Lumines Arise

The point I’m really getting at here is that Lumines Arise has a meditative-like quality to it. Lumines has always offered rich and vibrant soundtracks backed by gorgeous visuals and an incredibly intense, yet rewarding gameplay loops. Lumines Arise is the ultimate realisation of that vision, and quite possibly the greatest puzzle game I’ve ever played.

Lumines Arise takes a now-iconic formula and revamps it in a way that truly stimulates the senses. When you’re in a flow-state, headphones in, matching blocks, vibing with the gorgeous soundtrack and being mesmerised by the dazzling visuals, time simply melts away. It’s the most diverse and interesting the series has ever been, punctuated by a killer tracklist from its talented composers. Sure to be a regular puzzler to pick up in anybody’s library, there’s simply nothing else quite like Lumines Arise.

Enhance delivers a stunning evolution of the series with mesmerizing audiovisual design, clever new mechanics, and plenty of modes, although a few sound/visual mismatches and occasional readability issues slightly interrupt an otherwise superb and hypnotic rhythm-puzzle experience.

With Lumines Arise, Monstars and Enhance show once more how to bring a timeless classic to the modern era without breaking the mold. The trusted gameplay of Lumines shines brighter than ever, accompanied by stellar visuals and a banger EDM soundtrack. The less than optimal readability of certain levels is the only thing worth puzzling over, but that's a small obstacle to clear.

A deep, demanding and hypnotic puzzle game that blends music and gameplay into one seamless flow. Lumines Arise isn’t for everyone, but once it grabs you, it becomes impossible to let go.

The first brand-new entry in the series since 2012, Lumines Arise retains everything that made it a success and delivers a synesthetic experience in which music, visuals, and gameplay blend together to immerse the player in what’s happening on screen. At the same time, the simplicity of what’s offered can leave the impression that something is missing from the experience — especially when it comes to the variety of challenges.

Lumines Arise brings you way back in years, to a time of audiovisual ferment like we never saw after. With it, though, comes an entire set of forgotten memories that shine a deeper light into what we remember and how we do it. We tend to remember only the best or the worst, but not the in-between, which is where most of the unsatisfactory experiences reside, and this game resurrects exactly those. Unlike any other Mizuguchi game, it stagnates in a nostalgic field, so far away from reality that it lives completely outside of our time. It can capture you for hours, but it feels more like some sort of prison within the self than an exchange between user and videogame.

Man, this stuff goes hard! I'm almost in a trance right now...............!

It’s OK. Half the time you can’t distinguish between the two types of units, all the while visual noise is thrown at you accompanied by absolutely atrocious music. Definitely wouldn’t have bought it again knowing what I know now.