Game: Endless Ocean Luminous
Genre: Simulation, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch
Developers|Publishers: Arika | Nintendo
Age Rating: US Everyone | EU 3+
Price: US $49.99| UK £39.99 | EU € 49,99
Release Date: May 2nd, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to Nintendo Benelux.
As a total novice to the deep sees in video games, I was quite happy to dive into Endless Ocean Luminous, totally in the mood for a relaxing game with no battles or scares. I’ve never played the first two Endless Ocean games, nor did I play titles like Beyond Blue or Subnautica. So, I went in with a clean slate of expectations. Let’s see when I come up for air!
Will I Fit Into My Scuba-Diving Suit?
In Endless Ocean Luminous, you dive into a third-person adventure beneath the waves of the Veiled Sea. It’s a mysterious ocean with topographical features that are in constant flux. This means it changes with each dive, so you never know what you will encounter. The game features a vast array of over 500 sea creatures to discover, ranging from ordinary fish to massive mythical entities.
As a member of Project Aegis, it’s your job to catalogue all diverse species and unravel the secrets of the Veiled Sea with the ultimate goal of restoring the World’s Coral. This World Coral is key to revitalizing the planet’s underwater ecosystem, which seems to be dying. Of course, you are the one to save it. But don’t worry, the promised laid-back adventure remains intact.
I shouldn’t have worried about my scuba-diving attire: opening up the game, I was instantly put in my suit and dropped into the ocean without much pre-amble. No background at first, no trying my gear on, and no explanation of what to do exactly. Just choices on the menu, and it was up to me to find out where they led. Shared Dives, Solo Dives and the Story Mode were presented to me.
Tutorial/ Story Mode
The Story Mode in Endless Ocean Luminous is a strange choice on the part of the developers. It functions in part as a tutorial, but it doesn’t tell you nearly enough at the same time. Sure, there are some tips in the loading screen of the game, but they aren’t enough to learn the ropes. The first episodes of Chapter 1 gave me some background and explained why I should scan fish, but not the basics on how to move in the water or how the shared dives worked.
The next chapter unlocks after you’ve scanned a number of fish, and it’s not a low threshold. In fact, after Chapter 1 you are already required to have scanned 500 lifeforms. And if you think you can scan schools of fish and be done with it, you can’t. It literally counts the number of times you have scanned, not the number of fish you have scanned. The limit to unlock the next episodes ramps up quickly after that, with 1,000 scans to unlock 2.1 and 2,000 for 2.2 and so on. It’s extra disappointing that some chapters are very, very thin on content.
So, back to the Story Mode. You’ll master skills like scanning and cataloguing fish, attracting marine life to swim close for interactive experiences, and even photography. You get to meet Daniel, a veteran diver, to teach you the ropes while the ever-present AI assistant Sera (Survey Exploration and Research Assistant) tells you what’s what. It’s so slow going, and to have so many skills under your belt to unlock it all, you’ll have to do many, many dives before learning it all.
One thing it mentions early on is the Mystery Board. This board presents you with 99 enigmas to solve, adding a layer of intrigue as you explore the depths of the Veiled Sea. Aside from the enigmas, there are other treasures to find. They range from pirate’s treasures to simple household artefacts and even a stuffed bear. Each has a value, and with the coin earned, you can purchase new colours for your gear, stickers and emotes.
Just Me and Loads of Fish: Solo Dives
The first thing I tried in Endless Ocean Luminous was the solo dives. I thought it best to take small steps first. You go into a vast canvas of sea, a different one every time you re-enter unless you specifically ask to return to your last dive. Surprisingly, you see the grid on the sides, numbered from 0 to 9 and A to J. I guess it’s easy when you lose track of your whereabouts.
Scanning was easy enough, and by doing so, you gather Light (needed for the World Coral), and the fish show their true colours. They look truly amazing, well, not all of them, but you know what I mean. It’s not the prettiest fish, but I saw several Coelacanth, and I was instantly reminded of how difficult they are to catch in Animal Crossing! Sera gives you the background for the fish as well, so you can learn a lot about marine life if you want to.
During your dive, Sera tells you to go and find a number of fish that have a different biometric signature, after which a special UML (Unidentified Marine Life) is spotted in your waters. Sera sends the rough locations to all the areas you need to search on your map. Helped by a radar that starts to buzz as soon as you are near, you have to scan until you have all the special fish and get to see and scan the UML.
This will keep you pretty busy during the solo dive, as it’s a big sea to search in. While doing so you will find interesting spots like ancient underwater ruins, sunken ships and deep caves.
Fun Together: Shared Dives
I suspect that most players will feel that the shared dives are the star of the show in Endless Ocean Luminous. You can join existing dives if you have the Dive-ID or start your own. In no time, you’ll be joined by other divers. I thought it was fun that everyone greeted each other automatically and sent a little gift of light. Nice touch!
When it says shared, it literally means you share experience points; other divers leave a trail of light for you to gather. And everyone tags unique treasures or rare fish. Every diver tries to find the fish with the strange biometrical signature, and when they are all found, the UML gets scanned pretty quickly, too. I was surprised just how quickly this could go; it really was a matter of minutes before it was all done. Leaving me to peddle along for the ride swim.
I didn’t mind, I just went on exploring and checking the tags that the other divers kindly left at treasure to be found, or rare fish to scan. And before I knew it, the allotted hour was over. Still, it felt like we did good work together. I think the announced dive festivals will be a big hit for fans of the game. Be advised you do need a Nintendo Switch Online Membership to partake in the Shared Dives online.
The Look and Feel of Endless Ocean Luminous
The background music and sounds for Endless Ocean Luminous are lovely. Often you are just swimming along with the sounds of your own movement and of the fish around you. Then all of a sudden, a musical score swells like the rising sun. All very relaxing, and judging by the sound of whalesong, they are very accurate (though my point of reference is Star Trek The Voyage Home…). Should the soundtrack be available in future on streaming services, I can see myself downloading it.
The controls work fine, and once you have figured them all out, they are easy to grasp. I like the stats shown in your profile and the ranking data under the Shared Dives button. This shows a sort of leaderboard for things like teamwork, research and salvage.
I love the graphics. I’ve already mentioned how lovely and lifelike the fish look, and the surroundings look good, too. Finding a cave system or a sunken ship gives you a great feeling of exploration. I do wish there was more to see on the ocean floor: some stretches of the ocean floor are devoid of anything much but rocks. But then, maybe that’s accurate, too.
Conclusion: Is It Worth It?
While writing my review, I kept going back and forth in my verdict on the game. I’m having a grand time playing Endless Ocean Luminous. Writing about it made me want to play it, which is always a good sign. The Story Mode, however, is a big letdown. It does an awful job as a tutorial, and it feels grindy to unlock the chapters.
The treasures you can find and things you can do with your coins seem a bit meagre. I wonder if people will feel enough incentive to return once the novelty wears off. The game will have to prove itself with the upcoming Dive Festivals, as the Shared Dives are the star of the show.
Looking at the price point, I feel it’s too high to warrant an I Like it a Lot. I’m enjoying Endless Ocean Luminous, but it needs some more oomph.
Final Verdict: I Like It
Do you like our content? Support LadiesGamers on Patreon!
Check out our Tiers and Benefits and join us.