Ubisoft's delightful RPG Child of Light is brought to life using the same UbiArt Framework technology behind the last two outstanding Rayman games - but with a twist. Beautiful and imaginative, the world in Child of Light is created via rich water-coloured artwork where characters and scenery are displayed with fine brush stroke details, leading to a vivid and dreamlike painted appearance. Various layers are used to create depth and give locations a real sense of atmosphere, while the use of dynamic lighting forms an integral part of the gameplay - light sources are used to illuminate hidden or dark pathways during exploration, solve puzzles, heal your characters, and slow down enemies in combat.

All of this is presented at a smooth 60fps update that one would expect from any high-quality 2D game. In fact, one of the stand-out features of the UbiArt Framework engine is the ability for it to handle native 1080p visuals running at 60fps across a wide range of platforms - as demonstrated by Rayman Legends and its equally superb prequel. With this in mind it comes as a surprise to learn that with Child of Light Ubisoft Montreal has elected to use a very different rendering set-up from the Rayman games, with the last-gen platforms failing to hit the full HD standard.

The topic of resolution is particularly interesting where PS4 and Xbox One are concerned. Child of Light provides us with a crisp 1080p presentation, but some evidence suggests that elements of the presentation are derived from rendering at a much higher resolution and then down-sampling - a process known as super-sampling. The lack of long straight edges makes pixel counting difficult, but our analysis throws up two separate numbers for horizontal resolution - 2304 and 2112 were both extracted from the same scene - while vertical resolution is consistent at 1440. This isn't entirely confirmed, then - it may well be the case that a form of multi-sampling is in effect, but the edge-smoothing is quite unlike any other form of MSAA we've seen before. You can peer at the effects on all six platforms by checking out our expansive comparison gallery.

"Child of Light provides us with a beautiful 1080p presentation on both PS4 and Xbox One, seemingly super-sampling down from a much higher 1440p native resolution."

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The same high standard of image quality is present on the PC version of Child of Light, which also seems to be using a similar sampling implementation to PS4 and Xbox One, with no option to adjust the effect. Similar to Rayman Legends, the visuals settings are limited to resolution, brightness, and the ability to toggle fluid simulation on and off. Unusually, the ability to engage v-sync is nowhere to be found and neither is there any way to cap the frame-rate via the in-game menu. Instead Child of Light largely operates with what looks like variable v-sync enabled, leading to some occasional tearing. It's also possible that v-sync just isn't working correctly, which seems to be a reasonably common occurrence in PC games that feature limited or no options with regards to refresh rate.

It's with the PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 games that we see significant differences. Unlike the Rayman games, 1080p resolution is dropped in favour of a native 720p presentation that gives the game a softer appearance compared to the current generation and PC releases. The form of anti-aliasing is more difficult to pin down here, but we wouldn't be surprised to see super-sampling of some description utilised, bearing in mind that we know that the UbiArt engine is more than capable of sustaining 1080p60 on last-gen platforms. We're a little surprised that Ubisoft elected to use this technique instead of the native 1080p approach found in Rayman Legends that worked so well.

Outside of the impact the reduction in overall image quality has on the presentation, there's actually very little to separate each version of Child of Light from one another from a technical point of view. The same core artwork appears to be in use in all versions of Child Of Light, with the upscale to 1080p and odd AA blur issues responsible for a loss of fine detail on the 360, PS3, and Wii U consoles.

PS4, Xbox One and PC owners get a 1080p presentation seemingly derived from a 1440p native resolution. Pixel counting puts this somewhere around 2304x1440 or 2112x1440, resulting in a crisp, clean look that perfectly suits the watercolour artwork. Alternative some kind of multi-sampling may be in effect. Child of Light renders in 720p on the 360, PS3, and Wii U with a form of sample-based anti-aliasing. The upscale to 1080p leads to softer looking image compared to the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Curiously, the AA also adds an extra layer of blurriness to some elements. Weighing in at around 2GB on all platforms, the same core assets appear to be used across all versions of Child of Light, although the artwork looks much softer on the 360, PS3, and Wii U due to the framebuffer being upscaled to 1080p, either by the console or your display. Child of Light features a different gamma set-up on the 360 and Xbox One, where details in dark areas are crushed on both formats. Meanwhile, bright highlights appear more overblown on the Xbox One. Child of Light features the same fluid simulation found in Rayman Legends. Characters cause ripples and waves to appear as they interact with the body of water.

For the most part the same high standards are also in place on the Xbox One release, but there are moments where the engine falters, resulting in brief drops in smoothness and some mild - but noticeable - stuttering. The relative rarity of these inconsistencies mean they have no adverse impact on gameplay throughout most of the experience - at worse we looking at drops down to around the 52fps mark, but usually the impact on performance is much smaller and often goes by undetected when immersed in exploring the beautiful watercolour world on offer.

That said, seeing frame-rate drops in a 2D title is rather disappointing and not something we'd expect to see on modern hardware with plenty of pixel-pushing power behind it. Assuming the super-sampling theory is correct, we do wonder whether sticking with native 1080p may have been a preferable solution overall on Xbox One.

The last-generation versions put in a slightly more stable performance compared to the Xbox One where frame-rates are concerned, although all three platforms narrowly miss out on a solid 60fps update by one or two frames from time to time. Due to the small nature of these drops the impact on gameplay is non-existent, and for the most part they go by undetected.

"Child of Light hands in a solid 60fps experience on PS4, with minor drops on Xbox One. The 720p last-gen versions actually run marginally smoother."

This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings Frame-rate tests for Child Of Light reveal a solid 60fps update on the PS4, whereas there are some occasional dips in smoothness on the Xbox One resulting in some mild judder.

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