Lumines Remastered Review

 













Slick, Free Flowing, and Melodic-A Lumines Remastered Review

As no stranger to these musical, block-based puzzle games (hell, I reviewed and loved Mixolumia back in may of this year) so I came in to Lumines Remastered with thoughts of the previous giants I had played in the past. So how exactly does Lumines stack up to those giants, mainly the generationally great Tetris Effect, in creating a fun and replayable experience in addition to its music?

A Great Formula With Even Greater Songs

As my entry point into the series, I was shocked to see just how much Tetris Effect used Lumines' sound design within its own remaster. In Lumines, every move you make with stacking a block syncs up with the music track in the background, providing little melodies in itself when you make a move or clear a square. This, combined with the insanely large track list that also changes the visuals of the blocks with each song, and you have a trance like experience with Lumines.


Lumines also has a few punches to pull with its game mechanics. On its face, it's a block based endless puzzle game in which you attempt to match up 2 by 2 squares of the same color. However, in the field of play there is a steady line that travels from one side to another over and over and if you can get four square clears before it reaches the end your score will be multiplied by 4 each time. If you keep chaining it together, it can get as high as 16x and speed you up through the ranks. As your score creeps higher you'll notice switches in the song as well as a visual mix-up as you progress. I found this combo system fascinating, as it forces you to think quick all the time without actually pressuring you to hold that pace the whole run. There's sort of a relieving feeling in getting through a hard song set and cooling down with different visuals and music. Add in some euphoric sound effects when you hit a huge chain and you have a recipe for success. 


For the last little bit of surprises that Lumines has to offer, I was thrilled to see all the vastly different modes this game had. A problem I had with Mixolumia was a lack of real outside content from the main endless mode, and Lumines has no such problem. From a wide array of unlockables, to custom playlists of the music you play through, to deep challenge and mission modes, there was just so much here to sink into. 

Lumines' large variety of modes sets it far apart from competition

Verdict

Lumines Remastered has really, in my mind, dethroned Tetris as the king of puzzle games. I feel foolish having not given the series a proper try for so long, and as it turns out this is the objective final stage for all puzzle games to strive towards.

10/10-Annihilates the Competition




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