Child of Light

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Very Positive · 91%Very Positive · 91%2014

$14.99

US Steam price, checked 5 h ago

The verdict

A short, gorgeous watercolor fairy-tale JRPG with rhyming dialogue, lovely music and simple turn-based combat. Skip it if Ubisoft Connect or launch crashes on modern PCs would bother you.

Great for

Fans of cozy, short turn-based RPGs, art-driven games, and playing with kids

Main risk

Game may not launch on modern PCs and forces a Ubisoft account/launcher

What players love

Gorgeous watercolor art style

Mentioned in ~3 in 5 positive reviews

“The art style is stunning every scene feels like a living fairytale painting.”
Steam review · 0.2 h played ↗

“100% worth it for that alone. Very unique look that you wont find in any other game.”
Steam review · 22.8 h played ↗

“As soon as you launch the game, it enchants you with a mesmerizing soundtrack and wonderful artwork.”
Steam review · translated · 5.8 h played ↗

Beautiful, memorable soundtrack

Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews

“The musics my god, make it play rent free in my head”
Steam review · 8.5 h played ↗

“A top soundtrack by Cœur de pirate, whom I've listened to since the game's release; I strongly recommend listening even if you don't want to play.”
Steam review · translated · 22 h played ↗

Charming fairy-tale story with rhyming dialogue

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews

“Also, I love how all the dialogue rhymes, it’s really cute and occasionally hilarious!”
Steam review · 13.6 h played ↗

“The text is done as a poem in a very interesting way and makes you want to read with expression.”
Steam review · translated · 5.1 h played ↗

Fun, accessible timeline combat

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews

“Everyone acts on the same timeline and learning how to manipulate it with Igniculus, hastes, slows, knockbacks, etc make for a fun system.”
Steam review · 11.8 h played ↗

“Turn-based combat like the Final Fantasy series (IV to IX) with an added layer of [u]interrupting attacks [/u]based on the position in the turn order bar”
Steam review · 16.2 h played ↗

Cozy, relaxing and nostalgic

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews

“Very peaceful to play. Awesome cozy game!”
Steam review · 2.2 h played ↗

“if you want a solid turn-based rpg that isn't super long and is very cozy, then this is the game for you.”
Steam review · 50.7 h played ↗

Great for playing with kids

Mentioned in ~1 in 13 positive reviews

“If you have a child who's still a little too young for proper co-op gaming, this game is PERFECT.”
Steam review · 40.1 h played ↗

“She could control the little firefly and not have to worry about damage or any technical parts and just help me out and follow my directions.”
Steam review · 19.8 h played ↗

What players complain about

Forced Ubisoft account and launcher

Mentioned in ~3 in 5 negative reviews

“they force you to log in with an Ubisoft account to open the game, even though you're buying it on Steam”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗

“The damn Ubisoft Connect demands an account with its own password that I also have to remember.”
Steam review · translated · 1.5 h played ↗

Won't launch or crashes on modern PCs

Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews

“If you have a newer computer, you will not be able to play this game.”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗

“Game crashes on startup for any CPU with more than 20 threads. Known issue that they will not fix.”
Steam review · 18.6 h played ↗

“The game doesn't launch on a modern system and yet it's still being sold.”
Steam review · translated · 4.1 h played ↗

Repetitive, shallow combat

Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews

“the combat itself felt grindy and repeptitive very quickly”
Steam review · 17.2 h played ↗

“Monotony, monotony, monotony!”
Steam review · translated · 3.8 h played ↗

“you only have two party members at a time, and nearly every fight in the game is against three enemies”
Steam review · 4.6 h played ↗

Weak, generic story and hollow feel

Mentioned in ~1 in 10 negative reviews

“the game is hollow; it has no soul.”
Steam review · 14.5 h played ↗

“the story itself feels shallow and generic”
Steam review · 8.3 h played ↗

Poor rhyming and writing quality

Mentioned in ~1 in 21 negative reviews

“Rythm and rhyme are lost or changed in every third line.”
Steam review · 2.2 h played ↗

“They force every sentence to a rhyming structure, and they don't even do that well.”
Steam review · 35.5 h played ↗

Save files lost via Uplay

Mentioned in ~1 in 30 negative reviews

“I got an Ubisoft Uplay update and it deleted my save file.”
Steam review · 11.8 h played ↗

“after 27h, the save game got corrupted and deleted, and all progress, almost at the end of the game is lost”
Steam review · 27.3 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Verified

Minimum

OSWindows Vista

ProcessorIntel Core2Duo E8200 @ 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon II X2 240 @ 2.8 GHz

Memory2 GB RAM

GraphicsnVidia GeForce 8800 GT or AMD Radeon HD2900 XT (512MB VRAM with Shader Model 4.0 or higher)

Storage3 GB available space

Recommended

OSWindows Vista

ProcessorIntel Core2Quad Q8400 @ 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon II X4 620 @ 2.6 GHz

Memory4 GB RAM

GraphicsnVidia GeForce GTX260 or AMD Radeon HD4870 (512MB VRAM with Shader Model 4.0 or higher)

Storage3 GB available space

OSWindows Vista

ProcessorIntel Core2Duo E8200 @ 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon II X2 240 @ 2.8 GHz

Memory2 GB RAM

GraphicsnVidia GeForce 8800 GT or AMD Radeon HD2900 XT (512MB VRAM with Shader Model 4.0 or higher)

Storage3 GB available space

More games to check

Other games we’ve read the reviews for

See all →

Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3 Complete Edition

Very Positive · 84%

+ Strong nostalgia and charm

− Many bugs and softlocks

analyzed 9 d ago

Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Retro Roundup!

Mostly Positive · 77%Early verdict

+ Strong nostalgia and faithful games

− Input lag

analyzed 3 d ago

VVVVVV

Overwhelmingly Positive

+ Outstanding chiptune soundtrack

− Slippery, floaty controls

analyzed 3 d ago

F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch

Very Positive · 87%

+ Gorgeous dieselpunk art and world

− Clunky, unresponsive combat

analyzed 4 d ago

Weekly digest

Fresh games worth a look, in your inbox

The most interesting games we’ve just analyzed, once a week.Once a week we send the most interesting games we’ve just analyzed: the verdict, top pros and cons, and what changed. No spam.

One email a week · unsubscribe in one click