Lumines Arise Review – A Symphony of Sight, Sound, and Play

Review of Lumines Arise

Enhance continues to create puzzles that engage all the senses like no other. Their immersive and immersive games feature a distinct visual aesthetic that harmonizes with sound and vibration. The result is a hypnotic experience where sight, sound and response merge into a single rhythm between the player and the game. After success Tetris effectTetsuya Mizuguchi turns his attention back to Lumins with Arise, but can this block puzzle capture the same magic?

For those unfamiliar, Lumines is a puzzle game where you clear blocks into 2×2 patterns of matching colors. Expanding them to 3×3 clusters or larger increases your score, frees up more space, and opens up new possibilities. While the goal is to focus on matching one block type, you can also combine smaller patterns by either removing multiple groups at once or running cascades that create new matches for successive points.

Time and time again

The timeline mechanics are based on this addictive formula: blocks only disappear when the marker moves across the grid. This adds a nice layer of strategy, forcing you to carefully time each fall to maximize your score. This confirms Arise's focus on multi-sensory gameplay. Each movement produces a sound, complementing the beautiful soundtrack intertwined with the visuals. As you progress through the level, the environment and music escalate, creating an immersive audiovisual symphony where music, gameplay, and visuals merge into one harmonious experience.

I can't overstate how impressive and exciting the music and visuals are. In Journey's single-player mode, each level unfolds over multiple stages with evolving visuals that offer subtle narrative clues that can be interpreted through the music and design. While history isn't the focus, it's fun to piece together your own interpretation of each area's aesthetic. Each stage has a different feel and features some of the best music. The soundtrack switches seamlessly between genres, but its seamless integration with the gameplay makes the game stand out no matter your musical taste.

A new feature is the Burst ability, which allows you to clear the screen with huge combos. As you progress, your meter changes and, starting at 50%, you can activate the Splash ability. When active, the resulting squares will not disappear until a time limit has passed, which depends on the percentage of your meter activated. As a cluster appears, you must build on it by placing blocks of the same color around it. Over time, blocks disappear, often causing contrasting blocks to form additional combinations that clear the stage for new sequences. This is a great feature that allows you to avoid difficult scenarios if you plan and use this ability strategically.

More than meets the eye

In addition to the Journey mode, which has three difficulty options, Arise also features a Survival mode, which challenges you to complete the entire game without losing a single round. While it's certainly challenging, the simple yet deep mechanics quickly become addictive. By immersing yourself in systems, you enter a state of flow that makes even the most complex scenarios seem achievable.

To master the mechanics, tutorial missions will help you. Whether you're new to the game or a veteran, these short missions will help improve your skills and earn currency that you can use to unlock items for your avatar. Complementing this are challenges that offer a unique twist to the gameplay. For example, some scenarios block parts of the playing field, while others present increasingly larger clusters. They are perfectly designed, adding a fun twist to the concept that both new and old players can enjoy.

The Playlist feature is a great addition that allows you to select your favorite stages and play them in any order. Since each track has its own vibe, it's great to be able to create your own experience. With over 35 tracks to choose from, it's the perfect mode to relax, switch off and get lost in the beauty of this puzzle game.

Forming connections

If you prefer to play against others, multiplayer options are also available. Whether you're ranked, online with friends, or locally, you can challenge players in a variety of modes to show off your skills. Time Attack compares your score after a certain time limit, while Dig Down challenges you to survive a barrage of blocks. Burst Battle is a best-of-three competition where you must use the ability to send a block onto a player's playing field to disrupt their run. Add leaderboards and challenges and the online component becomes a full-fledged one, adding to an already complete package.

Lumines: Arise is an interactive piece of art that truly needs to be experienced. The integration of graphics, gameplay and sound is phenomenal, creating a surprisingly addictive puzzle game that stands shoulder to shoulder with Enhance's previous title, Tetris Effect. It's a stunning reminder of how games can move us not just through challenge, but through the harmony of sight, sound and touch.

***PC code provided by publisher for review***