Lumines Arise PS5 Review. The genesis of the Lumines franchise can be traced back twenty years ago to the launch of the PSP, where a sparkling new rhythm puzzle experience lit up SONY’s new portable system-a puzzler that fuses artistic background themes with a scintillating instrumental soundtrack, and addictive block-busting gameplay. We haven’t seen Lumines since the original game was remastered for PS4 in 2018, but now Lumines Arise arrives as a transformative new rhythm puzzle experience-but does Arise transcend or fall below expectations?
Lumines Arise Review (PS5) – Arise And Shine
With Arise, the developers Enhance and Monstars have effectively evolved Lumines in the same manner as Tetris Effect evolved Tetris, in that there’s an evolved pristine presentation and a remarkable ambiance the portable entries couldn’t come close to achieving on a technical level. You’ll immediately become spellbound by the pulsing glow of the menus and the cosmic particle energy emitting from those chirpy Loomii avatars bundling up in the center of the menu screen like the bots from Astro Bot.
Much like Tetris, Lumines is a rhythm puzzle game where elegant vibes coalesce into a festival-like aura thanks to the fusion of moreish block-stacking gameplay, a resonating soundtrack, and idyllic background themes. Unlike Tetris however, you aren’t tasked with clearing lines of blocks, but rather matching four of them together so that they fade to dust upon connection. By creating combos of matching blocks you accrue points, so it’s impulsive to stack as many of them together as you can and witness big satisfying scoring bubbles block shapes expand before the left-to-right revolving timeline dissolves them, giving you more space to layer on new blocks.
Bursting With Life
A new wrinkle has been added to the Lumines formula this time around in the form of Burst, a mechanic which assists players to clear as many blocks as possible by slowing down the timeline. By activating the triggers on the PS5 controller, you can enter Burst, and your job from here is to stack as many of the same-coloured blocks on top of each other to drive up your score.
Burst essentially goes hand-in-hand with the old series staple the Block Chain special ability, due to the way in which it assists you in eliminating blocks are piling up uncontrollably. Burst is better than block chain though because you don’t need to worry about the block type and finding the right gaps within the puzzle pieces to make the ability work at its best.
On the subject of block chains, they will still turn up to give you a little help. As ever they will appear randomly, and the best way to benefit most from their appearance is having a neat pattern of same-colour blocks, so that when it arrives you can place it down and marvel at all the blocks turning into chains that’ll be wiped away by the timeline while granting you a magnificent reprieve from the intensity of desperately lowering your pile and fending off the Game Over screen.
A Puzzling Journey
The headlining mode in Lumines Arise is simply titled Journey Mode, which immerses you in an entrancing audio/visual experience by combining challenging puzzle gameplay with dynamic backgrounds, illuminated blocks and a thought-provoking soundtrack.
In terms of the particulars, you’ll be placed into a scene known as a skin with a puzzle grid, and your task is to bust 2×2 blocks as they appear and descend down the screen by connecting identical blocks together. Blocks move in accordance with the rhythm of the song, and the colour, shape, and speed of the blocks dropping down the screen change as you transition from one tune to the next.
As you proceed through Journey Mode you’ll bear witness to many unique themes, each of which contain a piece of music reflecting the ambience of backdrop and the distinctive block pieces. For example, a particular skin contains a backdrop of a rainy city, the tiles resemble the pedestrian crossing signals with the sound of steps accompanying each placement, and the song itself is about overcoming hardships. Another has you dropping golden bells and frost elephants to a soothing track where the backdrop shows rolling skies and spiritual temples dot the landscape.
You’ll witness a whole host of stunning skins with multiple variations of themes, tempos, intensities and jingles. The journey in Journey Mode much like in life, has its tonal shifts and ebbs and flows. You’ll be constantly surprised and delighted but how gorgeously designed it all is.
Arise goes a step further when its backdrops become active. Be prepared to gaze in mild trepidation as iguanas on either side of the screen start slinging their tongues out over the timeline, and get ready to match fruits and vegetable together and seeing the super-impose on the screen and sliced up to the beat of the music.
The bountiful bouquet of blissful skins is nothing short of theatre to behold. Arise does a stunning job of feeling like a complete sensory experience. Sure, you can’t smell or taste Arise, but you can certainly feel, hear and see how empowering its jaw-dropping displays are.
A Lumines Accommodation
The difficulty in Journey Mode is progressive. Usually skins start gently and slowly, but as you become more successful by unlocking new skins, the tiles fall faster and the struggle to control them from mounting up turns into a consistent and stern challenge.
Thankfully, and unlike previous entries that were non-stop with skin-to-skin transitions, Journey Mode is more accessible as there are four skins spread over nine individual sequences. After completing the four skins you’ll receive a rating, then return to the menu screen to select the next four skins you’ve successfully unlocked. This means you won’t need to start all over again, and you can pick up where you left off. Also, if you fail and reach a Game Over screen, you can return to the skin you were just bested by and thus continue your progress within the journey itself.
If you find the challenge of Journey Mode too stressful you can turn the pressure off by turning on features in the accessibility section of the options menu. Here you can tweak the gameplay for a No-Stress Lumines experience where blocks don’t fall and the game won’t end, so you aren’t forced to play Arise strictly to be challenged. There are also visual and audio modifiers to dial down if it all seems too much for your eyes and ears.
A Soundly Experience
If there is one area in Lumines Arise that’s underwhelming, it’s definitely the soundtrack. Make no mistake, there are some beautiful and meditative pieces to soothe your soul; however, compared to the blitz of electrifying hits in Lumines: Electronic Symphony on the Vita, it falls short.
Arise does of course possess different themes and intentions to the gimmickry of Sony’s most-recent PlayStation handheld Lumines, but none of the tracks are as replayable as the wealth of party-starters in Electronic Symphony. They are a little too soft, and generally they don’t have the bite nor the tang of previous installments, though don’t be surprised if they gel with you the more you listen to them.
Beyond The Journey
Outside of Journey Mode you can create and assemble playlists from skins you’ve unlocked in Journey Mode, which grants you the chance to play your favourites, and in a sequence suited to your preferences. Playlists are an ideal way to practice and hone your game too, though there are a bunch of missions in Mission Mode that can also accommodate you if you want to improve your Arise prowess.
The multiplayer options bring Arise into the competitive proving grounds. Not only will you want to measure up your skills to that of the wider online community, but the new Burst Battle will surely define how good you are against other players. In Burst Battle, you need to toss out garbage blocks that can fester on either side of the puzzle field, and build up your Burst to turn the tide against your opponent.
If you want a true marker of your progression, you’ll want to collect up all the unlockable Loomii avatars and their customization features. You’ll need to reach certain achievement landmarks in order to gain access to many of them, but the rewards do incentivize long-term play, even if Loomii avatars aren’t as adorable or as integral to Lumines like the bots are in Astro Bot-though they do love populating the multiplayer hub and the credits.
Arise Above The Rest
It has been a long time coming, but Lumines has returned in glorious style thanks to Arise. The Journey Mode is a fascinating and aura-inspiring sojourn that captivates and surprises with a plethora of eloquent music, eye-glistening backdrops and a moreish cerebrally designed Lumines puzzle core. The skins are fascinating and full of varied vibes and will surely resonate.
Suffices to say, If you haven’t played Lumines before you’re in for an exquisite audio/visual treat loaded with memorable and impacting vibes. Arise’s soundtrack doesn’t quite reach the majesty of Electronic Symphony on the Vita as the tunes can be too soft and not as emphatic, but in every other way Arise is the best Lumines game yet, and aptly bursts with life just as fervently as its new gameplay mechanic.
Lumines Arise is out now for PS5 and PC.
Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher.