Child of Light

src: i.ytimg.com

Child of Light is a platforming role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in April 2014, and was released on PlayStation Vita in July 2014. It is powered by UbiArt Framework.

The game's story takes place in the fictional land of Lemuria. Aurora, a child who wakes up in Lemuria after dying from a mysterious illness, must bring back the sun, the moon and the stars held captive by the Queen of the Night in order to return home.

Video Child of Light

Gameplay

Child of Light's gameplay is described as having attributes of a side-scroller with role-playing elements such as leveling up to increase stats over time. Battles with enemies use a system similar to the active-time battle system found in games like the Final Fantasy series and the Grandia series. The player can control up to two characters during battle, and swap these two with waiting characters. Up to three enemies can appear during battle. If the player approaches an enemy from behind, the battle becomes a "Surprise Strike", giving the player an advantage. If the enemy approaches the player from behind, it becomes an "Ambush", giving the enemy an advantage. The character Igniculus is used as an in-game mechanic outside of and during battle. The player can freely move Igniculus to open chests that Aurora cannot reach, as well as shine his light on an enemy to slow it down or on an ally to heal them.

Maps Child of Light

Plot

In 1895 Austria, a princess named Aurora is born to a Duke who rules over a kingdom of five hills. Aurora's mother apparently died, but her father eventually remarried. On Easter Eve, Aurora falls mysteriously ill, her body freezes, and she seemingly dies in her sleep. As a result the Duke becomes bedridden, overcome with despair.

The player first takes control of Aurora after she awakens on an altar in the land of Lemuria. She meets and befriends a firefly named Igniculus, who leads her to a sword that she uses to arm herself, and eventually a chamber where the Lady of the Forest is imprisoned. Upon freeing the Lady, Aurora is told of the history of Lemuria. Lemuria was once ruled by the Queen of Light until one night when she mysteriously vanished. From the darkness rose Umbra, Queen of the Night, who sent her daughters to steal Lemuria's light -- the sun, the stars, and the moon. The Lady further reveals to Aurora that the two worlds are connected by a mirror that was stolen by Umbra. To be able to use the mirror to go home, Aurora must recover Lemuria's light. The Lady then gives Aurora advice, a flute, and the stars which she had, granting Aurora the ability to fly.

Along Aurora's quest, she is joined by Rubella, an Aerostati jester with a slight word pronouncing problem, who is searching for her brother Tristis; Finn, a young, rather timid Capilli whose village is beset by a curse cast by Umbra; Norah, Aurora's stepsister, who was pulled through the mirror to Lemuria; Robert, a Populi trader; and Rubella's brother Tristis. She further learns through a series of visions that her father's health is declining and a nearby dam has burst, flooding the area. The people of his kingdom seek his leadership to resolve the crisis, but his combined despair and failing health render him unable to guide them.

The party eventually locates the mirror back to Aurora's world at the Temple of the Moon. Upon crossing, Aurora is immediately confronted by her stepmother and other stepsister Cordelia. Norah reveals that she led Aurora into a trap; her mother and Aurora's stepmother is in fact Umbra herself, and Norah and Cordelia are Nox and Crepusculum, the daughters Umbra sent to steal Lemuria's sun and moon. Aurora further learns that Umbra's arch-enemy, the Queen of Light, is in fact Aurora's mother. Umbra attempts to kill Aurora, but Aurora's false crown--a gift from her father--shields her from harm. Aurora is thrown into prison and left to die.

While imprisoned, Aurora has a vision of her mother, who is revealed to have transported her to Lemuria in order to protect her from Umbra. Upon awakening she is joined by Óengus, an exiled Kategida who pledged himself to Umbra in exchange for his clan's lives. The two free the party, but upon leaving the tower they are confronted by Crepusculum; Aurora defeats her and retrieves the moon, causing her to change from a child into a grown woman. She and her friends head to the Cynbel Sea seeking the sun. They are joined by Genovefa, a young sorceress of the Piscean Village, and one of the last of her kind.

After making her way through the Palace of the Sun, Aurora confronts and defeats Nox, regaining the sun. Umbra promptly arrives, enraged at the death of her daughters, but offers Aurora the chance to reunite with her father in exchange for the moon and the stars. Unable to abandon the Lemurians to their fate, Aurora reluctantly tells her father through the portal she cannot return to him, leading to his death. With the Duke dead, the fake crown protecting Aurora disappears, leaving her vulnerable to Umbra's magic. Severely injured from the attacks, Aurora crawls her way to escape with the sun.

Igniculus, with the help of his firefly friends, carries Aurora to the altar where she first woke in Lemuria. Beside the altar is the Lady of the Forest, who reveals herself to be the Queen of Light. She revives Aurora with the aid of all the Lemurians Aurora helped throughout her journey. With Aurora's renewed powers, she quickly flies the party up into the sky to Umbra's castle, and together, they defeat Umbra.

Through one last vision, Aurora learns that the flood is worsening. With the help of all her Lemurian friends, she goes through the mirror to her world, arriving on Easter Sunday, and rescues the people of the Duke's kingdom from the flood by leading them back through the mirror to Lemuria.

src: static.zerochan.net

Development

Initially revealed at GDC Europe 2013 by Patrick Plourde, Child of Light is said to be inspired by Studio Ghibli and Yoshitaka Amano in its art style, and in presentation similar to games like Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy VIII and Limbo. During development, the lead programmer was Brie Code.

The original soundtrack has 18 tracks and was composed by Béatrice Martin, better known as Coeur de pirate, a Canadian singer and songwriter from the province of Québec.

src: i.ytimg.com

Reception

Child of Light received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 90% and 89/100, the Wii U version 84.62% and 84/100, the PlayStation 4 version 83.48% and 82/100, the Xbox One version 82% and 82/100, the Xbox 360 version 80% and 74/100, and the PC version 76.29% and 74/100.

Vince Ingenito of IGN gave it a 9.3/10, praising the combat system and visual style, although he also said that the rhyming felt forced. Chris Carter of Destructoid gave it an 8.5/10, calling the combat system "straightforward, yet fun" and praised the story. GameZone's Matt Liebl gave the PC version a 9.5/10, stating "Child of Light isn't the type of game we're used to from Ubisoft, but it's the type of game this industry needs. It's hard not to look at the game and admire its beauty, but underneath the gorgeous visuals is a thought-provoking story that'll draw you in."

src: www.ps4blog.net

Related media

On April 30, 2015, Ubisoft released a free digital book titled Child of Light: Reginald the Great to celebrate the game's first anniversary. Written by the game's writer Jeffrey Yohalem, the story of the book revolves around Reginald and his adventures in Lemuria two years after Child of Light.

At the time of the book's release in 2015, illustrator Serge Meirinho stated that he was currently involved in a new book set in the Child of Light universe, and creative director Patrick Plourde explained that they had two books already written and a third planned, though as of 2018 no further media related to Child of Light has been released.

src: i.ytimg.com

References

src: assets2.ignimgs.com

External links

• Official website

Source of the article : Wikipedia