A gorgeous co-op experience

Child of Light is a truly beautiful 2D experience. I’m amazed by how good 2D graphics are getting. Muramasa and Wario Land looked amazing last gen and now when all the home consoles offer high definition graphics, these new 2D games are just blowing me away with their visuals. Rayman Legends looked fantastic but I would say Child of Light beats it, it’s absolutely stunning. Apart from the visuals the gameplay is fairly generic (altho with some twists), it’s mostly something to do while taking in the beautiful hand drawn graphics.

The game also has an excellent “girlfriend mode”. So if your significant other is attracted to the games visuals (who wouldn't be?) but maybe isn't the most skilled gamer, Child of Light might be a good fit. The second player controls a Navi-like blue ball of light called Igniculus, which can do things such as pull switches and slow down enemies in battle. The look of the game was enough to get my Ghibli loving girlfriend interested in some co-op play, the second player experience seemed to offer enough depth to keep her interested without being so complex that she got frustrated. The second player is mostly active  during the battles, where it is easy to contribute by keeping the Navi lookalike on an enemy and slowing him down. But if the second player really wants to maximize his or her impact on the battle it takes some real tactical thinking and timing.