Child of Light

With its gorgeous art, exemplary combat, and hand-crafted aesthetic, no RPG fan should miss Child of Light.

Child of Light is a singular adventure that embraces sadness in a beautiful, affecting way.

Child of Light stands as a wonderfully realised venture into unfamiliar territory for Ubisoft - and a welcome reminder that the industry's major players still have the creative flair to push beyond the lucrative safe ground that they so often favour to create well-crafted, highly-polished gems such as this.

A beautiful game to look at, and wonderfully polished, but a thimble-deep RPG.

Child of Light seems content to only scratch its own surface

A fantastic RPG with a creative aesthetic and fairy tale narrative, Child of Light is a memorable experience that's as fun to play as it is artistically pleasing.

Even without the depth of a fully featured RPG, this streamlined experience still has fun systems to dig into

I want to enjoy it more: the hybridity of the game is daring and to be applauded. There's obvious passion and idiosyncrasy here, which aren't things you can always say about games spat from the cogs of AAA development. But delightful though it looks, and as winsome as its talking mice are, the combination of frictionless overworld and my frustration with its battle system left me feeling enervated. A less than fabulous fable, then, with a not so fairytale ending.

Child of Light will satiate pretty much everyone but the most hardcore of RPG fans, and even then, they'll find plenty of enjoyment. There are a few minor issues here and there that hold it back from instant-classic status that could be enhanced in a sequel or future work, but regardless, Child of Light is a noble effort from Ubisoft Montreal, and another win to put in the studio's diverse portfolio.

It may not be as transcendent as it wishes it were, but it's still a lot of fun to play.