Lumines Arise Is an Electronic Symphony of Catchy Tunes and Timeless Block-Dropping Puzzles (Review)

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Lumines is designed to be incredibly satisfying, even in small ways. Each time a block drops, it gives you a little burst of feedback – a subtle click or blip – that adds to the experience. It’s more than just a simple puzzle game like Tetris; these small details are what make Lumines special. Lumines Arise perfectly captures this design philosophy, creating a visually and aurally stunning game that’s a joy to play.

The game Arise truly delivers an ‘experience’ because the way it presents its story is completely tied to how you play – specifically, by strategically placing blocks. The gameplay is easy to pick up, but offers a surprising amount of depth and complexity.

Rating: 4/5

Pros Cons
Core block-dropping gameplay remains accessible, deep, and endlessly replayable Level transitions are jarring and slow down the pacing
New Burst mechanic is both useful for getting out of a jam and racking up higher scores
Stages, while unrelated to one another, are often vibrant and visually appealing
Soundtrack contains a variety of styles, and its best songs are fantastic

Lumines Arise‘s Brilliant Block-Dropping Mechanics Remain Deep Yet Approachable

The core gameplay of matching colored blocks is simple, but becomes challenging as you try to quickly and efficiently place unique pairs of tiles against a ticking clock. Creating chains of blocks that clear out all squares of the same color leads to big scores for players who can think fast. A new feature, the Burst mechanic, lets you briefly stop time and build the largest possible square, offering even more scoring opportunities and a chance to recover when you’re close to losing. This addition enhances the existing, well-refined gameplay of Lumines seamlessly.

Instead of reinventing the classic Lumines formula, Lumines Arise builds upon it, taking advantage of modern hardware and the lessons learned from Tetris Effect. Each stage is more detailed and visually impressive than in previous Lumines games. You’ll encounter unique elements like battling elemental snakes, a vibrant city with a playful cat, levels filled with shifting fruits and vegetables, and even hatching eggs that bring adorable birds to life within the game.

Lumines Arise‘s Stage Design Is the Best in the Series

The puzzles are so captivating that you might not immediately notice the detailed, and sometimes disturbing, environments. Even if the backgrounds depicted something truly unsettling, it would take a while to register. However, these environments are important because they create a unique atmosphere that elevates the game beyond a simple puzzle experience. While they don’t change how you play, this atmosphere is essential to the game’s overall impact.

The game’s details – like how sound effects and music change with each level, and the look of the backgrounds – are all intentionally chosen to create a specific mood. It’s a shame the levels don’t flow smoothly into one another, and the music doesn’t build a strong, consistent message. For example, the opening and closing songs touch on humanity, but this idea isn’t explored further. Despite this, the game offers enough visual variety and changes in pace to keep things interesting.

Okay, so the Greece level is visually really cool – all blues and whites – but the music is a wild mix. It goes from chill to this crazy EDM when these two chameleon guys get hyped up, almost like they’re on something! Not every slower track really grabs me, and honestly, I wish there were more songs about lizards and partying, but the ups and downs in the music actually work. When the songs finally hit, they’re super catchy and totally worth waiting for. It’s all about that buildup!

Lumines Arise‘s Level Transitions Break the All-Important Flow

Arise is a captivating puzzle game where the sound, graphics, and pulsing rhythm work together seamlessly, making it incredibly hard to stop playing. Playing in VR enhances the immersive experience by blocking out distractions, creating a uniquely focused atmosphere – almost like enjoying a private rave in a sensory deprivation chamber. While VR doesn’t drastically change how you play, it significantly deepens the feeling of being lost in the game.

Despite its efforts to keep players fully immersed, Arise has a strange approach to moving between levels. Unlike previous games in the series, it pauses and pulls back after each stage, creating a roughly 10-second break every couple of minutes. This is a strange and frustrating choice, as it breaks the immersive experience the game works so hard to build. Previous Lumines games flowed seamlessly from one stage to the next, and this interruption needlessly hinders Arise.

Okay, so even though Lumines Arise has some noticeable glitches, it’s still a gorgeous experience. The levels don’t really do much beyond being there, but they look fantastic with really cool effects, and the music is awesome – everything from hip-hop to house. It all comes together with that classic block-matching gameplay that’s just… endlessly addictive, like the games that inspired it. Honestly, Arise feels really familiar, but in a good way. It still has that same hypnotic pull and hasn’t lost any of its charm.

A PS5 copy of Lumines Arise was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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2025-11-11 17:22