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Review: Lumies Arise
One thing that goes hand in hand is how games by Enhance brilliantly utilise virtual reality. Therefore, when I learned that the new Lumines (one of my all-time favourites on the original PSP) was being adapted for VR, it quickly became one of my most eagerly awaited releases for November. However, has Enhance continued their pattern of creating exceptional experiences in VR?
Game Details
Release Date: November 11th 2025
Developer: Enhance, Monstars Inc.
Publisher: Enhance
Price: £34.99 / US $39.99
Reviewed On: Meta Quest 3 via Link Cable
* Access Provided For Review *
The Lumines We All Love
The gameplay remains unchanged from the classic Lumines on the PSP, which stood as a competitor to the iconic Tetris – a remarkable achievement, especially considering Tetris even has its own film. With Lumines Arise marking the first launch since Lumines Remastered in 2018, it was wonderful to witness this music-driven puzzle game receiving the revival it rightfully deserves.
If you haven’t experienced Lumines yet, its unique feature lies in how the blocks are removed. You need to form pairs of two-by-two blocks of the same color, which will only disappear when the sweeping line traverses the board over them. This line moves in sync with the music’s rhythm, requiring you to plan ahead, as opposed to Tetris, where blocks clear instantly.
The only new feature introduced is the Burst mechanic, which can only be activated when the percentage reaches fifty percent or higher. The greater the percentage, the longer the Burst will endure; however, it remains beneficial even at lower percentages as it can effectively clear a significant portion of the board. Activating Burst allows you to temporarily halt the line-clearing blocks while you accumulate a stack of a singular pattern. Once time resumes, it will clear all the blocks—typically resulting in a new stack of the opposite pattern to clear on the next swipe of the line.
This new mechanic does not last for an extended period, but this ensures that it is not overpowered. The requirement to build up the percentage prevents it from being activated continuously. This introduces an additional tactic, as players must discern the optimal moment to activate it or allow it to continue building, all while creating a satisfying experience when achieving a large combo with its use.
Keeping the gameplay loop in focus, Lumines presents a variety of modes, with the Journey mode being the standout feature. Those who have experienced Tetris Effect will recognise this mode, which guides players through nine sets of levels, each comprising four or five stages. The duration of this journey largely depends on the player’s skill level and their ability to clear the stages. Additionally, there are three difficulty settings available for those eager to push their skills to the limit and strive for improvement.
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Like many games of this nature, the primary goal is to achieve high scores. With this objective in mind, consistently completing levels will help maintain your high score, so the best strategy is to manage your progress without failing. This approach will allow you to build your scores and achieve higher ranks. However, the teams at Enchance and Monstars have incorporated a degree of leniency; if you fail at any stage, you can break your high-score combo and reset your score to zero, but you can continue from the level where you stumbled. This feature is particularly appreciated, especially since some stages can be quite challenging, even for seasoned Lumines players, let alone newcomers. This means you can complete the Journey mode and then return to refine your skills until achieving a full streak becomes feasible, and not being forced to restart and try until you can achieve this.
The other modes consist of Missions, which essentially serve as a tutorial to help players understand the mechanics, as well as the effective moves and placements needed to prepare for creating those crucial two by two blocks. Additionally, there is a playlist mode that enables you to compile a selection of up to twelve stages to play consecutively outside of Journey mode; however, to include them in your playlist, you must first complete them in Journey mode. Furthermore, the game features multiplayer with two primary modes: Burst battle, where your combos will send garbage blocks to your opponent’s board, and Leaderboard League, which is an asynchronous score attack mode where you compete against others to climb the leaderboards.
The small additional feature is that while engaging in these modes and gathering Loomii’s, which are released through the Burst mechanic, you will earn tokens to use in the Loomii-Pon. These tokens will allow you to unlock random cosmetics for your Loomii or for your online profile card.
A Visual Feast And Audio Assault
Similar to the stages in Tetris Effect, the visuals in Lumines are stunning, and experiencing them in virtual reality is truly a visual delight. The backgrounds are vibrant, and as you clear more blocks, the effects and music intensify, making it feel like you’re at your own personal visual rave. However, while the visuals are beautiful, they also lead to what I believe is the game’s only drawback: the readability of some blocks during the stages. In addition to the changing backgrounds, the blocks themselves adapt to the current theme, and in certain stages, they can be quite difficult to see against the backdrop. This can create challenges in a game that relies on quick decision-making where every second is crucial.
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Building on the stunning visuals, they have maintained the tradition of featuring an exceptional soundtrack to accompany the game. They have once again enlisted the talents of Hydelic and Takako Ishida to create the music, continuing from their collaboration on Tetris Effect Connected. This has led to a soundtrack that spans various genres, including electronic, classical, house, hip-hop, and R&B. This variety ensures that players are not confined to a single type of music, making each stage feel fresh alongside the evolving visuals.
Additionally, I strongly suggest that if you possess any bHaptics vest, you should connect it and activate the audio to haptics mode. Experiencing every pulse and beat of the music while playing adds an incredible layer of immersion and enhances the overall experience.
Comfort
The Verdict
Enhance and Monstars have successfully transformed a cherished series from my teenage years into virtual reality with Lumines Arise, marking the first new instalment since Lumines Remastered released in 2018. They have excelled in preserving the elements that distinguished the original from its rivals, while also introducing some exciting new features. The game remains the beloved two-by-two block music puzzle game that captured players’ hearts, but now includes a fresh mechanic that significantly aids in clearing large groups of blocks at once—but adds the extra strategy of activating it at the correct time. With thirty-five stages featuring stunning visuals and effects, alongside tracks from various genres composed by Hydelic and Takako Ishida (Tetris Effect Connected), it delivers the visual and auditory assault we have come to expect from Enhance, which is even more remarkable in virtual reality. Lumines Arise is one of those captivating games that keeps you saying ‘just one more try,’ leading you to lose track of time, and it stands proudly alongside classics like Tetris.
Copyright / The VR Realm / 2016 -
