Child of Light puts players in control of a mischievous girl named Aurora as she travels through the watercolor world of Lemuria on a coming-of-age adventure. The side-scrolling action features classic RPG elements as players engage in turn-based battles with the minions of the Queen of the Night, who has stolen the sun, moon, and stars. The friendly firefly companion Igniculus accompanies gamers through fairytale-like environments and dungeons where they interact with a variety of surreal creatures, including talking mice, gnomes, and evil dragons.
On their journey players can collect a variety of gems that Aurora can craft into more than 600 unique combinations, and there are more than 200 different skills to unlock and apply to characters. Child of Light also includes a co-op multiplayer mode in which a second gamer can take on the role of Igniculus and join or leave the action at any time.