Game: Lumini
Genre: Adventure Game
System: Nintendo Switch
Developers|Publishers: Speelbaars|2Awesome Studio
Price: US $8.99| AU $15.00|CA $ 13.22|£8.99| €9,99
Age Rating: EU 7+, US E10+
Release Date: January 24th, 2020
Review Code used, with many thanks to 2Awesome Studio
A Gorgeous, but Frightening World
With an “E for everyone” age rating coupled with charmingly bright graphics, I naively thought Lumini was a game crafted for relaxation. Instead, as I took on the role of a luminescent flying-fish-fairy like creature, I found myself enraptured by the game’s somewhat dark environmental storytelling. Most of 2Awesome Studio’s games feature fast-paced shooting and arcade action gameplay, but Lumini stands apart from those as something uniquely beautiful. It is a game that holds within it a transport to an almost alien world. It is one that both ignites fear and elicits awe.
A Cautious First Flight
The game begins with a corpse. One of many to come, yet this one is different as the calcified body of this lost creature clutches to a slightly emanating cube. Despite the effort of this soulless body, the cube shaped gem falls, revealing to us a glimpse of a crystal cave—our birthplace—before shattering upon the cavern floor. From within, a single purple fairy like creature called a Lumini emerges.
Our story of survival begins with our weak efforts of flying around the crystal cavern we find ourselves in. There are no words or omniscient echoes to guide us. Rather, we learn as we go, floating around the glistening rock walls and steady puddles, trying to find a purpose. A world of bedrock, however beautiful, easily becomes a place almost lifeless. Thus, once we lay our eyes upon a shimmering flower we are immediately attracted to it. Within that flower we find our purpose.
Like all animals, a Lumini derives its purpose from survival. They are small and weak creatures, but by bringing a collection of flower puffs to a large cube-like structure, which doubles as a checkpoint, we are rewarded with companionship. A second Lumini joins us, and suddenly the world feels that much less lonely.
Danger is always Lurking
The life of a Lumini has you gliding through the depths of a cavern on a quest to find flower puffs and deliver them to the large, looming cubes that are sparsely located throughout the underground world. Doing so rewards you with a cluster of Luminis, oftentimes varying in color. In a manner that is careful not to disrupt your immersion, the game offers a little clue about your Lumini collection. The L button switches between which color Lumini leads. This is strategic, as each colored variant has a unique power when you hold either the ZL or ZR trigger.
I didn’t realize the importance of this until I came across my first predator. My little cluster was peacefully gliding along cavern walls, carelessly unaware of any dangers in our attempt to collect more flower puffs. Suddenly, a coral like creature burst from within itself three spiked balls. One of the obstacles stuck one of my blue Lumini, resulting in a fatal cry of pain. All I could do was watch as its body floated, lifelessly, to the floor. This was but the first of many dangers.
I truly became fearful when another monster emerged from the depths. I could hear it before I could see it. The background music, which is light and slightly ominous, suddenly shifted. It became fast-paced, and suddenly I could hear a kind of growl. My Luminis never had a chance. All I could do was watch as a sharp-toothed whale like creature burst forth toward my cluster. He gobbled one of my companions. I mean this literally. Death is something this game isn’t afraid to show, as the whale floated for a minute and happily chewed up my Lumini. I watched its little body be crunched on, and as soon as it disappeared, the whale once again surged towards us. At first, all I could do was try to flee. But of course he was too fast. It was not long before I was left with a single Lumini. Once he was gone, I was returned to the last checkpoint cube. I was able to collect a meager amount of nearby flower puffs in an attempt to arm myself with a few more friends. This time, I was determined to fight.
Not all Hope is Lost
This is where the importance of the Lumini species comes in. The game urged me to cycle through the different colored Luminis to see just what they did. It appeared as though each Lumini species had unique skill. The blue Luminis were swift, allowing you to instantly speed up. The yellow Luminis had the ability to defend with a kind of electric shield. It was the red Luminis that were my favorite, however, as they had an extra strong attack. I no longer wanted to flee from the sharp-toothed whales. I was after revenge.
By pressing the ZR button, I was able to unleash a powerful sound that emerged from my Lumini. The red Lumini’s power growl had a larger radius and more impact than its companions. It only took three growls to defeat the whale. Despite my newfound abilities, I still had to be careful. After using an attack, I would have to wait a few seconds for it to recharge. In those fleeting seconds I had to be careful to avoid the whale as he picked off a Lumini from my fleet. Avoiding attacks during wait times became ever more difficult the larger my cluster grew.
The deeper you go into the cave, the more frequent and varied the enemies became. Luckily, flower puffs weren’t the only thing that aided in my quest for survival. Though danger is ever present, the game encourages you to explore. By entering through narrow and oftentimes seemingly maze-like paths, sometimes I would uncover special flowers. There were green cluster flowers, pyramid like gems, and even red triangle flowers. In all honesty, I am still unsure of what the former flowers do. But once I found my first red triangle, I was hooked on exploring for more. You see, once I approached it, my lead Lumini, a little red guy, suddenly powered up. He grew in size, suddenly taking on a fiercer look, and his attack was powered up. I was growing, but so was the world around me.
Traversing a Forgotten World
As I mentioned before, Lumini tells its story through the environment. Initially, the frail little life of my Lumini began in a cave den adorned with crystal cubes that glowed softly as I flew by. Though the atmosphere of the cave often changed, I began to wonder if I would ever get to emerge from it. When I finally did, I was completely awestruck by what awaited me from beyond the cavern walls.
You and your Lumini companions eventually depart from the word in the bedrock. When you do, an eerie orange sun is hidden behind a ferocious sandstorm. In front of it you see a strange structure, perhaps some kind of decimated civilization. It was all so much to take in. But that’s just it. This game is constructed in a way that wants you to fly around and gaze at the world in the background. We emerged onto an open space. The music had changed, but it was a different kind of creepy. There wasn’t the fast-paced soundtrack of being hunted; rather, it was something completely different. I can only describe it as chilly. The sounds of a chilly new world greeted us as we circled around, taking in our world. Then, I noticed it, something was moving. In the far-off background there was a huge creature. Its features weren’t discernible. All we could see was its slowly moving outline. This world was scary, and I found myself quickly diving back into the cave to seek shelter not from some kind of predator, but from the world itself.
There is as much life in this game as there is death. Not only do the harmless but ominous giants of this world loom large in the distance, but even the uninhabited structures of our surroundings tell us something of this world. Similar to the game Journey on the Playstation, we are urged forth by smooth and fun mechanics and an enchanting world. But as you delve deeper, you quickly realize there are statues and broken remnants of a lost world. You look at it, remember it, and try to keep moving.
Your search for survival simultaneously becomes that of uncovering the mystery of this world. This two-fold quest becomes evermore challenging. Often times you are tasked with splitting up your Lumini cluster in order to solve puzzles and move forward. I have to admit, the controls are a little awkward and take some time to get used to. It’s a single-player game, in which you separate your group by moving them with either the left or right joy-con respectively. Doing so allows you to press buttons or move wind turbines that result in opening passageways. The puzzles get trickier, but each rewards you with either progression through the luminescent world or a hidden room where gems or flower puffs can be collected. Though the controls are awkward, they are a kind of challenge that adds variation to the world.
Conclusion: A game of Life and Death
Lumini is a beautiful game. Your story begins as that of a simple desire to survive to uncovering the tragedy of this alien world. It combines environmental storytelling that you see in games like Journey, but also the struggle of surviving not just for yourself, but for your Lumini family; a kind of gameplay that induced both stress and pleasure, similar to Shelter.
You play this game alone, but it never truly feels that way. It does not take long to care deeply for the fragile fairies that traverse this frightening world of danger and death, but by doing so you learn what it means to survive and to live in this world.
Final Verdict: I like this game a lot