Game of the Month: April 2014 - Child of Light

April may not have equalled March's onslaught of great games, but it still managed to play host to a number of smaller titles that ended up occupying large chunks of our time. Enjoyable downloadable releases were aplenty, with the likes of Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Trials Fusion, and Child of Light all vying for Push Square's coveted Game of the Month award. After much heated debate, it was decided that Ubisoft's picturesque platforming role-playing game was the best game that last month had to offer.

"Child of Light has a few flaws, but these don’t prevent it from being an instant classic," wrote an enamoured Mat Growcott, who described the colourful title as a "must buy". The poetic adventure's "excellent battle system and outstanding art style" helped it to earn a brilliant score of 9/10 in our review. Matt's fun didn't stop there, though, as he also penned our Trials Fusion write-up, where he dubbed it "one of the best games on the PlayStation 4", before stamping the stunt-'em-up with another fantastic 9/10.

Also walking away with its head held equally high was Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn. The release's rebirth on the PlayStation 4 was more than enough to keep MMO enthusiast Nathan Michalik happy, as he called it an "excellent upgrade which shows that the PS4 is capable of bringing PC quality online escapades into the living room". With a startling difference in quality between the PS3 and PS4 versions of the game, our reviewer went on to write that "the added horsepower of Sony’s new system and overall improvements mean that you shouldn’t think twice about taking the trip to Eorzea this time around". Better get those Chocobos all saddled up, then.

As we've already mentioned, last month was full of digital titles, but not all of them reached the same lofty heights as the games that we've singled out so far. Both Octodad: Dadliest Catch and Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut were in the running for our Game of the Month award, but neither had much of an impact on our staff vote. Writing about the former, reviewer Graham Banas noted that "the title’s zany controls lead to some even stranger onscreen occurrences, and that culminates in a lot of unexpected entertainment", while this particular author had a blast with Born Ready Games' good-but-not-great sci-fi shooter, concluding that "when it's at its absolute best, Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut is a brilliantly bombastic, incredibly intense space combat game that's sure to give you wings". Both games nabbed a solid 7/10.

What was your favourite game of April 2014? Help kickstart your answer by perusing the handy list of reviews that we've provided, vote in our all-important poll, and then share your decision in the comments section below.

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (8/10)
The Witch and the Hundred Knight (5/10)
Destiny of Spirits (7/10)
Skullgirls Encore (8/10)
King Oddball (PS4) (7/10)
Mercenary Kings (7/10)
Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut (7/10)
Football Manager Classic 2014 (8/10)
Invizimals: The Alliance (6/10)
Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom (4/10)
Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn (9/10)
The Wolf Among Us: Episode 3 - A Crooked Mile (9/10)
Dead Nation (PS Vita) (5/10)
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (7/10)
The Sly Collection (PS Vita) (8/10)
MLB 14 The Show (7/10)
Trials Fusion (9/10)
SingOn (4/10)
Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark - Ultimate Edition (7/10)
Short Peace: Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day (6/10)
Octodad: Dadliest Catch (7/10)
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Deluxe Edition (4/10)
LEGO The Hobbit (6/10)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle (7/10)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (4/10)
Child of Light (9/10)
Stick It to the Man (8/10)
Ethan: Meteor Hunter (4/10)