Lumines Arise Review – Sensorial Triumph

As many video game studios continue to leverage technology in the pursuit of photorealism, developers Enhance and Monstars Inc. understand that technology can also be used in the pursuit of emotional impact. Their new game, Lumines Arise, exposes you to a display of perpetual creativity, where every inch of the screen is bathed in a cascade of visual effects that mesmerize you. It takes the foundation of a series that started back in 2004 and turns it on its head by giving it the Tetris Effect treatment, presenting a sensorial experience that’s equally enchanting and confident.

Lumines has been largely dormant for the past decade. But while Arise is a synesthesia-fueled sequel, the core conceit of this popular series is largely unchanged. You’re still presented with a playfield divided into a grid, in which 2×2 blocks descend from above. Each of those blocks is composed of four squares, and each of those squares is painted with one of two colors or patterns. The goal is to drop the blocks so that squares of the same pattern touch each other, combining them into larger squares of the same type–the bigger the combined square, the more points you earn.

All the while, a timeline–which is represented by a vertical line that moves from left to right with the tempo of the music–will sweep away the combined squares when it comes into contact with them. Therefore, the key is to make squares of a single type so the timeline will remove them and prevent the playfield from becoming full, which is an instant game over, while also attempting to make as many square combos as possible, either by enlarging existing ones or creating several at once. Your squares only score when the timeline sweeps through, so it’s a race against the clock to make the biggest combos you can for each pass.

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