I’ve been married for almost 9 years now but have been playing games for over 23. My wife, however, never grew up with them and has never really been into playing any games aside from the likes of Threes or Dots. I’ve tried introducing her to various different games to get her to appreciate my oldest hobby but nothing has been able to grab her attention – until now.
One of my friends briefly showed her what Child of Light was and she was instantly intrigued by it and made me jump on the Xbox One to download it for her as soon as I got home. Since she has started it she has been enamored by the artwork and music and keeps wanting to play it to see where the story goes.
The artistic styling of the game is very well done. There is some bright and beautiful scenery as well as some dark and dismal that you can light up with your trusty firefly companion that can be controlled by connecting a second controller. Being a side scrolling platformer game makes the controls easy for anyone to pick up and jump, or fly, around and explore the gorgeous world they have created. Coupled with a great soundtrack it will easily allow someone to get lost in the fairy tale land they have created.
The gameplay is much akin to Japanese role playing games taking turns to attack or use magic on a specific enemy when you encounter a battle letting you plan out what you’re going to do while not relying on reflexes built over years of gaming. There is also the standard defend option and spells that can enhance the party or hinder the bad guys. The firefly adds an interesting additional strategy into the mix as it allows you to blind an enemy to slow their attack progression.
Child of Light also includes a basic crafting system and individual skill trees for each of your party members that you can level up over time after gaining more experience from fights. As far as the dialogue it feels a bit childish because everyone speaks in riddles and rhymes but that doesn’t distract from the gameplay or awesome environment they have made.
This is a great game to help someone who has never really delved into gaming in their life. It is basically like playing a fairy tale on the big screen and being in control of it. Concepts that were completely foreign to my wife, such as the skill tree and crafting, she has quickly figured out and is eager to keep progressing the story. I may just be flying around a little blue firefly as she does all the work but it is great to see that she has finally found a game that she can enjoy.
Child of Light is available on PC, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360 and One, as well as the Wii U. What other games out there would you recommend as a good gateway game to get people into video games? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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