Lumines Remastered (for Nintendo Switch) Review

It's hard to compete with Tetris.

After more than three decades, the Soviet block-dropping title is still one of the best puzzle games ever made.

Puyo Puyo has admirably built up its own popularity, particularly in Japan (and was outright combined with Tetris in the excellent Puyo Puyo Tetris), but nearly every other block-dropper is at best a shallow imitation of the original.

There was a time, however, when one promising upstart made a stand.

Q Entertainment's (now Enhance's) Lumines was that upstart, and it first made that stand on the PlayStation Portable.

It's now come to Nintendo Switch, and even without adding any new ideas to the mix, the simple, mesmerizing, engaging gameplay earns Lumines Remastered our Editors' Choice.

The Lumines Legacy

Lumines combines Puyo Puyo's gravity-based block physics with a sweeping erase system that enables complex, layered combos.

The game also incorporates hypnotic electronic music that adapts to how you play, hitting beats as blocks drop and squares line up.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Space Channel 5) designed the hit game for the PSP, a system which never reached the Nintendo DS's popularity.

Lumines stands out as one of the most engaging and addictive PSP titles, spawning sequels and revisions for the PS2, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, as well as for mobile phones.

The latest incarnation, Lumines Remastered ($14.99), brings the game to the current console generation and is the first in the series to appear on a Nintendo system.

In addition to the Nintendo Switch version I tested, Lumines is available on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Lumines Remastered is every bit as hypnotic and addictive as it was 14 years ago and feels perfectly at home on both the Switch's console and handheld modes.

Block-Dropping Beats

Lumines' gameplay is simple.

Two-by-two-block squares drop from the top of the screen in a wide playfield of 10 by 16 tiles.

Each block is one of two colors, which makes for six possible combinations of squares.

You rotate these squares with the face buttons and move them horizontally around the field as they fall.

When at least four blocks of the same color line up together in two-by-two-or-larger patterns, they glow.

A line sweeps across the field from left to right, erasing the glowing blocks.

Any remaining blocks drop down in their place.

Lumines' concept is similar to that of Puyo Puyo, but requires same-colored clusters of at least two-by-two blocks instead of groups of at least three in any shape.

Also, with Lumines, you only deal with two possible colors at any one time, as opposed to Puyo Puyo's several.

In both games, you line up blocks on a grid and arrange them in complex combinations in the hope that that erasures will leave blocks of the same color together.

Despite the gameplay similarities, Lumines' visuals, sound, and pace all vary wildly.

Playing the game normally cycles through different skins, which alters the background art, the appearance of the blocks, the music, the sound effects, and even the speed of the sweeping bar.

There are 40 skins in total, about half of which are available from the start and the other half unlockable by completing the game's various challenges and modes.

Each skin sounds as different as it looks, giving you dozens of hypnotic trance and ambient tracks to enjoy while you drop blocks.

Solo Modes

Lumines' main game mode, Challenge Mode, is a basic block-dropping puzzle affair.

You need to reach level 100 to complete the Basic game type, at which point you unlock the Endless mode.

This more-advanced mode keeps the action going until you can no longer drop any more blocks into the play area.

Basic and Endless game types cycle through predetermined lists of skins, while Shuffle randomizes all of your skins and challenges you to play through every single one.

You can also create your own playlists of up to 10 skins in Skin Edit mode.

Time Attack Mode is a standard high-score variant of Challenge Mode.

Instead of playing until you go through all the skins or simply stop, Time Attack lets you play for 60, 180, or 300 seconds at a time.

You follow the same basic rules, but need to work fast and build up your combos as much as possible to get high scores with such limited time on the clock.

Puzzle and Mission Modes are more deliberate problem-solving game types.

Puzzle presents you with a specific shape to form with the squares, like an X or a dog.

Mission invites you to accomplish set tasks, like clearing a predetermined stack of blocks.

Both modes start out deceptively simple, but become remarkably difficult as you progress.

I freely admit that I started getting stumped around the intermediate-level puzzles and missions.

Local Multiplayer

Finally, Lumines' Vs.

CPU and 2P Battle let you compete against the computer or nearby friends.

These modes split the playfield in half, with each player taking a side.

Building bigger combos than your opponent during a sweep pushes the dividing line between the halves toward your competitor's side, effectively expanding your play area.

Whoever fills their play area and can't drop any more blocks first loses the match.

Vs.

Com pits you against an increasingly challenging series of ten computer opponents.

2P Battle lets you play against a friend on the same Switch.

Unfortunately, Lumines Remastered has no direct competitive mode for online multiplayer.

You can compare your scores in different modes with other players on online leaderboards, but you can't go head-to-head like you can in Puyo Puyo Tetris ($19.93 at Amazon) .

This is the game's one major omission.

Still Hypnotic and Addictive

It's hard to explain what makes block-dropping games so enjoyable or what makes specific ones work better than others.

Lumines, like Tetris and Puyo Puyo, is just a matter of matching certain patterns in a grid.

Build a square.

Build a bigger square.

Build a cascade of squares of different sizes that neatly fall together as the bar sweeps across the screen.

Add the thoroughly chill electronic beats of the game's soundtrack and you have a hypnotic, satisfying experience you can just sit back and enjoy in any state of mind.

I played a lot of Lumines when it first came out on the PSP and again when its sequels arrived on other systems.

Now I've played even more Lumines on the Switch and it's every bit as addictive as it was years ago.

I've sunk hours into this latest iteration, mostly with the Endless and Shuffle challenge modes because they're so simple and pure.

I've also experienced the Tetris effect with Lumines; after dropping blocks for hours at a time I start to see more blocks drop when I close my eyes.

Lumines is easy to start playing, easier to keep playing, and simply stays with you when you do stop.

A Must-Buy Game

Lumines Remastered on the Switch is a worthy port of the sleeper hit from the PSP era.

The lack of direct online multiplayer is disappointing, but it's the only shortcoming of a $15 package that can swallow hours of your time with mesmerizing block-dropping.

And thanks to the Switch's unique design, you can play it on your TV at home or whenever you're out and have a few minutes to kill.

Lumines is a full puzzle game experience for a bargain price and stands with Puyo Puyo Tetris as one of those simple, addicting games every Switch owner should keep in their systems.