[h1]Enjoyed it more than I thought I would[/h1]
Occasionally I'll love playing a game that doesn't ask the world of me, in term of difficulty or achievements, and this game did just that. I played on story mode difficulty, and I felt it was a very easy-going and enjoyable game, meaning I didn't have to think too hard about what I was doing and just enjoy it for what it was.
As you can see from the store page screenshots or videos, Child of Light ha a very simple art style, probably most like watercolours. The game features monster encounters, and getting too close to one initiates a turn-based encounter much like early Final Fantasy games, with an active running battle meter that once filled, allows you to attack or defend. So if you do nothing, the enemy would keep attacking you anyway, but it does pause while you are deciding on an action so it isn't all that bad.
It is also possible to run up to enemies from behind to get pre-emptive strikes.
When you aren't fighting, you can explore. The overall goal of the game is to retrieve the stars, the sun and the moon, and the game is long enough to make you feel like it's a complete game, with various maps and mechanics thrown in to keep you entertained. At some point you learn to fly, opening up aerial exploration as well. Lava, winds, a little luminous fairy (not as annoying as Navi, but the rhyming in the game could have got annoying if it was voiced, I imagine) you can use to find treasures and help with shadow puzzles, and a smattering of characters you can recruit to your party help flesh out the game and keep the dialog entertaining.
In addition to that, there are some collectibles, and a gem crafting system for powering up your characters in various ways (attack slot, defence slot, accessory slot).
Going back to the combat, it's quite a neat little system they've come up with. Earth enemies are weak against fire. Fire mobs are weak against water. Water mobs are weak against lightning, and then there's darkness, weak against light. If all else fails and it's magic resistant, then physical attacks are probably your best bet. Various team members have different strengths, but my two favs were the guy with all the spells, and the brute you don't get till much later.
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I'd say this is one of those oddball games that got everything right. Sometimes you get a game like this and think 'uh, I shouldn't have bothered' but I never felt that with this game. Probably my only gripe was the occasional flickering textures - I think this started showing up where a lot of gusty wind was blowing, so it's true there is an issue there that has yet to be fixed, but in no way did I find it game-breaking. It happens in two separate instances in the game as far as I'm aware, but just keep playing and you'll get past it.
That's really my only issue. Despite the faulty textures, I'd still say the game is worth it.
[h3]Fair warning though, this game requires Ubisoft Connect to sign you in.[/h3]
