Child of Light: Thoughts on the Final Chapter and the Upcoming Television Series
I finished Child of Light (a Ubisoft RPG from 2014) yesterday. I loved every bit of it, with the possible exception of the final chapter (which was still overall acceptable, graphically beautiful for sure, though it had it’s share of problems). My complaints follow. WARNING: There be spoilers ahead. Avert your eyes if you must! Problem #1: I played Child of Light on the PC with keyboard controls, since apparently the PC version of the game only supports an xbox controller and it seemed like too much effort to try and set up my wireless one to run with the computer (if that’s even possible). There happen to be a couple of puzzles in the final dungeon which are a load of POO POO to complete using the keyboard, and resulted in many expletives being uttered at my monitor. Shit. I think my dog wants to go outside again, even though it’s only been 5 minutes since he was last out. THANK JESUS he’s only 18 pounds. Back in the computer room you go, little Sir. *Ahem* Problem #2: There are a number of sections in the final dungeon which drop you (quite abruptly and unexpectedly) into dangerous situations without the game auto-saving beforehand (there is no manual save in this game, please do not suggest that I should have manual saved). In one particular room the game saves DURING a dangerous situation, whereupon if you quit and reload the game, you immediately proceed to lose HP based on how long you spend in the room. WHO approved this, exactly? Why could the game not have saved immediately BEFORE this area? At least the room isn’t overly difficult to complete (also I played on Casual mode, eeep), but it should NEVER have saved during a moment where you’re steadily losing HP. Christ. Problem #3: I believe (and have read some hints about this online) that there was some content cut in between the end of the final dungeon and the final boss battle. From what I can tell, possibly an entire additional dungeon (which would have been the *actual* final area) was removed. There was one other location on the world map which we never got to visit as well. This is unfortunate. In any case, Child of Light is still a wonderful game with a stunning watercolor art style. The points above were my only complaints. I didn’t even have much of an issue with the auto-save reliant system other than in the final dungeon; normally I hate when games only include a checkpoint or auto-save system since THE SAVES ARE ALWAYS TOO DAMN FAR APART, though this game *generally* saves very, very frequently. Seriously, stop to scratch your ass and the game will likely save your progress. A solid 9.5/10 overall. NOW. Have you heard the exciting news that there will be a TELEVISION PROGRAMME based on this little video game? Not sure what the release date will be yet, but I am eager to learn more. I’m sincerely hoping that the series will be animated as well, as I’m worried that some of the fantastic backgrounds and creatures may be cut in a live action version (due to budget constraints or whatever other reason). Perhaps a puppet show similar to The Dark Crystal would work? That would be really super. I’d like to see the city of mouse people done up as a Jim Henson-style puppet production. Mice are pretty spectacular.
P.S. go play Child of Light.
