Due on March 31, and naturally 'at a later date on Switch'

After a tease late last year, people cracked the code, and recognized a subtle flute melody from the Ubisoft game Child of Light. And lo and behold, confirmed this morning by 505 Games, there's going to be a Bloodstained Child of Light crossover.

Aurora, the hero from 2014's Child of Light, is entering the fray. She has a light story reason for being there, having "awoken in a strange, dangerous new land." She'll wi?eld the Swor?d of Matildis from her game, and will be accompanied by the cute floating blob wisp Igniculus (who will slow enemies and heal Aurora).

To level?? up she can transmute things via the NPC Johannes, and absorb shards over time to upgrade her abilities. Defeating bosses will push her even further, giving her a similar arc to Miriam where she can u?nlock new movement powers to traverse to more areas.

Thankfully, like some prior DLC, starting as Aurora is streamlined: you just start a new save file and choose between Miriam, Zangetsu, or Aurora with a handy menu (505 also reminds us that selecting Bloodless is possible with naming a save "BLOOD?LESS" in caps).

So as per usual, the crossover character will arrive on March 31 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, but not Switch. The latter will arrive "at a later date," which is code for "whenever we can get it even remote??ly playable."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkyHqGBEoJU

[Update: The "later date" Switch edition of the Bloodstained Child of Light crossover has finally come. It was released on June 3, 2022.]

The post Bloodstained is getting a Child of Light Ubisoft crossover?? this month (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

Instrumental version of the tune with cosplay inspiration

Lindsey Stirling is back with a brand new video for her single "Shatter Me," only this time she's ditching Halestorm's Lzzy Hale for a wordless instrumental version of the song set to what I can only describe as a cosplay video for Child of Light. It's pretty, I guess, though I ?would have rather seen bits of gameplay interspersed with the song.

You know, I'm not really a Lindsey Stirling fan. I re?spect her for her insane violin skills, but I'm just not feeling her music or the "epic" feel she attempt??s to infuse the accompanying videos with. If you dig her work, though, you'll probably like to watch her traipsing through a forest looking a bit like Princess Bubblegum on a bad trip. It's a little silly, for sure. 

Child of Light is available now for $14.99 and Chris thinks you should definitely try it out, so don't disappoint him.

The post Watch Lindsey Stirling’s ‘Shatter Me’ video, inspired by Child of Light appeared first on Destructoid.

This time, the princess saves herself

When Ubisoft revealed that it was working on an old-school JRPG with modern visuals, I was utterly surprised. It's not really in its wheelhouse, and the striking visuals of Child of Light were immediately apparent -- even more striking than either of the recent Rayman games, which utilized the same U?biArt engine.

Now that it's finally here, I'm pleased to say it looks even better in action, and I'm eager to see what the team can do with this formula in the future.&??nb?sp;

Child of Light (PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One [reviewed], Wii U)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: April 30, 2014

Right from the get-go with the haunting storybook intro, I got chills while playing Child of Light. Set in 1895 in Austria, Light tells the tale of princess Aurora, who one day falls ill? and awakens in an unknown world. Soon she's introduced to a firefly named Igniculus, and the game takes off from there. It's a brilliant setup in that it takes some of the best parts of folklor??e and fairy tale history, as well as packing in its own personal charm and style.

Ubisoft Montreal simply nails it aesthetically, as the game looks like a painting in motion, and certain scenes that deal with the manipulation of light and the showcasing of stained glass look fantastic. It's not just generic fantasy either, and there's lots of detail in the backdrops like steam emanating from factories or cold winds blowing about. Oh, and there's?? totally a bird with a top hat -- enough said. Even the presentation of the dialog is wonderful, with layered text and individually colored dialog.

So what is Child of Light? Well, it's a puzzle platform??er with JRPG combat -- simple enough. You'll engage in miniature puzzles with Igniculus, ranging from basic box-pushing mechanics to lighting up certain shadows in sequential order. Aurora can jump easily enough, but early into the game (roughly an hour) you'll earn the ability to fly around at will, which really opens everything up.

In fact, there's a short curve with the game in general in terms of opened-up mechanics. Tutorials are non-obtrusive and light, and as a general rule Child of Light sets you off into the wilderness almost immediately. You can even turn them off if you like from the start, and jack the game up to hard mode??. It's a refreshing change from the overabundance of tutorials in modern-day games.

There's also a really cool mechanic that's unique to Child of Light, in that Igniculus can be controlled by another player with a second controller. All he can do is fly around the screen and light up, but that simple action does a whole lot more than you'd think, such as: solving puzzles, stunning enemies, grabbing HP and MP orbs in and out of combat, and slowing enemy time gauges in battle. If you don't have a local partner you can do this all from the right analog stick, and it's really fun to master both Aurora's actions in tandem with Igniculus, ??so either way it's a well designed mechanic.

Aurora will need to dodge from time to time as well, because enemies are presented on-screen like any normal platformer, and c?oming in contact with them will start a battle. Like many other JRPGs there is a "surprise attack element," which lets you take the initiative when "attacking" (i.e. bumping) from behind, and vice versa for the enemy. The only minor issue is that there's no way to have Aurora slice enemies with a button to initiate a battle, so you sometimes have to awkwardly just run into them. It really needed a "strike" button from the start of the game to make things have a little m?ore impact.

Having said that, combat itself is straightforward, yet fun. The game has an active time gauge at the bottom,?? which moves each character (both ally and enemy) forward in the form of a tiny avatar on the meter. Once something hits "act," you can queue up an action like a physical attack, a magic ability, defense, or an item.

How long each action will take depends on the action itself, and if the enemy ends up striking before it "finishes," they can interrupt and cancel it. Like the sneak-attack concept, you can also utilize this to stop your enemies from acting with shorter bursts, or defend from an inevitable interrupt with a defensive action. It's a really neat concept in theory, but you really don't need to use it as often as you should, because Child of Light isn't all that challenging.

All of the other RPG staples are here as well, like leveling up, speeding up the time gauge with spells such as haste, assembling a party with a variety of skills, and most importantly, working your way through a giant skill tree. In short, skills work kind of like the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X, in that you can choose a few branching paths to go through. There's no real "defense, attack, or magic" tree as everything is kind o??f jumbled, but you still have the option all the same, and every level-up will grant you a point. It's not terribly deep though, as practically anything you choose will help in the long run, eliminating a true way to cus?tomize your build.

As I worked my way through the story, I became more and more engrossed with the game's world, even if the general narrative didn't blow m??e away. There isn't much dialog outside of the narrator, who pops up every so often, but the slick presentation keeps up throughout the entire experience to the point where every zone looks unique. Without spoiling anything, there's enough here to really keep you interested (in addition to a decent amount of sidequests and optional items), and the pacing is spot-on.

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 fro??m Ubisoft Montrea??l, and another win to put in the studio's diverse portfolio.

The post Review: Child of Light appeared first on Destructoid.

European-exclusive, PC/PS3/PS4-exclusive Deluxe Edition comes with a poster of Amano's work

I am endlessly excited for the old school JRPG-inspired Child of Light, whi??ch comes out April 30. PC and PlayStation (PS3/PS4 are Cross-Buy) players will also be able to buy a physical, deluxe edition of the game (currently only available for pre-order in Europe, the ??Middle East, and Africa), which comes with DLC, artwork, and a poster of Yoshitaka Amano's work, shown in the neat video above.

The post Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano paints Child of? Light art appeared first on Destructoid.

An epic tale of nostalgia

Last year, the news of Ubisoft making an old-school throwback to the JRPG genre took a number of people by surprise. When Destructoid got the chance to check it out, there was a healthy amount of curiosity around it. Not too many people knew what to make of it, especially considering it was coming from the team that made Far Cry 3, which is a title?? ??that seems very far apart from it.

But after spending some time with Child of Light, about three hours to be exact, there might be mo?re in common with these two titles than you think. I got the chance to talk with lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem, and saw what passion and a small team working on a unique throwback to JRPG titles managed to come up with.

Child of Light (PS3, PS4, PC [Previewed], Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: April 30, 2014

Set in 1895 Austria, the story of Child of Light focuses on a young girl by name of Aurora. Born into royalty and daughter of th?e Duke, Aurora one day contracts an illness and falls into a deep sleep. Upon waking, she finds herself alone and in an unknown land not of this world. When she meets a mysterious firefly named Igniculus, she sets out on a journey to return to her own world, while restoring the balance within the mysterious new land she finds herself in.

Child of Light takes p?layers across a bizarre and ethereal landscape filled with danger and curious individuals in need of help. Blending together classic JRPG gameplay with platforming and exploration reminiscent of games in "Metroidvania" style, players will traverse the land in search of answers, while battling ??foes looking to cause harm to Aurora and her friends.

Speaking with Jeffrey Yohalem, lead writer for Child of Light and also Far Cry 3, he talked about influences from classic fiction and role playing games, the themes of escapism and unity, and surprisingly, how Child of Light has many parallels with Far Cry 3.

"I grew up reading fantasy books, The Black Cauldron, The Great King, Narnia Chronicles, the OZ books...I love stories of people who wandered into other worlds, these secret spaces in our home and our woods," said writer Jeffrey Yohalem. "And to me, this was an opportunity, a once in a life??time opportunity I think, and I jumped at the chance to make it."

The art style of Child of Light takes many influences from classic storybooks, artwork, and animated films from our youth. Using the UbiArt engine, the same technology used by Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends,?? the game artists were able to bring their concept art and original designs and implemented them directly into the game. Because of this, translation into actual in-game assets wasn't required and it allowed for the developers to work straight off the artist's concept work to create a more pure and cohesive visual aesthetic.

And does this game look stunning. I was an admirer of the art style from Rayman Legends, and the same tech is used even more effectively here. As Child of Light is more about exploration and traversal, you'll be able spend more time and admire the visuals. While I was only playing the first few hours, I saw a number of environments that took place in dense forests, ancient ruins, caves, and a seemingly abandoned town populated by crows wearing top hats. The visuals look mesmerizing and?? dense, an??d it goes to show that 2D graphics are in a league of their own.

As a narrative focused game, Child of Light focuses on Aurora's journey and how she grows as an individual. While at first she believes her adventure to be a dream, it eventually becomes something real to her and shapes her as a person. Yohalem wrote Child of Light as a critique on escapism within fiction, but also as a tale of the hypnotic pull of nostalgia. And strangely enough, his previous title Far Cry 3 share many parallels with this new one.

"Far Cry 3 was also like that. That island could be a real place, but we turned it into a very surreal place, you know that it doesn't quite exist -- it could be like an episode of The Twilight Zone," said Yohalem while discussing the theme of escapism. "Far Cry 3 was sort of punk [in reference to its critique on escapism], in that it's an attack on escapism. Child of Light is sort of a ?hopeful proposal. Here's what a game could be, in that it is worth? loving, that there's more to life than addiction ."

When exploring, Aurora can jump, fly, and dodge enemies in the field, while finding treasure chests and other secrets located around the landscape. Also, your ally Igniculus can be controlle?d by the right stick, mouse, or by another partner with a second controller. Co-op play focuses on controlling Igniculusm who can interact with the environment and restore Aurora's abilities. The?? firefly can emit a powerful light that can heal Aurora's wounds, open locked chests, activate switches, and even stun enemies. However, when the enemy gets the upper hand, you'll have to do battle.

While Aurora is a stranger in a strange land, she's still more than capable of looking out for herself and going toe-to-toe with foes. With the help of Igniculus and other party members she meets on her journey??, she'll gain power and resources to take down whatever obst?acle is in front of her.

The battle system takes many different influences from classic JRPG title such as Final Fantasy and Grandia. Battles are turn based,? and actions and turns are determined by a single time gauge on the bottom of the screen. There are ?two phases, Wait and Act. During Wait, character and enemy icons move across the time bar to reach the Act phase, and when it's your turn to Act, you can select a move and engage.

Timing is everything during battles, and while they're not twitch based, you'll have to think ahead and plan your moves in advance. During the Act phase you can prepare a move and your character will ready up -- but if an enemy attacks you during Act, your move will be cancelled and it will send you back to the Wait phase. Of course, you can take advantage of this as well to cancel enemy m??oves. There are a variety of different physical attacks, magic, items, and special skills -- but they each have their own unique charge period during act. So you must choose your move wisely.

Winning battles will earn you experience points, and getting enough exp will level your characters. When you level up, you acquire skill points which can be used to unlock new moves on each of the character's unique skill trees. You can augment character strength, magic power, defense, acquire new moves, and much more. The trees are fairly dense, it'll likely take awhile to unlock everything. But wait, your character augmentation doesn't end there. Over the course of the game you'll acquire Oculi, which are small gems and crystals. Many of these Oculi possess elemental and stat boosting properties that can buff your weapons and armor.?? Moreover, you can combine and mix different Oculi to create special rare types with special boosts to your characters.

This all may sound complex, but I assure you it is not. The game eases you into the combat and character growth nicely, and even newcomers to the genre will be able to pick it up right away. If anything, combat feels a bit too easy. Even though it was still early in my adventure, I was clearing through enemies and bosses with no trouble a?t all.

Moreover, players can even use Igniculus during fights, much like how they would in the field, to stun and slow enemies in battle. To be honest, it was very easy to take advantage of it by slowing a rather strong enemy's charge on the time gauge, and cancel his moves at the right time. Thankfully, Child of Light features a hard mode, which significantly buffs up the combat. F??ans of the genre will likely want to start off with this mode.

It's safe to say that Child of Light might be seen as somewhat of an unusual title coming ?from such a big name publisher. Of course, there's the stigma of big publishers not caring too?? much about small titles that go for something a bit different, but Yohalem spoke very highly of the publisher and the experience.

"Ubisoft has just been so supportive of what we wanted to do. They've been really hands off and supportive of this title, every bit of writing for this game was exactly how I wanted it to be and what I intended it to be," said Yohalem. "But it's also frightening, and I think you do your best work in that situation. You have to make sure every idea has been looked at all sides by everyone. I?'m really proud of Ubisoft and what the team created."

I came away from Child of Light very surprised, and intrigued. It was a game that was definitely seeking to recall elements of nostalgia and wonder from our youth, but at the same time bringing a perspective imbued with wisdom?? and insight that comes from age.

While I did have some issues with the difficulty, and particularly some troublesome technical glitches that caused some annoying stutte?ri??ng during cutscenes and battles, I still feel there's a lot to admire about this title. It's definitely something that will stick out in Ubisoft's current 2014 lineup, as they've got a number big budget titles set for release. But I tell you, it's very refreshing to see so much faith in a title that's got so much charm and heart.

The post Child of Light is a return to classic JRPG wonder appeared first on Destructoid.

Yep, still looks amazing

We've said it plenty of times but Ubisoft's upcoming Child of Light looks wonderful; it's got a wonderfully lush, hand-drawn quality that's not too dissimilar from the recent Rayman games. As we find out in the video above, both games are using the UbiArt framework which has allowed concept artists to pretty much directly put their art into the game. ? 

It's interesting to hear the illustrators that have been a big influence on Child of Light; I have to be honest, I'd never heard of John Bauer or Arthur Rackham but it's really refreshing to see something different be a creative spark for a game. I also had forgotten that Child of Light was out at the end of April?? which gives ?me plenty of time to get a co-op partner organized. 

The post Have a look behind the scenes of Child of Light appeared first on Destructoid.

Looks like a lotta alright

At this point you could show me anything about Child of Light, Ubisoft's upcoming JRPG-inspired tale that's built with the same framework that bore Rayman Origins and Legends. I'm sold. Even if this "co-op trailer" doesn't seem too much beyond the blue ligh??t guardian Igniculus restoring Aurora's health and revealing passages.

Ubisoft has made the right decision in parceling off smaller teams to work on titles like this and Valiant Hearts in the UbiArt Framework. I hope these games are successful enough that they keep doing it. Maybe Nintendo should license it so they can make ano??ther 2D game at some point. 

Child of Light is out April 30. It's $15 and you can get it on PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, or Wii U, so you h??ave little excuse not to buy it, unless your hands ha?ve fallen off or you hate good things.

The post ??Apparently Child of Light has co-op: Watch this beautiful trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Lead programmer Brianna Code walks us through some combat and exploration

Child of Light was the big surprise coming out of a Ubisoft event a few months ago; a fairytale JRPG being developed by the same studio who did Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon? Seemed odd but the game itself looks gorgeous and now we have a video showing off a few minutes o??f gameplay, narrated by the lead programmer Brianna Code.

First thing that's caught my eye is how great Child of Light animates, from Aurora's flowing hair to t??he way she flies around the world. We can also see some of the turn-ba?sed combat system and a puzzle that the player must solve using the skills of the game's other main character Igniculus.

I like how a second player can control him to help the main player with things like avoiding combat or skipping obstacles. I'm really keen to get my hands on Child of Light as soon as I can but it looks like we'll have to wait until so??metime in 2014 to play?? it.

The post Here’s a few minutes of gameplay from Child of Light appeared first on Destructoid.

Made by the team behind Far Cry 3

Yeah, you read that headline right. Trust me, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it too, but sure enough, a Japanese-style role-playing game from Ubisoft. Even stranger, Child of Light is by writer Jeffrey Yohalem and creative director Pat Plourde, two of the main people behind Far Cry 3.

Child of Light is a 2D action JRPG made on the UbiArt Framework engine, the same engine that's made that last two wonderful-looking Rayman games. The team is looking to make a love letter for JRPG fans, those that fondly remember the golden age of Squaresoft, with influences from Final Fantasy to Grandia. 

Child of Light (PC [previewed], PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Developer: Ubisoft Montréal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: 2014

The story follows princess Aurora, a young girl from 1895 Austria and the daughter of a Duke. One day she falls ill,?? but instead of dying she wakes up in the lost continent of Lemuria. She's tasked with recovering the sun, moon, and stars which have been stolen by the evil Black Queen, but it's also a story of Aurora, her evolution as a? character and her quest to return to her father.

Gameplay sees you exploring the world, solving puzzles and lending a helping hand to those that need it. And of course, ther??e's the whole RPG fighting mechanic in place, transporting you to a battlefield with each enemy encounter and taking turns attacking one another through the active-time battle system. There's a bar on the bottom of the screen during battles to display when it's someone's turn to attack, at which point you can use items, attack, or defend yourself from the enemy.

You'll encounter num??erous characters that will join your party, and for the demo I recruited an old man to my team. How big the party can get wasn't detailed, but you'll be able to level up various skills for your characters, plus equip different items/weapons to your team.

Pretty traditional stuff here, with the exception of one key character: Igniculus. He's this blue flying fairy-like creature that's kind of like Murphy from Rayman Legends. Player one can switch between Aurora and Igniculus whenever needed to solve a puzzle or help out in battle. That, or a s??econd player can join ??your game and control Igniculus right alongside player one. Igniculus is needed to solve various puzzles, and he can also help distract enemies while in the open world or even during fights.

You probably won't want to avoid fights that often though as you'll need to level up as much as you can??. I ??got to the first boss in my hands-on time on the PC in combination with a PlayStation 4 controller and thoroughly got my ass handed to me.

The overall theme of the game is very fairy tale in nature, but don't let that fool you. As gorgeous as this game is in motion, there's a very dark theme to it ??and isn't meant to be taken lightly. A lot of inspiration comes from gr??own-up fairy tales, the ones that don't hide the dark stuff kind of like Disney movies. Kids can appreciate them, as can adults. The fairy tale nature even extends to the writing of the game, as all the dialogue is written out in rhyme and ballad form as if everything said feels like a poem throughout.

The developers promise that the game will be pre??tty "meaty," in that there will be a lot on offer to please JRPG fans. Yeah, it's still weird saying JRPG and Ubisoft in the same article. So how did something like this even happen?

Jeffrey Yohalem, writer and co-creater on Child of Light told me that "in October, Pat Plourde, the creative director on Far Cry 3, came to me and said 'I want to make a JRPG and I've been looking at some fairy tale references, like Arthur Rackham drawings, and I want something that kind of feels like that, that has that kind of mood.' He also had some music from Final Fantasy that he really liked and so he played that for me and we talked about it.? We got in room together and created this world, the characters, and this story.

"During that time as we were developing it I really felt like this is it. This is something that I really want to make, it speaks to me as an artist and I drop?ped everything else that I was doing and joined Pat to do this."

It was also a conscious goal from the beginning of the project to create something that was the complete opposite of Far Cry 3. Their aim was to create something soft, poetic, and even feminine. To that point, they really wanted to make a difference wit??h the port??rayal of women as there's "a serious lack of representation of strong female leads in games." That said, both games are also similar in that they're coming-of-age stories set in dream worlds.

Ubisoft had over a dozen games on display in its digital fall preview event Destructoid attended, and the last thing I expected to see was a JRPG from Ubisoft. That said, Child of Light was easily a highlight of the event for me, and says a lot about how Ubisoft gives a lot of freedom to its developers to follow passion projects lik?e this amidst the heavy triple-A focus of the company. Hopefully this one is able to d?eliver on its lofty promises.

The post Yes really: Child of Light is a JRPG from Ubisoft appeared first on Destructoid.