Lumines has been lauded as one of the PSP’s killer apps, thanks to its unique blend of puzzle gameplay matched with rhythm-based music. Enhance further explored different ways to integrate puzzles and music into one euphoric experience. With the release of Tetris Effect: Connected, it seemed a natural conclusion to return to this franchise with Lumines Arise.
Announced during the June 4 State of Play earlier this year, Arise brings back the combination of block-matching puzzles with synchronized rhythm, combined with a visual overhaul. This release expands the sensorial experience established from REZ Infinity and Tetris Effect: Connected, and after some hands-on time, it’s safe to say that Lumines Arise is shaping up to be a transcendent experience while retaining a degree of difficulty.
It’s a Brand New Day
Lumines Arise is best described as a block-matching game where the goal is to create larger squares. The timeline constantly refreshes, sweeping away any combination of squares. While it starts easy, the difficulty curve ramps up, speeding up the timeline and drop rate. If the playfield is whole, Chain Blocks of either color can clear some space, creating the needed combinations. Each playfield features its own thematic aesthetic and music, and the gameplay adapts to the tempo of the tracks.
There’s a new way to clear the board via the Burst mechanic. When active, the playfield enters a state in which squares of a single color form into clusters. During Burst mode, the music pauses and reacts to the cluster’s expansion, creating a drop in the track. Depending on how much the meter is charged before activating burst, the longer passes are. This new feature is not too dissimilar to Zone mode in Tetris Effect: Connected, as it allows itself to be a comeback mechanic, which can’t always save a run if the playfield is full of junk.
Stepping Forward Into An Unforgettable Journey
Journey mode from Tetris Effect: Connected returns, and this is the primary means of progression. There are nine areas to progress from, each having either four or five stages, except for the final area. Each stage is beautifully complemented by visuals that range from a sunny beach to seeing a forest with squirrels roaming the playfield. These stages react through the DualSense’s haptic feedback, with each movement and beat of the track providing input. After achieving the objective, the stage seamlessly transitions to the next without a drop in performance.
The Loomii functions as the user-created avatar, completely customizable and unique. When stepping forward to Journey Mode, the main menu starts empty, but with each burst, it frees several Loomii. After a run, they populate the main menu, flying around the Journey Mode button to amplify its environmental storyline. Customizing a Loomii is done by collecting and spending Pon on the Loomii-Pon, and is collected through gameplay. It also includes additional rewards to roll for with varying degrees of rarity, such as titles, colors, banners, etc. Other items can be unlocked under special conditions in Journey or the other available modes.
With the completion of Journey, you will unlock two new modes in the form of Survival found on the Journey menu and Challenges in the Mission Mode menu. Survival is the traditional marathon mode, where running through stages is now a fight to get the highest score. Challenge Mode adds an extra twist that can stretch the mind, such as building under restrictions or even playing with constant chain blocks. These modes provide an additional layer of replayability, making them rewards after a long journey.
After a Long Reflection Across the Globe
Lumines Arise also features a variety of modes and accessibility settings to choose from. Mission Mode serves as both a tutorial for the game and additional puzzles that reward Pon. Playlist mode allows the creation of playlists that can be both thematic or mood-based, and can be watched in Theater Mode with stages from Journey Mode. Multiplayer offers a small hub area, allowing players to see other loomii walking around and interact with each other. Every weekend, there’s a special event where players can earn Pon through collaborative effort.
This mode also provides exclusive modes that both help teach and fight for the top spot on the leaderboards. These leaderboard modes include Time Attacks of three time varieties, and Dig Down, a mode where garbage blocks keep spawning from the bottom, raising the level of tension. Outside the leaderboard modes, there’s Quick Burst, which aims to form the biggest possible cluster. Additionally, there’s the versus mode called Burst Battle, where the best are tested in a best-of-three rounds. The leaderboards can be accessed with a single tap, and some are reset daily.
Selecting the accessibility settings is as easy as hitting the pause button. These settings can range from making the game stress-free to making the playfield easier to visualize to applying phobia filters. Additionally, there are settings for adjusting the camera distance, which also change the text size and colorblind filters. This is welcome, as the trek through Journey Mode can get overwhelming due to its visual and reactive elements. It may be frustrating at times, but the journey is all the more rewarding once completed.
Finding the Light in the Here and Now
Lumines Arise sees Enhance continue to take a step forward with another breathtaking experience. The serene atmosphere is amplified by the beautiful original tracks composed by Hydelic, which feature genre-bending music and immersive landscapes, providing an interesting challenge ahead. The open accessibility options make the overall experience smoother, and I believe this will be greatly appreciated by newcomers and veterans alike. The variety of modes on display will keep one coming back, especially to compete for the leaderboards. And while challenges are locked away due to story progression, the missions can easily train for what’s to come, as I felt the difficulty was challenging at first.
In an age where microtransactions are still prevalent, it’s cool to see that all the currency is obtained through gameplay, although with the caveat to roll for the rewards. Again, there are some rewards available through special conditions or purchasable, such as the Deluxe Edition content, which features themed Loomii skins from previous Enhance titles. The game’s performance was excellent across the board, except for a single crash, which didn’t stop me from completing the journey. Considering this small look at Lumines Arise left me with such a sizeable progression, I’m looking forward to what could be an unforgettable experience that transcends the senses with the full release.
Lumines Arise releases on November 11 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
