Having recently finished The Wolf Among Us Episode 2, I’m rather in the mood for some more fairytale reimagining. A slice of Aesop and a pinch of Grimm will do nicely, thank you very much. Ubisoft Montreal apparently has me covered, because its “playable poem”, inspired by fairytales, Child of Light is due out on April 30th, priced at £11.99.
It’s being touted as an “interactive painting” and a “playable poem”, but actually it’s a lovely looking side-scrolling-platformer-come-JRPG.But the game space certainly does resemble a painting. Child of Light was developed using the UbiArt Framework, an engine that allows artists to add concept art unedited directly into the game.
You play as Aurora, a wee girl stolen from her home. On her way back, she’ll have to rescue the sun, moon and stars from the Queen of the Night because that’s just what little girls with rad crowns do. Dragons will be slain, fireflies will be befriended, and watercolour canvases will be traversed – it’s all rather charming.
Patrick Plourde, previously creative director for Farcry 3 is leading development, and wanted to create something in response to the hyper-violent, masculine experience found in the tropical shooter. He described it as Limbo spliced with Final Fantasy VI.
Final Fantasy VIII, Vagrant Story and Studio Ghibli’s Miyazaki were also inspirations for Child of Light.