REVIEW: ‘Lumines Arise’ Is A Seamless Blend Of Visuals And Game Design

Lumines Arise, a puzzle game developed by Enhance and Monstars Inc. and published by Enhance, tasks players with using falling 2×2 blocks comprised of a pair of colors to make squares of a single color. The bigger the square, the more points you get.

This sounds simple enough, but there is an incredible amount of depth and intricacy that will leave players challenged as they master the game’s mechanics, while enjoying its gorgeous graphics and world-class soundtrack. 

The layers that make up the core gameplay loop are tricky to describe. As players drop their cubes to make the sought-after squares, a thin bar moves repeatedly across the screen. Only when the bar passes over a formed square will the square be claimed, opening up space on the board. This creates a timing element to Lumines Arise’s gameplay that many similar puzzle games lack.

Lumines Arise combines unusual gameplay elements to make a unique puzzle game experience.

Sometimes, waiting to form a cube just after the bar passes over is preferable. It gives the player more time to add to the cube, potentially growing its size and score once claimed.

Other times, it’s better to get a cube made just before scoring. This is generally the case when space is in short supply and you need to free up real estate. Trying to manage the timing element, along with simply deciphering where best to drop a block, is more than enough to provide loads of challenge. And yet there’s more. 

There are special blocks that randomly drop within the standard square. These blocks have a flashing target on them. When they land, they link any blocks of the same color together, and those blocks are eliminated when the horizontally moving bar passes over them. And finally, there is Bursts.

As cubes are claimed, the Burst percentage, visible at the top of the moving bar, increases. Anytime the percentage ranges from 50–100, Burst can be activated. While in this mode, the game slows down, and the player needs to grow one of their squares as large as possible. While Burst is active, the moving bar will not claim the cube, giving the player lots of time to build it up. Potentially racking up huge points, while also clearing a sizable portion of the board of a single color. 

Every level of Lumines Arise features its own designs and increasing difficulty.

With so much going on, Lumines Arise creates a perpetual sense of urgency as blocks spin and are positioned. Because board states can become so complex, there is no point at which you fall into a groove. This frequently lends the game a tiring energy that made me need to walk away. 

Taking the game’s trickiness to the next level are the gorgeous visuals. Every level of Lumines Arise features its own designs for the area surrounding the playspace and the blocks themselves. Sometimes the pair of blocks used to build squares resembles planets, other times vegetables. In a couple of levels, the space will also fill up with water. While this does not affect gameplay, it can distract the eye, wasting crucial seconds. 

There are a plethora of other visual elements that can draw attention away from the focused tasks. Lights and other surrounding elements can soar past the screen, or the camera may zoom in and out, creating a disorienting effect. While these are all gorgeously rendered and applied, it can become a bit much at times. Happily, many of the more distracting elements can be limited in the accessibility menu, clearing the play area of some of them. 

Multiple game modes keep players engaged beyond the core game.

Beyond the core game, Lumines Arise also offers a fair number of unique challenges to explore. A survival mode task requires players to get through all 35 levels of the main game in a single sitting. Keeping focus for that long, even with the difficulty on easy, was too much for me. 

There is also a set of training puzzles available that help teach players how to view the board and understand the ins and outs of how falling blocks interact with the game space. For new players, I would highly recommend exploring this, at least the beginner puzzles, before diving headlong into the main game. 

There is also Challenge Mode, which tasks the player with clearing a set of original trails, each with its own spin on the game. One uses irregular shapes instead of dropping squares, while another has an egg at the center of the screen that must be hatched by creating squares next to it before the timer expires.

These challenges are the best part of the game. They become available after the main game is beaten, delivering a refreshing take on the core gameplay loop, just as you may need it. 

The final game mode in Lumines Arise is online multiplayer. Two players race to make their cubes, as they drop junk onto each other’s boards. Working within the tightening area creates an extra layer of difficulty, but I don’t know if it’s a good one. Getting slammed by junk taking up my screen was just one little challenge too many. But if you are exceptionally good at the game, this added layer may give you something extra to enjoy. 

The visuals and soundtrack elevate Lumines Arise even further.

As players participate in all of these various modes, they earn points that can be redeemed for various customizations. Their online avatar can be given many different designs, your nameplate can be altered, as well as other visual flourishes. These are cute, but I can’t see them meaning much to many people. 

An incredible soundtrack runs throughout the entirety of Lumines Arise. Music from a variety of genres and styles plays out as the game’s various modes challenge players. Always in line with the visual elements on screen, the music adds another layer to the game’s overall presentation. Sometimes upbeat, other times chill, the music always brings a sense of cool to whatever is happening on screen. 

Lumines Arise brings a classic puzzle game into the modern era. Combining great gameplay that is easy to learn but challenging to master, with visuals that look great and music that always nails the tone, Lumines Arise suffers from only a few minor hiccups. 

Lumines Arise is available now on PlayStation 5 and PC.