“Lumines Remastered” Review

Lumines took Sony’s handhelds by storm and with the Switch being the success that it is, it’s only right to finally bring the addictive puzzler to Nintendo’s hybrid platform–as well as the higher resolution PS4 and Xbox One. What Is…

One of the joys of Lumines is the fact that it can look different at any given time.

Lumines took Sony’s handhelds by storm and with the Switch being the success that it is, it’s only right to finally bring the addictive puzzler to Nintendo’s hybrid platform–as well as the higher resolution PS4 and Xbox One.

What Is It?

Originally released as a launch title on the PlayStation Portable, Lumines is a series that accomplished the impossible feat of being an easy-to-learn puzzler with intense and tough-to-master gameplay in the same class of Tetris.  While the last part of that statement is debatable, it’s no secret that the game stands on its own with aesthetics that in turn led to another revolution in puzzlers.

The object of the game is to form same colored-squares or rectangles to clear them off the screen when the timeline passes by.  As usual, combos and ridding the screen of pieces entirely lead to bonuses and multipliers to rack up even more points in the quest to own the leaderboard, and the fact that there are only two colors at a time contribute to its simplicity.  The game isn’t truly mastered, however, until you understand the intricacies of and build around the timeline.

Why Should I Care?

The game is essentially just a remastered version of the original, so if Lumines veterans were expecting something more along the lines of Electronic Symphony, that might be a little much.  That said, Lumines Remastered packs quite a punch as far as its modes go.

Challenge mode is probably the one that’ll see the most time from players. It’s your standard marathon mode where you’ll primarily be unlocking new skins and music through extended play, and while that sounds like nothing, if you’ve played Lumines, it’s almost everything.  As stated, blocks are only in two colors, but when the game switches the skin and music on you, the new two colors you get introduced to can easily throw you off.  Add the fact that the faster songs have a faster timeline, and you have Lumines in its most engaging and hectic pride.

Clean yet stylish menus keep Lumines eye candy no matter where you’re at.

In addition to challenge mode, there’s Time Attack where you try to erase as many blocks as possible within a certain time limit, Skin Edit Mode where you create your own setlist of skins and songs to play through, Puzzle Mode where you have to build exact shapes indicated on the screen (which is much easier said than done), and Mission Mode where you have to complete specific objectives like clearing all the blocks in two moves.  Each of these modes offers different levels of challenge that continue to up the ante the further you go, making the game an even more complete experience.

If there’s anything to really criticize with Lumines Remastered, it’s the fact that the game lacks an online Vs. Mode. The mode itself is about as fun as multiplayer puzzle games get.  You face each other head-to-head and link combos in order to make your opponent’s screen smaller before it all becomes too much to manage.  This would be much better online, especially if you’re playing on one of the higher end consoles, but considering there are single player leaderboards, we can let them off the hook here.

What Makes It Worth My Time And Money?

Most people will probably be enjoying Lumines Remastered on the Switch, as it’s a brilliant game on the go made even better with HD rumble — not to mention the fact that it’s still a joy to play in docked mode.  Most of my playtime went to the PlayStation 4 version of the game as I enjoyed it up close on a 4K TV and headphones to vibe with the music–trophy support doesn’t hurt either, even though the chances of me platinuming this game are slim to none.

However way you look at or decide to play with it, there’s hardly ever a bad time for Lumines.