Lumines Remastered takes the puzzle game classic that debuted in 2004 and brings it into 2018 for pretty much every platform out there. What makes Lumines so fun to play is the way it remixes the puzzle format and introduces rhythm game elements.
Blocks are comprised of four squares in one of two colors, and they drop in different combinations. One block might be comprised of four orange squares, while another might have three orange blocks and one white one. You need to create new blocks by matching squares that are of the same color through rotating them and dropping them into place. In order to erase the blocks you create, a bar glides across the screen that’s speed is set to whatever song is featured in a series of levels.
The more successful blocks you can create, the higher your score. Squares will always sink to the bottom no matter what— even if one half stays on a ledge, the other splits off and sinks until it hits the bottom. So unlike Tetris, you’re challenged to think not only vertically but horizontally and diagonally to create the right combinations in time. It might sound complicated, but once it clicks, it’s easy to sink a ton of time into the game.
I absolutely adore this game, and playing it on the Switch is a no-brainer. It’s the perfect portable game. It’s also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam, so there’s really no excuse to not at least experience its brilliance. It’s a game that I’ll probably continue to play on whatever platform it lands on until I’m on my deathbed. In fact, on this week’s episode of Viewpoints, it’s one of the games I mention in our discussion of “forever games.”
I sat down with fellow Tetsuya Mizuguchi stan Chris Person to play a couple rounds of Lumines complete with Trance Vibrator talk, me discussing my synesthesia (I can see sounds!) and the music of Mondo Grosso.