Child of Light

 PC
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. IGN
    Aug 29, 2014
    93
    Every aspect of Child of Light has an unmistakably artisinal, organic feel to it.
  2. Hooked Gamers
    May 2, 2014
    90
    Between the lovely aesthetics And the brilliant combat system It becomes a thing of true beauty Full of joy and true wisdom
  3. SpazioGames
    Apr 30, 2014
    85
    Ubisoft has decided to make an experiment, and Child of Light is their first, successful creature. The French developers showed not only knowledge of the basics of the JRPG genre, but also the ability to reshape and merge them into a bewitching and artistically beautiful product.
  5. PC Games
    Apr 29, 2014
    85
    Child of Light doesn’t try to be the most challenging game ever, and it doesn’t have to. Instead, it wittingly places its emphasis on accessibility and the conveyance of a strong atmosphere. Looked at in that light, it does very little wrong.
  6. GameStar
    Apr 30, 2014
    82
    It's a magical 2D RPG you just have to love. The art style and the fitting characters create a visual highlight.
  7. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 7, 2014
    80
    Gorgeous and captivating with a great combat system. [Issue#249, p.57]
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  8. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 6, 2014
    80
    Gorgeous graphics combine with a fantastic combat system to deliver a pretty unique experience. [June 2014, p.60]
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  9. Games.cz
    May 16, 2014
    80
    A beautiful fairy tale about one troubled kingdom and one valorous princess that you may have played but almost certainly haven't seen yet. Child of Light is an excellent one-shot JRPG which will be like a feast for you and at the very same time like reminiscence of your bookish childhood.
  10. Ragequit.gr
    May 15, 2014
    80
    Child of Light is one of the most attractive, beautiful and atmospheric games I have played in recent years. The fairytale script is good enough to travel you back to your childhood, filling you with nostalgia, the art direction can leave you speechless, as well as the amazing soundtrack. If you are willing to ignore the low difficult level, you will enjoy one of the most honest and full of soul games ever. However, if challenge is what you seek, then it is better to look somewhere else.
  11. GameWatcher
    Apr 28, 2014
    80
    Child of Light is like a blast from the past, capturing the essence of a classic JRPG from the genre's heyday and refining it with a fresh coat of modern polish. The art design and audio is gorgeous, the combat is simple and fun, with no ultra-complicated busywork to get in the way, and the characters are charming. It's a brief visit, and one that suffers from an occasionally repetitive formula, but the beautiful art, smart battle system and endearing storytelling make it absolutely worth your time.
  12. LevelUp
    May 5, 2014
    78
    A game with a tremendous, top notch style but a distinctive lack of depth, Child of Light is a fragile and ephemeral dream.
  13. GameFront
    Apr 28, 2014
    70
    It’s expansive and fun, delivering plenty of game for the money, but it fails to bring much more to the table than its impressive style.
  14. PC Gamer
    Apr 29, 2014
    69
    A beautiful game to look at, and wonderfully polished, but a thimble-deep RPG.
  15. Riot Pixels
    Jun 5, 2014
    67
    Do not expect anything breathtaking. Child of Light tells a by-the-numbers fairytale with a predictable twist and an even more predictable ending.
  16. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jun 5, 2014
    60
    Beautiful game that tries to appeal to both kids and adults – and succeeds most of the time. Ubisoft shows that trying something new is worth it. [Issue#242]
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  17. IncGamers
    Apr 30, 2014
    60
    Child of Light perhaps doesn't shine as bright as it might, but it's nonetheless quite a dazzling sight.

Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Best PC Game of 2014
55
#55 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
71
#71 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 567 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 423 out of 567
  2. Mixed: 98 out of 567
  3. Negative: 46 out of 567
  1. ShamrockVA
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    At least one perfect game in this year. You + your girlfriend + amazing story + worm, soft design. If you have problem with it, just go pleaseAt least one perfect game in this year. You + your girlfriend + amazing story + worm, soft design. If you have problem with it, just go please and play TitanFall. Brutality awaits you.… Full Review »
  2. FunkGnome
    May 4, 2014
    9
    Fantastic game for all ages. Well balanced game play, interesting graphics, and a sturdy plot.

    My 8 year old daughter and I play this game    Fantastic game for all ages. Well balanced game play, interesting graphics, and a sturdy plot.

    My 8 year old daughter and I play this game together. She plays all the main characters and I play the helpful faery(blinding and healing).

    Worth the $15 price tag? ABSOLUTELY!    … Full Review »
  3. augh18
    May 1, 2014
    6
    Overall a good experience for $15.

    Difficulty is either too easy on "Normal" or an archaic grind on "Hard", where everything takes 5x as    Overall a good experience for $15.

    Difficulty is either too easy on "Normal" or an archaic grind on "Hard", where everything takes 5x as long because it's simulating the grindfest difficulty of something like the original "Dragon Quest". HP regeneration system out of battle could be better, can't use party members abilities out of combat to heal so left gathering wishes for maybe 10hp per plant or using your cursor to heal your character for 1% of their HP every 3 seconds.

    You only have two active party members during combat and a larger cast to choose from than the average "Final Fantasy" title (excluding FF6 here), so I think it would've been better if they'd bumped the party size up to 3 and added an extra enemy or two to make the difficulty scale.

    Graphics are gorgeous and so is the soundtrack.

    No world map to explore or shops to buy equipment/items in. Outside of the grindy leveling system (only if you're playing on hard) and the classic JRPG battle system with a twist, this is really just a lip-service JRPG with some modern 2d indie adventure elements thrown in.

    Every line of dialogue in this game rhymes, and more often than not the writing is cringeworthy because of this. It'd be different if they wrote it as a poem to make sense, as it is it's like they went out of their way to make everything rhyme, even if it didn't make sense, it just had to fit their agenda. It isn't nonsensical in a "Doctor Suess" way, it's nonsensical in an "average kindergarten student writes their first haiku" way.

    Not a "must buy" by any means, but if you're a fan of JRPGs it's worth checking out because not only do we rarely see games like this these days on consoles, we hardly ever get something like this on PC. Doesn't instantly make it an outstanding game for being a few drops of rain during a drought, but it's a welcome change of pace nonetheless.    … Full Review »
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