The PS4 version of "Child of Light" in China: Ubisoft's belated version of Miyazaki's fairy tale

As we have just entered 2016, the Chinese mainland consoles seem to have started to bring us a lot of surprises. Among them, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has just released a list of games that have passed the review. The appearance of "Transformers: Destroyer" will undoubtedly add another masterpiece to the Chinese mainland game family.

However, while you are waiting for this game, the Chinese PS4 will definitely not let you wait in vain. After being launched on the Chinese Xbox One, "Child of Light" has joined the Chinese Sony family.

It is worth mentioning that the physical disc received this time is the Deluxe Edition of "Child of Light". Unlike the Xbox One version, the game has added 7 appendices, which can be regarded as a small benefit brought by Sony to Chinese players (it may also be to make up for the time difference between the release of the game and Xbox One).

The ink painting style is outstanding. Thumbs up for the Chinese dubbing.

As a combat-themed exploration game under the game giant Ubisoft, the game starts with a story. The background is the story of Aurora lost in a dream, looking for a way home and saving the Lemuria kingdom shrouded in darkness.

The game style is different from Assassin's Creed. Of course, the game as a whole has a Japanese RPG background, but judging from the Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy in the past two years, this seems to be acceptable to players.

The game uses a 2D horizontal version of the game, with the main painting style being line ink painting. Even the scene transitions are done by covering them with ink dots. At the same time, the cute protagonist Aurora and the extremely cute Weiguang add a fresh feeling to this fantasy world.

If there is any aspect of the game that leaves the most profound impression on players, the Chinese dubbing is undoubtedly it. Although localized games are gradually emerging abroad, most games still use English dubbing as the main feature. Whether it is the Xbox One version or the PS4 version, the Chinese dubbing of "Child of Light" is definitely worthy of praise from many players.

Turn-based combat mode with rich operating elements

"Child of Light" is based on the themes of puzzle solving, exploration, and combat. Unlike "Journey", the puzzle solving element of this game is not prominent. Most of the puzzles are opened by manipulating faint light for simple light projection. However, in terms of exploration, the vast map and numerous collection elements, including many hidden rooms, do provide players with a good exploration environment.

However, as the producer of the action game "Assassin's Creed", how can it lack combat elements? Perhaps it is deeply influenced by Japanese RPG. The addition of turn-based system can be regarded as one of the characteristics of "Child of Light". However, Ubisoft did not copy it. The addition of progress bar allows players to control the rhythm of battle more accurately.

The game's combat methods can be said to be varied. How to join the battle and attack first sometimes tests the player's operation of Aurora. Of course, during the battle, the two sides no longer attack in a rigid order. Using glimmers to harass the opponent, gain the initiative, and interrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm in time has also become the key to testing the player's operational proficiency.

However, players with clumsy hands may have a hard time playing, and the two-way operation may also make one thing lose sight of the other. The addition of the touchpad provides players with another simple way to operate the shimmer, or add a second handle to fight with friends for more fun.

As the game progresses, the types of enemies gradually increase. In addition to powerful BOSS battles, attribute restraint, attack, and magic will affect the player one by one. At the same time, the increase in team members will sometimes make you distressed, because only two people can play on the field at a time. Although they can be replaced at any time, how to grasp the restraint between the enemy and us makes players rack their brains.

But there is no need to worry too much, the addition of the "Okuri" gem has greatly strengthened the player himself. At the same time, during the exploration process, opening treasure chests and the stars given by tasks will improve the player's attributes. Of course, the skill tree is a tradition of RPG games. It is worth mentioning that this game has no weapons and equipment, so don't expect to be equipped with a powerful weapon that can defeat everything in one second.

Although the early tutorials of this game are a bit tedious, the fun of the game will naturally emerge once you really get started. Although the game itself is not as good as 3A masterpieces, the rich content and more brain-burning methods make this "Child of Light" a worthy masterpiece among the domestic console games.

The game is not only fun but also has a unique style

PS4 and Xbox One have been in China for a long time. Apart from a few blockbuster games, most of them are casual games, including some high-quality games with their own unique style and high acclaim.

Among them, Chen Xinghan's "Journey" adds a lot of artistic elements on the basis of puzzle exploration, allowing players to experience the wonderful feeling of exploring a vast unknown land, with a sense of liberation of drifting with the wind and being unrestrained. This also made IGN give it a high rating of 9.0.

Similarly, Child of Light, as a casual RPG game that Ubisoft changed its style, cleverly avoided the clichés of the RPG industry in the past decade with its simple hand-painted art style and attractive character design, and absorbed the best parts of them. The simple operation makes it easy for players to get started, but the practicality after mastering it is something that most RPG games cannot do. IGN even gave it a score of 9.3, which is much higher than Ubisoft's other horizontal 2D game Assassin's Creed Chronicles.

Of course, in order to capture the attention of players, style is essential. Nowadays, many games, especially independent games, not only reflect the creators' ideas, but their unique style and artistic conception also reflect the style of the entire team. "Monument Valley", "Trinity", "Limbo", and "Machinarium" have not only won a very good reputation in the industry, but also obtained considerable profits through major download platforms. Even alternative mobile games such as "Flappy Bird" have gained great popularity.

At the same time, the further popularization of simplified Chinese and Mandarin dubbing has broadened the development path of this type of game, which has also stimulated the research and development enthusiasm of many independent game development teams in China. Of course, while Sony is introducing 3A masterpieces, it also hopes to provide more games with these unique styles to players.

However, there is a year gap between the Chinese PS4 and Xbox versions of "Child of Light". There is neither violence nor this is not the fault of censorship. Perhaps it is because of copyright and Chinese localization. Of course, this is not something Sony can fully control. However, the deluxe edition provides more content, which can be regarded as compensation for players.

To be fair, in 2016, blockbuster games like "Uncharted 4", "The Division" and "Street Fighter 5" were released one after another. The international version of PS4 even used the Chinese version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Yakuza Kiwami" to lead the way. In contrast, the Chinese version of PS4 used "Child of Light", an old game that has already been available on Xbox One, as the first shot of the year, which is a bit disappointing.

Even though Sony’s slogan “Everything for players” is not empty slogan, and the high-quality mini-games do provide a lot of fun, they are ultimately just a diversion for free time. Faced with the release of international versions of 3A masterpieces, when will Chinese people be able to play real licensed masterpieces?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.