Child of Light is a beautiful fairy tale of an RPG developed by Ubisoft using the UbiArt Framework, the engine that also powers Rayman Legends. All of the characters and artwork are painted watercolor style, and the game is gorgeous in all of its wonderful 2D simplicity.
This screenshot created using in-game footage.
And Lemuria is a refreshing break from most other RPG settings, with their orcs and elves and dwarves. The characters all feel like they had their own personal artist working to make them as endearing and distinctive as they could be, and no one exemplifies this more than the heroine herself, Aurora:
Large sword not pictured.
The combat is simple but very fun---each character moves up the preparation meter until they reach "cast," at which point combat pauses while you choose what you want them to do. They then charge up until they're ready to execute. The enemies do the same. Get attacked between choosing a move and casting it, and you get "interrupted," meaning you're bumped down on the meter. Your little floating light buddy Igniculus plays a role too---you can shine him on bad guys to slow them down or on allies to heal them. The benefits of doing so can be subtle, but mastering it can give you a huge advantage in battle---which, as it happens, can be quite challenging if you aren't paying attention and managing your limited supply of potions effectively.
Aurora in combat.
Child of Light came out yesterday and since then I have been enjoying it immensely. The game is really quite wonderful.
The art is gorgeous. The music beautiful. Combat is the not the most complicated, but it is fun and engaging.
Best of all is the title character. Not a muscle-bound hulk or cleavage-y slut-bomb, like in 99% of AAA games. She reminds me a little of Korra, if she were ten years old.
I think this is best enjoyed as a long movie or a good TV series.
For such a whimsical game, the story develops some serious pathos. I'm pretty sure I'm about halfway through and I couldn't stop thinking about it last night...
I'll put this in spoilers because it comes a ways into the game and right after a pretty big reveal, but that part at the Forgotten Tower where + Show Spoiler +
you fight Crepusculum/Cordelia, it sunk in right after she died that Aurora had just killed her sister. Then she gets older... It was a surprisingly painful moment.
I'm about 2 hours in and totally digging it. For me it just has all the right hooks in terms of the interlocking systems, and how they all play out once you're in combat. It's the kind of game where as the various mechanics show up, I become increasingly scared of just how addicted I'm going to be. Stick a painterly, watercolor art style on top of that, and you've got a winning formula in my book.
I've spent a lot of time on this game already, and I still can't get enough. There is so much love for detail in this game, it's amazing. Look at the background. There's more to find than a first glance can reveal.
I'm very sad that I can't really fly loopings myself as Aurora sometimes does in cutscenes. That's probably my biggest issue with the game.
As for combat, it's an awesome twist to chrono trigger's combat system. Mindlessly slowing down an enemy isn't the best option, you might end up missing an interrupt on him. Or you might end up with him interrupting you when he could have attacked before you started your cast. There's a decent amount of planning involved when you want to make sure that your own attacks aren't interrupted while your enemies' attacks are. Unless you're facing a boss, then you might not want to interrupt him at all.
Potions are fairly useless, except for the occasional HP/MP heal out of combat if you have no wishes nearby. I guess you could use them as a replacement for a character with a heal spell, but you'd quickly run out, at least on hard mode. Otherwise, I don't see the point of spending a whole turn on using a potion to recharge Igniculus. So I have a huge pile of assorted potions lying around...
Heh, just watched the combat video posted above; it seems like in-combat bushes also spawn HP/MP restoring wishes in Normal mode. They don't do that on hard mode.
What's the deal with the confessions? Backstory I know they do provide But it seems that there's something I still have not spied A "Secret" whose location I never did find A "Rift" to be mended Some interlopers apprehended The Queen's last words left behind
Finished the game, with it was longer. One of the few games which I don't mind the story being so very straightforward and simple.
Only a few complaints, side characters are really just side characters, I wish there were more focus between them (I think I actually skipped one side character)
Loved the music and I thought it would have a bigger part in the story. A bit disappointing, a light + music theme would work great with this game imo.
I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yeah, this is actually really powerful if used right, since Rubella/Tristis/Finn have short attacks that usually interrupt enemies, so you can just swap to one of them, interrupt, then swap out if you don't want them anymore for that fight.
Speaking of Tristis, does anyone find him useful? Because he seems to suffer from classic RPG I-have-defensive-spells-you'll-never-want-to-use syndrome.
EDIT: Also has anyone gotten the DLC that gives you a new ally? I'm kind of curious since I've already beaten the game but I want to play more...
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yeah, this is actually really powerful if used right, since Rubella/Tristis/Finn have short attacks that usually interrupt enemies, so you can just swap to one of them, interrupt, then swap out if you don't want them anymore for that fight.
Speaking of Tristis, does anyone find him useful? Because he seems to suffer from classic RPG I-have-defensive-spells-you'll-never-want-to-use syndrome.
EDIT: Also has anyone gotten the DLC that gives you a new ally? I'm kind of curious since I've already beaten the game but I want to play more...
I'm in New Game+ on hard, and just fought a boss fight where I swapped in Tristis at the start and buffed Aurora a bunch, then swapped him out. It's quite convenient when you get a couple of Light Ray (all) in a row through uninterrupted. Usually you have to spend several turns to set up a timing where you can get one through. Kind of a bummer that the boss has Heal (all) as his counter-interrupt though. The majority of the fight I had Rubella team up with Aurora, then switched to Robert once it was just the boss left, since the boss is resistant against magic. I forgot to equip a Brilliant Citrin on Aurora, that would have made things easier.
Outside of boss fights, Tristis probably isn't really doing much. Then again there are some pretty tough normal monsters and mini bosses in New Game+ on hard.
I also never switch out Aurora unless I absolutely must, so I have no idea how Tristis would fare with other characters. Say like Finn, who would certainly enjoy being Unstoppable. But Finn isn't well placed for normal fights either with is absurd mana costs.
I'm thinking about picking up the extra character too, it's not exactly a big investment anyways.
I also bought the OST (I don't have to tell you it's awesome). Sadly the choir versions are not in the soundtrack. Especially relevant for the boss fight tracks. Choir versions of Metal gleamed in the Twilight and Jupiter's Lightning can be found on Youtube though.
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yeah, this is actually really powerful if used right, since Rubella/Tristis/Finn have short attacks that usually interrupt enemies, so you can just swap to one of them, interrupt, then swap out if you don't want them anymore for that fight.
Speaking of Tristis, does anyone find him useful? Because he seems to suffer from classic RPG I-have-defensive-spells-you'll-never-want-to-use syndrome.
EDIT: Also has anyone gotten the DLC that gives you a new ally? I'm kind of curious since I've already beaten the game but I want to play more...
I'm in New Game+ on hard, and just fought a boss fight where I swapped in Tristis at the start and buffed Aurora a bunch, then swapped him out. It's quite convenient when you get a couple of Light Ray (all) in a row through uninterrupted. Usually you have to spend several turns to set up a timing where you can get one through. Kind of a bummer that the boss has Heal (all) as his counter-interrupt though. The majority of the fight I had Rubella team up with Aurora, then switched to Robert once it was just the boss left, since the boss is resistant against magic. I forgot to equip a Brilliant Citrin on Aurora, that would have made things easier.
Outside of boss fights, Tristis probably isn't really doing much. Then again there are some pretty tough normal monsters and mini bosses in New Game+ on hard.
I also never switch out Aurora unless I absolutely must, so I have no idea how Tristis would fare with other characters. Say like Finn, who would certainly enjoy being Unstoppable. But Finn isn't well placed for normal fights either with is absurd mana costs.
I'm thinking about picking up the extra character too, it's not exactly a big investment anyways.
I also bought the OST (I don't have to tell you it's awesome). Sadly the choir versions are not in the soundtrack. Especially relevant for the boss fight tracks. Choir versions of Metal gleamed in the Twilight and Jupiter's Lightning can be found on Youtube though.
Oooh I hadn't noticed New Game + was an option. Maybe I will do that now...
Also do you (or anyone else) know what the deal is with + Show Spoiler +
the girl in the later Confessions (Sophie Ashton Ellis)? Or do you find that out in NG+?
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yea I know about it. You can even swap out dead character for another one. But I generally dislike 2v3 combat system due to less characters appearing on screen and counter intuitive for all buff spells
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yea I know about it. You can even swap out dead character for another one. But I generally dislike 2v3 combat system due to less characters appearing on screen and counter intuitive for all buff spells
The problem with more than 3 enemies is though that it's getting a lot harder to get Very Long cast time spells off. There certainly is potential that it would improve the game, but it's thin line to tread. Most likely the developers played around with different numbers and came to the conclusion that it would get too complex for the average player.
I would like to have more characters in combat too, and I would certainly enjoy it if it added complexity and difficulty to the game, but that's not the focus of the game.
What I would improve before that is Aurora's model, her dress and hair in particular. The collision detection isn't always as it should be.
On May 04 2014 20:13 ETisME wrote: I wish it was a 3 v 5 combat rather than 2 v 3. We have so many size characters and only able to use two at a time is a big disappointing
Do you realize that you can swap characters without losing progress on the timeline? When you get to choose an action, switch the current character with another one and you get to choose an action for the other character. This limits the effectiveness of buffs, but still leaves you with a fairly wide range of options during combat.
Yea I know about it. You can even swap out dead character for another one. But I generally dislike 2v3 combat system due to less characters appearing on screen and counter intuitive for all buff spells
The problem with more than 3 enemies is though that it's getting a lot harder to get Very Long cast time spells off. There certainly is potential that it would improve the game, but it's thin line to tread. Most likely the developers played around with different numbers and came to the conclusion that it would get too complex for the average player.
I would like to have more characters in combat too, and I would certainly enjoy it if it added complexity and difficulty to the game, but that's not the focus of the game.
What I would improve before that is Aurora's model, her dress and hair in particular. The collision detection isn't always as it should be.
And the LOOPINGS! I want more freedom in flight!
I find that the 2v3 dynamic works really well. I imagine that 3v5 would be more of a headache than anything else, not that I've tried it to know. Plus moves like Slash (All) are balanced for 2v3, not 3v5. What I want is more epic boss fights---the last two in Hard mode (not NG+) were a little too easy (Finn OP??). Also, regarding Nox: + Show Spoiler +
I know she's a bad guy but I would have liked to have her back in the party since her moves were pretty cool and she's around for such a short time...
Also I found the OST on iTunes but it doesn't have the music for the fight against Crepusculum/final boss. Sadness
On May 06 2014 03:24 RuiBarbO wrote: Also I found the OST on iTunes but it doesn't have the music for the fight against Crepusculum/final boss. Sadness
I'm playing it right now and feel like this thread overhypes it a little bit. It's amazingly pretty and the gameplay is slick but nothing is (imo) absolutely spectacular/addictive other than the graphics.
Still a game I'd recommend to almost anyone though.
On May 06 2014 03:24 RuiBarbO wrote: Also I found the OST on iTunes but it doesn't have the music for the fight against Crepusculum/final boss. Sadness
On May 06 2014 05:44 PoP wrote: I'm playing it right now and feel like this thread overhypes it a little bit. It's amazingly pretty and the gameplay is slick but nothing is (imo) absolutely spectacular/addictive other than the graphics.
Still a game I'd recommend to almost anyone though.
It's rare for a game to do even one thing amazingly well. It's a game with a tight focus on what it tries to be and a lot of love for detail. You can feel the passion of the designers without being overwhelmed with other stuff.
It's awesome for much the same reasons that make games like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and Portal/Portal 2 so awesome.
On May 07 2014 15:20 synapse wrote: so im like halfway through the game + Show Spoiler +
aurora just became an adult, i assume that means im about halfway
, kinda pissed that i used all my permanent strength buffs on norah..........
Ha, I was just talking to a friend about how much that sucks... Norah + Robert was such a good combo :\ But Oengus is not a bad physical damage-ish replacement.
ALSO, there was a link on Steam to an AMA with the writer for Child of Light, a guy named Jeffrey Yohalem. Among the questions he answers was one about the Confessions, which I'll spoiler here...
On May 08 2014 02:02 spinesheath wrote: I found the golden rectangle. Totally skipped that on my first run through the game. Now I have a math problem to solve.
Has someone found the music that is played at the start of this video (spoiler alert!): + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiX3jTreBEA
It's really a shame the OST is missing so many great tracks...
Yeah... I wonder why, it's not like they're planning on releasing a Deluxe edition.
Also, I saw this on IGN. Not personally the hugest fan of Lindsey Stirling's work, but if you like her stuff, you might appreciate this:
Turns out I don't like her work either. How exactly was that in any way related to child of light? And it's not like wildly flailing around while pretending to play a violin makes it any better...
For all that I have read so far, there really won't be another batch of music released.
Just finished the game on Hard. Was pretty fun and actually more challenging that I'd have expected. I died once or twice on most of the boss, mostly because I skipped a lot of thrash mob and was under-leveled.
I bought the Deluxe edition so I got the Golem DLC with it, for those wanting to know, the character is correctly included in the story. He takes part in most dialogues, you recruit him as you help him in his own quest. (in the Thorn region before the first village).
While useful in the early game, he is really really slow and as the game progress, I slowly stopped using him. His skills are mostly a mixed of Norah's and Gen's skills on a slow tanky character (with high critical rating, what ?)
Anyway, a pretty good game though I don't feel like replaying it in NG+.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TE2U710.jpg)
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Nine of them are perfect sonnets, the rest...
