Lumines Arise Preview: A Mesmerizing Blend of Puzzles, Light, Music

Lumines Arise is an upcoming entry to the classic puzzle series that originally started back in 2004 on the PlayStation Portable. Understanding the core experience behind Lumines, the game already shows promise in how it presents the unique puzzle as an immersive show of light, music and falling pieces.

A Unique Puzzle to Figure Out

Lumines is a tile-matching puzzle game with a unique condition. Squares with four tiles drop from the upper portion of the screen and must be positioned on the ground. It’s necessary to also create at least a 2x2 square of the same kind of tile for it to be wiped the next time the Timeline (a vertical scan) passes by it on screen.

On the one hand, the series simplifies the process of matching by only having two tile colors at any time. On the other hand, it can be tricky to make the pattern align adequately for erasure and combos, which isn’t too far from the calculations players must anticipate in the classic Puyo Puyo series.

Besides the two different tiles, there's also the Chain Block, which is a rare tile variant. Connecting it with others of the same color will make the Timeline erase all of them, whether they are part of a full square or not, making it a great opportunity to clear areas that have grown too complex to deal with.

A unique aspect of Lumines Arise is the Burst gauge, which can be filled by playing well and filling squares that can be erased. Once the player reaches at least fifty points, it’s possible to activate a “Burst,” which works as a sort of alternate dimension with special rules that can only be used for a limited time.

During Burst, the biggest connected square is highlighted, and it’s up to the player to try to make it even bigger. While other squares will be erased like usual, this one will stay intact for a set number of turns to make this objective achievable.

As a special rule, whenever specific thresholds are reached, blocks of the opposite color will be repulsed upwards and leave the border of the game for a time. Not only does this create an incredible opportunity to make points by increasing the connected square, but the initially purged blocks will have a high probability of creating their own squares when they fall down as well.

A Flashy Display of Mesmerizing Psychedelic Effects

Besides the gameplay itself, the visuals and sounds are a remarkable aspect of the experience. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has already played Tetris Effect, which is a puzzle game by the same team, but a big part of the new game is the immersion in the atmosphere it provides.

Besides the gameplay itself, the visuals and sounds are a remarkable aspect of the experience.

The first aspect to keep in mind is the soundtrack by Hydelic, the team who had previously worked on Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect. Their electronic sounds and the way the sound effects vary depending on what’s happening on screen makes the experience feel like it’s always reacting to the player's performance while, at the same time, providing a sense of immersion. It’s like diving into a very specific world with its own rules.

The visuals complement this feeling, with impressive animated details and an evolution to the screen over time. A stage on Journey Mode starts dark and lifeless with only a few beats, but as the player gets more points, it’ll get more illuminated. The track will have more instruments and voices, and the whole ambiance will come together as a cathartic improvement over the starting point.

Even the tile choices are interesting as they’re not just basic solid colors, but rather various formats. In the first area, the game uses light particles to create those tiles to go with the dark background. While one of them is yellow and the other is blue, there’s also the shape as an aspect that helps separate them.

From what the demo showcases, it’s easy to see that the developers understand well the core of what makes Lumines compelling and how to present it in a modern package. Doubling down on their expertise from Tetris Effect, the new Lumines has the potential to be one of those puzzle games that players just want to play one more time and end up doing it for hours before they know it.

While Lumines Arise will only come out on November 11, players can try out a demo on Steam and PS5 from August 26 to September 3. This early build content includes a short portion of the Journey Mode and the multiplayer mode Burst Battle, which should be just enough to get a taste of what’s in store. It’s nonetheless a puzzle game to keep an eye (and ear) on.