Lumines Arise Review - It's All Connected

"The basic idea is that multicolored blocks fall into a well, and you must create squares of the same-colored blocks. True to Enhance's pedigree, it's all done in rhythm to music, and the squares you manage to create get wiped away. As you drop and rotate blocks, it also creates sound effects that add to the music. This has always been the core idea of Lumines, and it's recreated well here."

"Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's engrossing puzzle game was a launch title for Sony's PSP handheld in 2004 and as the story goes, it was created when issues prevented Mizuguchi's team from acquiring the Tetris license. It worked out, however, as the core mechanic of Lumines is fantastic. For me, Lumines is second only to Alexey Pajitnov's enduring classic in terms of puzzle games, and Mizuguchi would eventually secure the license for Tetris Effect years later."

Lumines Arise maintains classic Lumines gameplay: multicolored blocks fall into a well and players create same-colored squares that are cleared in rhythm to music. Dropping and rotating blocks generates sound effects that integrate with the soundtrack. The Arise release upgrades presentation with shifting visuals, audio, and pacing every few minutes, rewarding success with abstract imagery and radically different block styles. Stages range from giant hands connected to spider silk to electronic steel pieces and shifting vegetables that slice when cleared. All stages remain playable and often bizarre, and the game gathers these into a short, beat-driven campaign that is quick to complete.

Read at gameinformer.com