Lumo

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 39
  3. Negative: 11 out of 39
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  1. Seurahepo
    Mar 12, 2017
    5
    Some may find the simplicity, poor controls and instant dying if you're a pixel or two off the mark nostalgic, I didn't and lost interest in the game after 30 minutes or so.
  2. Nel
    Mar 28, 2017
    4
    With uber bad controls in a puzzle game where precision is a necessity this is really a horrendous combination. Suddenly halfway through the game it seems like the precession becomes an frustrating experience.
  3. Charlizard
    Apr 2, 2017
    6
    The appeal of this game may vary depending on your age and location. This is my attempt at an honest review.

    I guess you can categorize this game as a puzzle/platformer/adventure-game. It's about 3-4 hours long and consists of four levels. Since it was free on Playstation Plus this month and me being a fan of puzzles I decided to give it a go. Being a 24 year old Swede, I feel like a    The appeal of this game may vary depending on your age and location. This is my attempt at an honest review.

    I guess you can categorize this game as a puzzle/platformer/adventure-game. It's about 3-4 hours long and consists of four levels. Since it was free on Playstation Plus this month and me being a fan of puzzles I decided to give it a go. Being a 24 year old Swede, I feel like a lot of the references this game made were lost on me, although there were a couple of shout outs to things like Pac-Man, Ghostbusters, Lord of the Rings and Raiders of the Lost Ark which I enjoyed.

    Things I liked:
    + The atmosphere. The soundtrack sets a really cozy tone to the game. The music was probably my favorite thing about this game. Kudos to dopedemand. Great score, mate!
    + Controls. Simple control scheme. Not a lot you can mess up here and I felt the character controlled well. Great choice of the creator to include different control schemes. The only time I had problems with the controls was in the bandit shooting range room. Too unintuitive. I kept shooting them darn kids!
    + Secrets. Just like a good metroidvania, this game has a map and lots and lots of secret rooms and collectibles. Stuff like that is always fun for my curious exploring mind.
    + Silly humor. It's very silly. I don't know if it's because the game is from England, but I got that kinda British vibe from the silly moments.
    + The Warp Zone. Trippy. A nice change of pace that switches up the gameplay.
    + Main level design. I don't have a lot to say about the main levels themselves. They felt pretty normal and did what they were supposed to. The only time I struggled was when I didn't realize a room had a third door passage and got lost for maybe 20 minutes, so that could have been more clear.

    Things that needed improvement:
    - Gameplay. The challenge of this game's gameplay is an inconsistent one. In the beginning it was very easy with almost no challenge at all, then the difficulty suddenly spikes hard. The latter half of the game was the source of several frustrating trial-and-error moments I had with some mechanics, with only some puzzles that felt truly satisfying. The gameplay can also feel a little too slow-paced in places, with not a lot of change where it was needed.
    - Camera. A lot of the harder moments in this game came from not being able to navigate properly because of awkward fixed camera angles that could have been avoided with a camera you can rotate more. I get that this game is an old-school throwback and the camera is meant to be isometric, but it seriously hampered my experience. At least let the camera rotate more than about ten degrees. And why can you only rotate the camera in some rooms? For a game that includes different settings for the control scheme it's a little strange that there aren't any options to change the settings for the camera.
    - Art direction. Kinda bland and generic in my eyes. The face of the player-character looks childishly simple. The level design could have benefited from a more unique visual style.
    - Story. Virtually non-existent. This game doesn't need a particularly large story, but at least give us something more than "Child runs into house and gets zapped into game, child completes game, child returns to normal world and runs out of house". This game could have used a little more character. I also don't understand the appeal of the main quest, in collecting parts of some sort of old game/computer. Too niche.
    - The waiting made me salty. There was a very specific incident that happened in the area where the starting position was the room with the "Arnold"-sign. In the large room with with the electric floor-panels, spikes, laser beams and two laser grids blocking your way there is a slow-moving platform that moves back and forth through the room that resets position when you die. When you die in this room you respawn based on where you entered the room from, but the platform always resets to the far left of the room where you originally came from, even when you die and respawn on the right side after having entered from the right. This lead to a very frustrating moment where every time I died going from right side to left side I had to wait almost a full minute for the platform to get to where I could get on it. Also, every time you die and respawn (which happens a lot) there is a delay from where your character appears to where you regain control, which can be a little annoying. I would have liked to be able to move the character immediately as it respawns and not have to wait for that too.
    - Turtles. I don't know why, but when you die, your death-noise sounds exactly like when turtles are having an orgasm. How do I know that whoops looks like I've reached the max amount of letters in this review..

    -Charlizard    … Expand
  4. Kumasimc
    Dec 14, 2016
    8
    Made by the developers behind the wonderful "Oddworld" remake, Lumo is a simple yet fun puzzle platformer that appeals to all ages. I found some minor frustration in the controls, but the overall charm and level design more than made up for it. If you're a wistful gamer who grew up on simpler games, or a new gamer looking for a fun, simple challenge, it's not a bad way to spend 20 bucks.Made by the developers behind the wonderful "Oddworld" remake, Lumo is a simple yet fun puzzle platformer that appeals to all ages. I found some minor frustration in the controls, but the overall charm and level design more than made up for it. If you're a wistful gamer who grew up on simpler games, or a new gamer looking for a fun, simple challenge, it's not a bad way to spend 20 bucks. Make sure to adjust the control scheme to one that works best for you. And explore, there's secrets everywhere.… Expand
  5. getrwuegyweh
    Apr 4, 2017
    8
    I highly enjoyed Lumo to be quite honest. Ok, the controls aren't the best, but, they are no where near how bad people are making out them to be. The main story is around 3 to 4 hours (or 100 hours depending on how many times you die). I did a full walkthrough/playthrough if you'd like to have a look >>> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLddV430oRXwXoELouXxgfizZi_zr7W8GU
  6. JuntReviews
    Jul 15, 2017
    7
    Lumo was a fun, rewarding experience sprinkled with some problems. I HIGHLY recommend switching the control scheme to the middle (+) option, as I believe they've shot themselves in the foot with their default option. Any complaints about controls can be easily fixed by simply switching this option.

    Being an isometric platforming puzzle game a lot of complaints are on the camera, which    Lumo was a fun, rewarding experience sprinkled with some problems. I HIGHLY recommend switching the control scheme to the middle (+) option, as I believe they've shot themselves in the foot with their default option. Any complaints about controls can be easily fixed by simply switching this option.

    Being an isometric platforming puzzle game a lot of complaints are on the camera, which are warranted and WILL give you frustration as its sometimes hard to read where objects are in relation to yourself (depth perception). I feel like you won't be on any single puzzle long enough to frustrate you into quitting the game or "throwing your controller". They had a great idea using the L1 and R1 buttons to slightly move the camera and even quickly pressing R1 and L1 can give you a "3D" feel. Only problem is that you can't use it in most rooms, especially later into the game.

    This game deserves better than a 5.9, it's a fun game with rewarding puzzles and for 20-30 dollars is a great pickup to beat in a weekend. The story is stupid.    … Expand
  7. Gurnett
    Oct 30, 2016
    0
    I was really looking forward to playing Lumo, so I rented it through Gamefly. 20 minutes into my first playthrough, I was told that I couldn't save because my save data was corrupt. I tried closing the game. It wouldn't work. I had to do a restart to close it. Then, I couldn't sign in to PSN. I erased my save data, hoping that would remedy the problem. About an hour into my 2ndI was really looking forward to playing Lumo, so I rented it through Gamefly. 20 minutes into my first playthrough, I was told that I couldn't save because my save data was corrupt. I tried closing the game. It wouldn't work. I had to do a restart to close it. Then, I couldn't sign in to PSN. I erased my save data, hoping that would remedy the problem. About an hour into my 2nd playthrough, the same thing happened; corrupted data... and PSN still wasn't working properly. So, I gave up. As soon as I deleted the game from my system and rebooted, PSN started working again. This game really screwed up my system.… Expand
  8. storageheater
    May 27, 2016
    4
    For the first half it's a very simple and largely linear game that anyone can pick up - a few control issues aside it's a very gentle throwback with no puzzles or anything. Then it adds some of the worst old-school ice physics I've ever seen in a game and all my goodwill goes out the window. There's quite a lot going for it, and I'd give it 8/10 in other circumstances, but since the priceFor the first half it's a very simple and largely linear game that anyone can pick up - a few control issues aside it's a very gentle throwback with no puzzles or anything. Then it adds some of the worst old-school ice physics I've ever seen in a game and all my goodwill goes out the window. There's quite a lot going for it, and I'd give it 8/10 in other circumstances, but since the price is twice as high as I would have liked - and the ice is just so bad - that it gets a 4. For what it's worth I used to love Head over Heels. Wait for a sale.… Expand
  9. drlowdon
    Nov 12, 2018
    5
    Lumo is a 3D isometric puzzle platformer in which the player must navigate a series of interconnected rooms containing all manner of obstacles.

    Having been a gamer since the late 80’s I do have a great deal of nostalgia for this lost genre having spent many hours as a kid playing games like Head Over Heels on my Amstrad. As a result I enjoyed the open hour or two despite the awkward    Lumo is a 3D isometric puzzle platformer in which the player must navigate a series of interconnected rooms containing all manner of obstacles.

    Having been a gamer since the late 80’s I do have a great deal of nostalgia for this lost genre having spent many hours as a kid playing games like Head Over Heels on my Amstrad. As a result I enjoyed the open hour or two despite the awkward controls, and even more awkward camera angles, that made judging jumps tricky. Unfortunately as the game progresses however it tasks the player with increasingly difficult platforming and, when you die dozens of times simply because the isometric view makes it impossible to tell where a platform or obstacle is, it all becomes too frustrating to want to continue playing.

    With just a few tweaks this could have been really good but in the end it’s a bit of missed opportunity...    … Expand
  10. Kansler
    Jul 25, 2017
    5
    No, you cannot excuse the game for trying to be retro. Bad game design is bad - even it it old.

    The game could have been a lot better with some small improvements. It has some cool core ideas that are ruined by the world's worst control scheme. You will die hundreds of times through no fault of your own, simply because the game hates fairness. Oftentimes, you don't even see where you're    No, you cannot excuse the game for trying to be retro. Bad game design is bad - even it it old.

    The game could have been a lot better with some small improvements. It has some cool core ideas that are ruined by the world's worst control scheme. You will die hundreds of times through no fault of your own, simply because the game hates fairness. Oftentimes, you don't even see where you're going, or you can't discern depth of jumps because of the skewed perspective. And naturally the game relies ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY on precision jumping - which the controls make nigh impossible.

    As someone who has no nostalgia for those particular games that Lumo was inspired by (apparently 1980s ZX Spectrum games in particular), I feel that the game, despite some cool ideas, is a failure.    … Expand
  11. SirEleventy
    Jan 15, 2017
    2
    I ran into the same bug Gurnett hit around an hour into the game. It makes entering new rooms a hassle as it attempts to auto-save each time prompting a "The data is corrupted." save screen. I have been enjoying the little secret rooms and game play that the game has to offer but at this point I'm going to have to put the game down as I cannot find a solution to the bug other than to startI ran into the same bug Gurnett hit around an hour into the game. It makes entering new rooms a hassle as it attempts to auto-save each time prompting a "The data is corrupted." save screen. I have been enjoying the little secret rooms and game play that the game has to offer but at this point I'm going to have to put the game down as I cannot find a solution to the bug other than to start a new game and hope it doesn't pop-up again.… Expand
  12. IIIAHMIII
    Jun 18, 2020
    0
    This game is broken on so many levels im suprised this garbage even made it as a release. How can anybody be postive about this game except for the mini games (who are not that special and are stolen from other games) Broken jumps. Broken bubbels where you fall trough. Broken duckies that even with a perfect jump break. Or you just fall for no reason to your death. GARBAGE a waste of timeThis game is broken on so many levels im suprised this garbage even made it as a release. How can anybody be postive about this game except for the mini games (who are not that special and are stolen from other games) Broken jumps. Broken bubbels where you fall trough. Broken duckies that even with a perfect jump break. Or you just fall for no reason to your death. GARBAGE a waste of time pure trash. Dont even try this horrible game. The creators should be hanged for treason.… Expand
  13. HaloFever
    Aug 16, 2020
    5
    The isometric view doesn’t work. Now I know what if feels like to not have any depth perception. Lumo is played in 3D but has that look of a 2D-3D game from 1990s. Objects do not look smaller if they are farther away nor do objects shadow each other. The result is a confusing and frustrating platformer with light puzzle elements.

    The only signature of Lumo is the flashlight ability that    The isometric view doesn’t work. Now I know what if feels like to not have any depth perception. Lumo is played in 3D but has that look of a 2D-3D game from 1990s. Objects do not look smaller if they are farther away nor do objects shadow each other. The result is a confusing and frustrating platformer with light puzzle elements.

    The only signature of Lumo is the flashlight ability that reveals hidden blocks to walk on. This ability shows up after about 1/3 of the game, as if the first 3rd is a kind of tutorial. The game itself is simple. You move and jump in a 3D world that has a no sense of depth and unforgiving edges. The ice zone is particularly frustrating.

    The puzzles in the game are not so much difficult as going through the motions. I think it is made as a kind of puzzle game. Each corridor is its own puzzle and solving it gets you save state to the next corridor. You need to go back and forth for some solutions, and I feel bored ever time I traverse an area twice. The game is blessedly small in overall scope, so the suffering is lessened.

    I think this game could have been amazing back in the late 80s or early 90s as a true isometric 2-D game. I feel like this s a passion project for someone and I hate to negatively review this game. It has a cute look to it and some fun jokes. The music in the game is amazing. Some of the platforming is inspired, and with stickier landings, could be lot of fun. In one segment in particular, you have to jump from chain to chain. Because depth is so difficult to gauge, the task seems impossible. After a few tries, a moving platform appears. This looks like a late in development fix to a problem with play testers. The game has a few touchy areas like this, but I feel like the developers honestly thought the game would be easier/more fun to play.

    Full disclosure: this was another PS+ “free game”. I also have not finished it, and the in-game map tells me I am on the 2nd to last map in the game. Maybe I will never finish and instead watch a youtube video of a perfect run. That’s the different between fun and challenging. If a game is fun, you want to play it for the sake of playing it.    … Expand
  14. sergio123456
    Sep 10, 2021
    7
    Juego entretenido de corte indie, que cuenta con multitud de puzzles que resolver, una estética minimalista pero bastante interesante.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Everyeye.it
    Mar 27, 2017
    70
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
  2. IGN Spain
    Oct 24, 2016
    60
    An old school adventures that doesn't manage to adapt to modern times and make the same mistakes that this kind of games made 20 years ago.
    Read full review
  3. Worth Playing
    Aug 26, 2016
    80
    Lumo is an enjoyable puzzle platformer.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »