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[FoneBone]

There's no problem with playing a game on Normal and reviewing it on Normal.

However, there's a huge problem with complaining in your review that a game is too easy when the game provides a harder difficulty AND even lets you increase the difficulty at any time.

I think that if there's going to be a different experience for the player (beyond the damage sponge situation mentioned above) the onus should be on the developer to make that clearer to the player. (Or, as you suggested, just make the "hard" setting "normal," if that's where the "real" experience is.)

 

[Fox_Mulder]

Robert from Zeboyd Games wrote a review of Polygon's review.

Well done Robert

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I think that if there's going to be a different experience for the player (beyond the damage sponge situation mentioned above) the onus should be on the developer to make that clearer to the player. (Or, as you suggested, just make the "hard" setting "normal," if that's where the "real" experience is.)

For this game in particular, they should have named it:

Normal = Beginner
Hard = Expert

That gives a clear indication of what experience you should expect out of each difficulty.

And actually, they should have probably made a third difficulty that is somewhere in between the two for the player who doesn't want a huge challenge but also doesn't want to steamroll it.

Do any of these reviews mention the WiiU version? If it is 1080p60 I might get it for WiiU, else I'll probably buy it for PC.

From what I've heard the WiiU version is 720p but does let you control the firefly via the gamepad (but you'll probably want to use the right stick anyway).

 

[Seda]

Do any of these reviews mention the WiiU version? If it is 1080p60 I might get it for WiiU, else I'll probably buy it for PC.

I played the Wii U version, - it's 720p. The artstyle is still phenomenal but of course 1080p is only an improvement on that. The only thing the gamepad does is allow you to control the firefly with the touch pad, but it's easier to control him using the right analog stick anyway. Off-TV play is nice of course.

 

[cjp]

TheSixthAxis gave it a 10

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2014/04/28/child-of-light-review/

Haha, this review rhymes all the way through.

Spoiler

see what I did there?

 

[M.Steiner]

Looking pretty positive for the most part, good to see.
Think I'll pick this up for PC shortly.

 

[SmoothRunningGun]

Polygon's link isn't working for me

Good.

 

[KHlover]

I played the Wii U version, - it's 720p. The artstyle is still phenomenal but of course 1080p is only an improvement on that. The only thing the gamepad does is allow you to control the firefly with the touch pad, but it's easier to control him using the right analog stick anyway. Off-TV play is nice of course.

Thanks :/

Gah, that makes it pretty hard to decide. Why is the game 720p on WiiU? The game doesn't look any better than Rayman Legends to me, which ran perfectly fine at 1080p on the WiiU.

Seems like I need to see some uncompressed 720p footage running on my TV to decide this.

 

[hohoXD123]

For this game in particular, they should have named it:

Normal = Beginner
Hard = Expert

That gives a clear indication of what experience you should expect out of each difficulty.

And actually, they should have probably made a third difficulty that is somewhere in between the two for the player who doesn't want a huge challenge but also doesn't want to steamroll it.



From what I've heard the WiiU version is 720p but does let you control the firefly via the gamepad (but you'll probably want to use the right stick anyway).

Robert from Zeboyd Games wrote a review of Polygon's review.

 

[boredandlazy]

Don't really give a toss what Edge or Polygon have ever said about anything. So the fact there seems to be a general consensus from everyone else means I'll be picking this up.

 

[Easy_D]

No surprise he completely missed the point in that Zeboyd dude's critique.

I really wonder what Gies' reviews look like before editing.

 

[boredandlazy]

I really wonder what Gies' reviews look like before editing.

Probably the same. Changing something as simple as the difficulty seems too hard a task so changing his own vitriol seems unlikely.

 

[Easy_D]

Probably the same, changing something as simple as the difficulty seems too hard a task so changing his own vitriol seems unlikely.

I meant structure wise, everything I see from him on twitter sounds like a completely different person wrote them than his reviews.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I really wonder what Gies' reviews look like before editing.

I don't think they edited it; they just took it down temporarily because they broke embargo and didn't want to get in trouble with Ubisoft.

 

[hohoXD123]

 

[SykoTech]

Here's mine --> http://www.rpgsite.net/review/3512-child-of-light-review

I cannot stress this enough. Play on Hard. Normal mode is boring as the game puts too many conveniences in place that remove any semblance of challenge or difficulty. Hard mode is is much better.

Thanks for the heads up.

Really dislike games that are too easy these days. Might as well just watch a playthrough of those and save some money then play myself.

I've started putting everything on the hardest difficultly anyway nowadays, but it's nice to get a confirmation that it's definitely the way to go for this game.

 

[NandN3DS]

NintendoLife : http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu-eshop/child_of_light 9

 

[DryvBy]

I watched a trailer and can't really get a good feel for this game. Is it just an artsy indie puzzle game, or more like a JRPG?

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I watched a trailer and can't really get a good feel for this game. Is it just an artsy indie puzzle game, or more like a JRPG?

It's a JRPG. There's the occasional puzzle while exploring, but most of your time will be spent in Grandia-style combat.

 

[Begaria]

I watched a trailer and can't really get a good feel for this game. Is it just an artsy indie puzzle game, or more like a JRPG?

It's a JRPG with a combat system straight out of Grandia. The exploration is on a 2D plane, that's it.

Edit: Also, holy shit at that difficulty=/=depth quote. Difficulty can and does completely change how one approaches a game. It's the difference between needing to play cautiously or go all out among a great many other things.

 

[Slowdive]

Digital Spy - 4/5

 

[Seda]

I watched a trailer and can't really get a good feel for this game. Is it just an artsy indie puzzle game, or more like a JRPG?

The puzzles are very simple, and only offer a slight diversion and not really a satisfying brain teaser. The game is best described as a sidescrolling 'JRPG', not a puzzle game. Exploration is very flow-y and loose; you do collect numerous chests and stat-up items, but it's nothing like Metroid, for example. You'll be battling more often than not, which is the highlight of the game. Exploration and sidequests are just there to pepper the pace a little, hardly intrusive (and to get Oculi gems and stat-ups, of course).

 

[doniewhalberg]

Looks great, just need to figure out if I want it on PS4 + remote play or WiiU. The first suits me more, but with the second I might rope my girlfriend into giving it a shot. Conundrum.

 

[hohoXD123]

Looks great, just need to figure out if I want it on PS4 + remote play or WiiU. The first suits me more, but with the second I might rope my girlfriend into giving it a shot. Conundrum.

Anything involving the Vita is always the answer.

 

[Father_Brain]

Thanks :/

Gah, that makes it pretty hard to decide. Why is the game 720p on WiiU? The game doesn't look any better than Rayman Legends to me, which ran perfectly fine at 1080p on the WiiU.

Seems like I need to see some uncompressed 720p footage running on my TV to decide this.

IIRC, the developers said it makes some more intensive use of 3D effects than Legends did - i.e. Aurora is a fully 3D model and her hair is animated by a fluid simulation.

 

[DryvBy]

It's a JRPG. There's the occasional puzzle while exploring, but most of your time will be spent in Grandia-style combat.

That's what I thought it was suppose to be like, but the trailer on the PSN store makes it look like something entirely different. I didn't pre-order because I don't want a puzzle game. Grandia is my sort of JRPG!

 

[KHlover]

He's not totally wrong though. You can increase the difficulty without increasing the depth at all (e.g. by boosting enemy health and nothing beyond that -> bullet sponges).

Ideally though you'd increase the difficulty by adding more depth to the game. I think "Lazily increased difficulty =/= depth" would have been a more accurate statement.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

He's not totally wrong though. You can increase the difficulty without increasing the depth at all (e.g. by boosting enemy health and nothing beyond that -> bullet sponges).

Ideally though you'd increase the difficulty by adding more depth to the game. I think "Lazily increased difficulty =/= depth" would have been a more accurate statement.

The statement is true - difficulty doesn't equal depth.

However, in his review, he stated that gameplay elements like being able to instantly swap characters in and out mid-battle were mostly pointless when they're essential to success on Hard mode.

A more accurate statement would be that Child of Light has plenty of depth even on Normal mode (the time bar, party swapping, skill trees, oculi crafting, how you use your stat-up items), however you don't need to use most of this depth to succeed unless you're playing on Hard mode.

 

[Tabular]

Polygon loves sticking out like a sore thumb.

Spoiler

Gamespot too.

 

[Converse]

I usually disagree with Polygon's staff, so I basically chalk that up as another good review -- at least for me. This'll be my next download.

The only thing these reviews have me worried about is the game's rhyming style, which seems to be an "embrace it or hate it" type deal. Kill Screen Daily gave it a 52/100, mostly for what the review saw as pandering-via-rhyme:

And so mark Child of Light as an unfinished work. Its three-pronged idea remains 33% explored: the world is beautiful; the combat progression is callow; the narrative is so obsessed with its own telling that it never leaves the tunnel. Forget 10 hours; I’d spend a lifetime in this world if only there was something for me to do in it besides hearing these idiots jabber in ABCBBDEE (or whatever) rhyme. The game’s enormous mistake is to surmise that the exposition of a sincere narrative necessarily involves the JRPG’s fetishization of innocence. Xenogears, after all, was about God, not Chu Chu; Earthbound was about America, not Ness. Child of Light, on the other hand, is about being about children. By missing the forest for the trees—so many characters cry that it playfully refers to it as “making dew,” for example—it utterly infantalizes the player.

I disagree that "Earthbound was about America," but this seems to be a pretty legitimately divisive issue. Other reviewers seem to enjoy the hell out it, though. I'm in either way -- I'm just down for the concept, and stoked to checked it out.

 

[Glass Joe]

I would never ordinarily start a game on hard and would only consider the option after beating the game. As a gamer, I generally don't look for ways to artificially put roadblocks in my path. If you can get through Normal mode by ignoring significant mechanics, that is a game flaw. But apparently the good news is that those issues are solved with hard mode so that is what I shall start with.

 

[Rizzi]

Arthur Gies being Arthur Gies.
I'm glad this seems to have turned out well. Been looking forward to playing it.

 

[Doran902]

I would never ordinarily start a game on hard and would only consider the option after beating the game. As a gamer, I generally don't look for ways to artificially put roadblocks in my path. If you can get through Normal mode by ignoring significant mechanics, that is a game flaw. But apparently the good news is that those issues are solved with hard mode so that is what I shall start with.

Agreed. Good post.

 

[Lord Error]

The puzzles are very simple, and only offer a slight diversion and not really a satisfying brain teaser. The game is best described as a sidescrolling 'JRPG', not a puzzle game. Exploration is very flow-y and loose; you do collect numerous chests and stat-up items, but it's nothing like Metroid, for example. You'll be battling more often than not, which is the highlight of the game. Exploration and sidequests are just there to pepper the pace a little, hardly intrusive (and to get Oculi gems and stat-ups, of course).

I thought the game was much more puzzle heavy and not so much on combat. That's too bad

 

[FoneBone]

For this game in particular, they should have named it:

Normal = Beginner
Hard = Expert

That gives a clear indication of what experience you should expect out of each difficulty.

And actually, they should have probably made a third difficulty that is somewhere in between the two for the player who doesn't want a huge challenge but also doesn't want to steamroll it.

All of this is true, but I don't think any of it is a fair criticism of Gies' review, and I say that as someone who doesn't care for Polygon much at all.

 

[antitrop]

I would never ordinarily start a game on hard and would only consider the option after beating the game. As a gamer, I generally don't look for ways to artificially put roadblocks in my path. If you can get through Normal mode by ignoring significant mechanics, that is a game flaw. But apparently the good news is that those issues are solved with hard mode so that is what I shall start with.

But the game allows you to switch up the difficulty on the fly, so if you ever figure "Hey, this is too easy.", and don't do anything about it, you only have yourself to blame.

To me, it's like complaining that the default aiming sensitivity is too high in a first person shooter, and then ignoring the option to change it.

 

[SlasherJPC]

But the game allows you to switch up the difficulty on the fly, so if you ever figure "Hey, this is too easy.", and don't do anything about it, you only have yourself to blame.

JACKPOT!

 

[Black Republican]

i got a this through digital preorder, will i be able to download it midnight?

 

[imae]

I'm guessing you can't use Wiimote + Nunchuck to play? - seems like the pointer would have worked well with it.

Been following this game for a while, glad it turned out good. Not sure which platform to buy for tho....

 

[ironcreed]

I think it looks decent, but it can wait.

 

[e_i]

Joystiq's Review

Score:

Spoiler

3.5/5

 

[The_Monk]

I just read a bit of the reviews from the first page and I don't see anything regarding the length of the game. I'm trying to avoid any spoilers for this one, can any kind soul tell me if there's any info on how much it will take us to finish the game, give or take?

 

[Seda]

I just read a bit of the reviews from the first page and I don't see anything regarding the length of the game. I'm trying to avoid any spoilers for this one, can any kind soul tell me if there's any info on how much it will take us to finish the game, give or take?

Ballpark is 10-15 hours

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

Ballpark is 10-15 hours

Yeah, that's what I've heard as well.

Also, I've heard that there's a Diablo-style New Game+ that scales the enemies to handle your higher LV characters.

 

[Seda]

Also, I've heard that there's a Diablo-style New Game+ that scales the enemies to handle your higher LV characters.

Hmm I didn't see that, after beating the final boss it allows you to explore the world to gather remaining collectables and finish sidequests for sure. I'll take a look later if there's any sort of replay or NG+.

 

[nynt9]

But the game allows you to switch up the difficulty on the fly, so if you ever figure "Hey, this is too easy.", and don't do anything about it, you only have yourself to blame.

To me, it's like complaining that the default aiming sensitivity is too high in a first person shooter, and then ignoring the option to change it.

Yep. Also expecting harder difficulties to not have more depth is silly in an RPG. Obviously when the game gets harder you would have to strategize more, use abilities that you didn't really need to on easy, and pay attention to different mechanics.

 

[chickdigger802]

But the game allows you to switch up the difficulty on the fly, so if you ever figure "Hey, this is too easy.", and don't do anything about it, you only have yourself to blame.

To me, it's like complaining that the default aiming sensitivity is too high in a first person shooter, and then ignoring the option to change it.

is it an obvious thing? Being able to switch difficulties on the fly isn't really a common thing in most jrpgs, and for someone playing a game for review, wouldn't you stick with 1 difficulty setting for consistency sake?

 

[The_Monk]

Ballpark is 10-15 hours

Thank you for answering fellow GAFfer, seems great to me.

 

[dark_inferno]

is it an obvious thing? Being able to switch difficulties on the fly isn't really a common thing in most jrpgs, and for someone playing a game for review, wouldn't you stick with 1 difficulty setting for consistency sake?

Nope... because i would like to test how this affects the game.

 

[RedAssedApe]

how's the story? that's usually what i care about the most when i play a jrpg. a story that engages me enough to keep playing.