Review by: Justin Amirkhani

Child of Eden falls into a new category of game I’ve recently found myself enjoying more and more lately. Like Flower or The Path, the game is less about the genres that define its gameplay and more about the emotional experience it provides the player. Yes, Child of Eden is both an on-rails shooter and a music game but it exists as so much more than its mechanical components. This isn’t a game about shooting at targets or getting a high score, this is a game about a sense – and it conveys that sense very eloquently.

The loose backstory tells us that the internet has evolved to contain all forms of human consciousness and has been renamed to Eden. From within this massive network of ideas and information, the first truly human artificial intelligence has sprung and her name is Lumi. Just as she’s starting to exist, Eden and Lumi are attacked by a strange sort of plague or virus from the outside that wants to destroy them.

If any of this is sounding familiar it’s because the story is tangentially linked to its spiritual predecessor, REZ. Lumi appears as the subject of the earlier game, with the player charged with protecting the artificial intelligence from internal corruption. With Child of Eden being so focused on warding off external forces, the contrast between the games calls to mind the evolving role we all must play in defeating our inner demons before we can face the outside world properly.

The backstory isn’t the only thing Child of Eden shares with REZ; much of the gameplay will remain familiar for those who’ve played both. Players wield an 8-beat lock-on targeting system that lets them sweep over enemies and destroy them in-time with the beat, while a second rapid-fire attack is used to destroy special enemies and oncoming projectiles.

What separates the two games is Eden’s use of Kinect. When playing with the motion controller, players float their hands in front of the screen like a conductor controlling an orchestra. Motions are fluid and feel natural, providing one of the few Kinect experiences that doesn’t feel obtuse and forced. The direct and elegant motions the game asks for don’t clash with the experience and it provides the sense of personal interaction Kinect always promised to deliver.

Even with that in mind, the Kinect control method is missing a key element of the Child of Eden experience. Like REZ, the controller has very rhythmic vibrations that provide natural immersion. Just by nature of the controller-free experience, Kinect can’t provide the same level of feedback as the controller and you’re missing out on one element of the synesthetic experience. Though you’ll always pair audio and visuals, unless there’s a controller in your hand, you miss out on the sensation of touch.