place in a turn-based battle system. However, while the gameplay certainly has its share of innovations, what really steals the show here is the presentation.

Child of Light is absolutely stunning with gorgeous, well-animated visuals in a dreamy, hand-painted style, and an excellent soundtrack. The entire game is filled with an otherworldly and somber atmosphere, and just seeing more of the game is reason enough to want to keep playing.

Having said that, the game does a few things that really set it apart too. Notably, its battle system makes use of a system that makes timing a key component. The game uses something akin to the old Final Fantasy ATB system, where combat is turn-based but enemies continue to act as you make decisions in menus. However, in Child of Light, this is more than a mere inconvenience – actions in combat do not happen instantly, they take a bit of time to warm up, and if that warm-up is interrupted by an attack, that action is negated. This is true both for you and for enemies – players must be mindful of when enemies’ attacks are due, both to try to interrupt them, as well as to avoid having their own actions interrupted.

To aid in this effort, in addition to controlling your characters, players simultaneously control a magical firefly character, who can fly around freely during combat and slow down enemies. Doing this, you can set things up so the timing works out in your favor. This sort of active role in turn-based combat really brings a new element to the genre.

As for complaints, as much as the presentation here is fantastic, the story doesn’t quite pull me in as much as I’d want. Maybe it’s that Aurora, the protagonist, doesn’t seem like an especially sympathetic character, or possibly it’s the game’s insistence on making all of the narration and dialogue rhyme, but the story just didn’t latch on to me like the game’s sound and visuals did.

The Nintendo Switch version of the game is the Ultimate Edition, which includes all previous DLC. I didn’t notice any significant difference between this game and other versions.

While I may not be thrilled with Child of Light’s story, everything else about it is an absolute treat, from the inventive gameplay to the gorgeous visuals and sound. This is a phenomenal game that any fan of the RPG genre should play.

tl;dr – Child of Light is an outstanding RPG with Metroidvania elements. There’s a lot of inventive gameplay here, but it’s the game’s dreamy, somber audiovisual presentation that steals the show. And while the game’s story isn’t quite as strong as the rest of the package, this game is still an absolute treat for RPG fans.

Grade: A-

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