A content-filled role-playing game that’s no child’s play!

Don’t feel discouraged if you’re not particularly versed in Steven Universe, for you should still enjoy this one.

Steven Universe is a show that apparently touches upon deep social issues and breaks many traditional molds in the cartoon realm, meanwhile retaining a PG rating. This game, in comparison, doesn’t send you off on a deep philosophical quest to find the meaning of life or the world around you, but it’s still intricate enough to be pitted against other AAA handheld titles.

Trust me, I’m not one who cares too much about licensed games. What’s more, I tremble at the thought of even launching them the first time, especially if they’re based on a show or film that I care deeply about, out of fear that they could forever scar my pristine memory of said show/film. If you’re a Steven Universe fan, proceed with caution! 

The first warning I must make is with regards to the plot, which, frankly, it’s not very compelling. In a nutshell, Steven is playing a game on his tablet when the “Crystal Gems” suddenly appear (because everything is so sudden in these cartoons). These “gems” bring a powerful crystal called a “Light Prism” that can command an entire “army of light”. When Steven grabs the prism, seven light creatures suddenly (that word again) break free from the prism, launching you on a mission to find them with the aid of the Gems. 

When I say “with the aid of the Gems” I really mean that the Gems basically do all the heavy lifting! Yeah, Steven became seemingly unaware of his full “powers”, so the Gems battle on his behalf.

Conversely, the most striking aspect of this game is its engaging gameplay, which is inspired by the likes of Paper Mario ( and, I mean, who doesn’t love Paper Mario?) In essence, the game is a dungeon crawler with a turn-based fighting system whereby you perform your actions via gesture-based controls. 

Just as with any other role-playing game, your characters level up as you gain experience from battles and they can thus obtain different abilities and increase their stats. 

Steven, however, earns experience by just… standing there. Oh, and his “pockets” also get bigger for some reason, enabling you to stuff some more cash in. Talk about exploitation! This is truly unfair, considering he was the one who unleashed all the problems in the first place!

Well, let’s be fair, at least Steven offers some support, and you can unlock some support abilities for him to aid the Gems while they skirmish with the hordes of darkness (or lightness, or whatever it is that you’re battling). 

Back to the gameplay, the battles in Attack the Light rely on a “starpower gauge”. This gauge limits the number of actions you can perform in one turn. You can get the gauge to up to 9 starts by not spending all your moves in one turn (or via starfruits, whichever suits your fancy). The more stars you have available, the more powerful the moves that your characters can make. Breaking enemy shields already take a ton of stars, so it’s guaranteed that you won’t take them for granted (and you’ll find a generous number of shielded enemies!)

On another note, the game excels in the lighthearted and “meta” way it approaches RPG tropes. In fact, the last thing that Steven expressed during the first cutscene is how excited he was to be immersed in his own role-playing game. I’m not sure if the Gems appreciated that remark, though, especially when they were just arriving from another tiring world-saving mission. Is this kid totally oblivious to all the dangers that these Gems had to go through? Argh, If only I were his parent!

Okay, rant over! 

Lastly, the visuals in the game are very simplistic, yet functional. They look even more minimalistic than the cartoon itself. Notwithstanding, they still manage to look pleasant enough for me to get engaged and enjoy my time with the game.

Verdict

Attack The Light, judged in isolation from the cartoon it’s based on, is a decent role-playing game with very impressive mechanics that every RPG fan could appreciate. While it’s not devoid of its flaws and underwhelming moments, this game fulfills my expectations in many areas. For $2.99 and with no in-app purchases on the horizon, you could definitely try out this one.

You can also voice your thoughts about this review or this game in the comments section below!