Lumines Arise

Lumines Arise takes Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s puzzle game masterpiece to a new level. With plenty of mesmerizing stages and gameplay that is as entrancing as ever, this is one of the best puzzle games ever made.

Lumines Arise is a fun refinement of the formula, completing a loose trilogy of sorts with Tetris Effect and Rez Infinite. It supports PSVR2 just as they do, but somehow feels less reliant on them to get the full experience. For us, Lumines is a handheld joint, so perhaps a PlayStation Portal is your best bet in that regard. It’s still excellent though with the new Burst feature being a welcome addition. No callbacks to the original PSP game feels like a missed opportunity though, especially given twenty years have passed since the first game.

Arise has embedded itself deep in our skull. [Issue#418, p.110]

Lumines Arise is a mesmerizing puzzle game that blends block-dropping gameplay with hypnotic music and stunning visuals. You manipulate colorful 2x2 blocks to form squares, syncing every move to a pulsing soundtrack while exploring dynamic, themed stages. With new mechanics like Burst, customizable playlists, and both single-player and multiplayer modes, it’s a deeply immersive experience that’s easy to pick up but hard to put down.

Lumines Arise is an absolute showstopper of a title for the PlayStation VR 2 and I suspect will play much the same in VR on PC as well. In any other context it’s still an excellent puzzle game albeit one that you’ll likely finish with rather quickly. Still, if you remotely enjoyed Tetris Effect then Lumines Arise is just as well made and is well worth your time.

I’d say with confidence that Mizuguchi and the Enhance team have once again knocked it out of the park here. If you’re looking for a way to drop some blocks whilst wringing emotion from your heart, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Lumines Arise is not only a beautifully presented game that borrows heavily from Tetris Effect, but it also mechanically retains what made the series consistently addictive and rewarding.

Beautiful visuals and an excellent soundtrack collide in Lumines Arise, the latest entry in the long-running Lumines series. This block puzzle game is as timeless as Tetris, and as long as you can get your head around the strategies required here, it's going to keep you entertained for dozens upon dozens of hours.

Lumines Arise is the culmination of Mizuguchi’s works, returning to his original creation and perfecting it. For fans of puzzle games, fans of Tetris Effect, or, indeed, fans of pure and evocative gaming experiences, this is essential.

There is a reason this campaign is called Journey, because it feels like you’ve been on a rollercoaster ride of rhythmic emotions that change how you view games like this. Part of me thought Enhance Games couldn't repeat the sublime brilliance of Tetris Effect, but it has done just that and then some.

Following up on the brilliant Tetris Effect was no easy feat, but Enhance has done it with Lumines Arise. At its core is an excellent puzzle game with lots of depth, and mechanics that gel perfectly with the emphasis on music and spectacular visuals. It's jam-packed with fun features that provide so many different ways to play, including series-best multiplayer and a great range of challenge modes. There are some very minor gripes if we're being really picky, but fans can rest assured that this is the big, flashy comeback Lumines deserves.

If you're looking for a puzzle game that does things differently by mixing deep puzzle gameplay with a hard-pumping soundtrack and wild visual effects, Lumines Arise is a really good direction to look in. I love the combination.

Arise is an absolute triumph. The visuals are some of Enhance's best, utilizing the best of both Unity and its own proprietary Synaesthesia Engine. It's wildly fun and unexpectedly challenging in places, but above all, it's a relaxing pleasure.

Lumines Arise is one of my favourite puzzle games of all time with classic gameplay and flashy new visuals that really pop in VR. Whether you're new to these games or not, you're bound to adore what's in store, especially if you enjoy achieving higher and higher scores.

Lumines Arise is stirring, beautiful, and always engaging. Like its cousin Tetris Effect, it's the kind of game that I won’t delete from my hard drive because I will always want the option to lose myself to the game periodically, which Arise is consistently excellent at.

Lumines Arise is a motivation buff, an anchor that effectively links the gameplay experience to the soundtrack creating a feedback loop for every single run. Every process of change is key to the chaos and the intangibles of the game. That conversion of blocks into special effects maximizes the visual power of everything necessary to embrace this new Tetris Effect.

Lumines Arise is a brilliant revival of the classic puzzle series, marrying addictive block-matching gameplay with hypnotizing visuals and a killer soundtrack. Its Burst mechanics, rhythmic pace and synesthetic presentation turn every match into a trance-like spectacle. This one’s an instant classic for anyone who loves vibrant, sensory-driven games.

If you’re still the type who refuses to leave a level without getting the highest score and earning an S Rank, or if you just play puzzle games to unwind a bit, this is definitely a game that deserves a place in your collection.

Suffices to say, If you haven't played Lumines before you're in for an exquisite audio/visual treat loaded with memorable and impacting vibes. Arise's soundtrack doesn't quite reach the majesty of Electronic Symphony on the Vita as the tunes can be too soft and not as emphatic, but in every other way Arise is the best Lumines game yet, and aptly bursts with life just as fervently as its new gameplay mechanic.

I’m excellent at appreciating Lumines, though, and that’s especially true with Lumines Arise—which is another beautiful, transfixing, exhilarating puzzler guaranteed to stimulate both your senses and your brain. Even the really, really dumb brains.

Lumines Arise combines strong puzzle gameplay with beautiful visuals and music. It's a blast from start to finish, especially in VR. But don't expect to be reminiscing about it for months to come.

Lumines Arise is NOT Tetris Effect Connected, and once you make that distinction, you'll enjoy this one. The effects can be overwhelming, but turn the ones that affect you off, and connect to the ones that allow you to enjoy the game. See what I did there?

Lumines Arise is the best entry yet in this long-running puzzle series, building upon Enhance's work in Tetris Effect to create a mesmerizing audiovisual spectacle that shines even brighter in a VR headset. It's not as transformative as the older title and the core gameplay doesn't quite hit those same high notes, but that hasn't stopped Enhance from delivering a highly memorable journey. If you enjoy puzzle games, you won't want to miss this.

Even with persistent record scratches, Lumines Arise remains a beautiful album. Stages, while lacking a greater purpose, have more detailed and impressive effects and are often set to fitting tracks that cover a whole variety of genres from hip hop to house. Everything coalesces around its signature block-matching gameplay that’s infinitely replayable like the greats it was inspired by. Arise is a familiar beat in many respects, but one that has retained its hypnotic rhythm and hasn’t lost an ounce of its soul.

A revamp of Lumines which, in the spirit of Tetris Effect, amplifies its puzzling core with slick visuals, fun new mechanics, and one of the best soundtracks of the year.

Regardless of the context in which I experience each stage in Lumines Arise--whether that is competing against another player on a stage they selected, or curating a playlist and taking my time with it at my own pace--revisiting them is never arduous. Sure, it's a testament to the conceit of the series and how well-designed Lumines is. But it also speaks to the main attraction, which is simply to experience--and then re-experience--each setpiece, with its visual gimmicks and stimulating sounds coming together to create a singular ambiance. It doesn't matter that the apples will always turn into peppers, or that the dancers will always be caught in the rain--Arise puts on a show with each stage, revitalizing the series by grabbing a familiar foundation and playing a dozen different concerts with it.

Enhance's Tetris Effect follow-up is a loud and brash, if somewhat unrefined, synaesthesia puzzler that’s more visually dynamic than its predecessor, but often at the expense of gameplay clarity.