Digital Heart and Soul

Image courtesy of UbiSoft

One of the most intriguing games released this year was Child of Light, a downloadable RPG with stunning storybook visuals, solid turn-based combat, and a mesmerizing soundtrack. I usually shy away from RPGs, as I never feel like I have the time or patience to properly play them. But Child of Light won me over not just because of its aesthetics, but because it was presented a very focused narrative and gameplay experience. Child of Light is only 10 or so hours long (much shorter than most modern RPGs) but was deep enough for even the most hardcore gamer find plenty to love about it. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Child of Light is that it was developed and released by UbiSoft, one of the biggest game companies in the world, best known for the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and the Splinter Cell series. Here was one of the most powerful gaming developers releasing a tiny little download-only RPG, which features a female protagonist and dialogue told exclusively in rhyme. Sounds like a recipe for failure, but Child of Light proved to be anything but, becoming a smash success both critically and commercially.

Child of Light is a fantastic game, but I believe that its mass appeal is due in part to that fact that it both contains and exudes genuine heart, two things that are sorely missing in today's gaming landscape.

UbiSoft recently announced that the development team behind the game had become a "core part" of the company. UbiSoft Montreal's VP of Creative, Lionel Reynald, said that the team behind the game wants to work together again and create more titles in the same vein of Child of Light. If the success of Child of Light has proven anything, it is that gamers are not always looking for the next huge blockbuster experience.

I personally rank Child of Light among the three best games of the year so far, a list that also includes Supergiant Games' fantastic Transistor, and Valiant Hearts: The Great War, another stellar title from UbiSoft. All three are download-only titles that last under 10 hours, and all garnered major acclaim among the gaming masses.

In comparison, three of the year's biggest games - Titanfall, Watch Dogs, and Destiny - were all considered disappointments by gamers. This is rather shocking, especially considering the amount of promise and hype each title had. All three have sold extremely well, but sales numbers mean nothing when the game is not received well by gamers.

I guess what I am saying is this: I will take a shorter, more focused game over a massive, open-world epic any day. Cramming every type of gameplay mechanic into one title does not always guarantee a better, more varied gameplay experience. A game like Child of Light succeeds because it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to be; it knows its identity and does not try to shy away from it.

I know it is hard to see it some times (especially in an industry filled to the brim with sequels, massively-multiplayer social experiences, and thrilling spectacle), but games do not need to be big and shiny all of the time. Some of the best games are made by small teams with limited resources; they have to rely on their talent and unwavering love of gaming in order to deliver a great experience. Development teams like The Fullbright Company and Galactic Cafe, creators of Gone Home and The Stanley Parable, respectively, did not have massive budgets or state-of-the-art resources to work with, and yet they both still managed to create two of the most stunning gaming experiences of the last few years. Heart and soul trumps massive amounts of money every time.

So remember this gaming industry: bigger is not always better.