Lumines Arise review – hip to be square

After over a decade away, PSP classic Lumines is rejuvenated with modern flair, in the most visually mesmerising puzzle game of the year. 

Developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi is synonymous with sensory spectacles like Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect, but he’s also responsible for classic puzzle games Meteos and Lumines. The latter was a defining jewel of Sony’s first PlayStation Portable (PSP), and despite several sequels and a remaster landing on other platforms, the series has always remained closely associated with PlayStation. 

Lumines Arise launching on PlayStation 5 and PC is no different (the deluxe edition even comes with an Astro Bot cosmetic) but the series’ return hits differently in 2025. With a 13-year gap since the last mainline instalment on PS Vita, Lumines Arise feels like a resurrected totem from PlayStation’s yesteryears, when franchise heavyweights like God Of War mixed with inventive oddities like Patapon and LocoRoco. 

For anyone who played Tetris Effect, Lumines Arise is a dazzling kaleidoscopic extension in the same vein – with entrancing visuals, a stupendous soundtrack, PlayStation VR2 support, and a new Hail Mary mechanic which, quite literally, turns things upside down. 

If you’re not familiar with the series, Lumines shares the same fundamentals as Tetris, of managing falling blocks in a grid. But instead of trying to create lines, you’re aiming for 2×2 squares of the same colour. These blocks, once formed, are wiped by a vertical line which passes through the grid periodically, and the more blocks you accumulate and stack together before the ‘time line’ hits, the more points you’ll accrue in one swoop. 

At a basic level, you’re trying to create a prescribed number of blocks without topping out the grid, but you’ll earn more points by maintaining a constant flow of 2×2 formations, or by building them out into larger squares. It sounds fairly simple on paper, with only two colours to manage per stage, but errors and missed opportunities can quickly stack up, as you scramble to break down dreaded checked patterns against the accelerating pace. 

Beyond forming standard blocks, there are other ways to avoid sticky situations. A chain block, which occasionally appears, can be utilised to clear sequences of connected blocks of the same colour, but Lumines Arise introduces another saving grace with its Burst mechanic.

Once a meter at the top of the grid charges to 50% or more, you can hit the triggers to activate Burst. This pivots your focus into assembling the largest square possible, with any blocks of the opposing colour around and above being blasted upwards off the grid – hence the word arise. Once this Burst period ends, any blocks jettisoned into the ether crash back down, allowing for a satisfying, easy clean-up of the same coloured stacks. 

Burst is supremely gratifying when maximised to its full table-turning potential, but it can be wasted if used haphazardly. It’s best activated when you’ve already formed a square, as your grid starts to look dicey, but not too late, when a few too many awkward blocks can threaten your run. Like Lumines in general, it strikes the right balance between rewarding strategy and providing the comeback rush when dashes of luck swing in your favour. 

As with Tetris Effect, the puzzling is amplified by the presentational flourishes. There’s always been a rhythmic tilt to Lumines, in comparison to other puzzle games, but in Lumines Arise, this is elevated to bombastic and, at times, wonderfully serene heights. Each stage in the main single-player mode, Journey, carries a theme, whether ticking clocks, sliced fruits, or marbles which, when formed into 2×2 blocks, roll outwards from the grid with a pleasing clonk. 

Not all of the themes are as striking as those, but the superb soundtrack creates an absorbing atmosphere around even the less memorable stages. Hydelic and Takako Ishida, who worked on the soundtrack for Tetris Effect: Connected, return with an eclectic mix which brings Lumines Arise to life; through thunderous electro thumpers, classical jives, soulful pop, and in one standout scenario, a brass groove house party hosted by wailing chameleons.

The presentation is exquisite throughout, but it’s a shame the same amount of care wasn’t invested in the player characters and customisation. You navigate menus via a Loomi, which floats around and is shown to others in the online lobby. As you earn points for beating levels, you can redeem cosmetics for the block-headed humanoid  – like new heads, expressions, and emotes – but they’re all so generic or subtle it feels like an unnecessary, artificial layer of progression lifted from lesser games. 

Thankfully, there’s plenty of other reasons to keep playing. Beyond the single-player Journey mode, which spans 35 stages, there are 60 training missions of escalating difficulty, a separate stack of 25 challenges hinged around specific conditions – like using blocks which grow in size, or trying to hatch eggs by assembling blocks around them – and the ability to assemble your own runs with your favourite stages via the Playlist option. 

There’s a decent multiplayer suite too. You can play Time Attack challenges for bragging rights on the online leaderboards, or compete in the excellent Dig Down mode (originally introduced in Lumines Supernova on the PlayStation 3), where a rising tide of blocks fills the playing field as you progress. You can play against others directly as well, either locally or online, in Burst Battle – a new competitive take on Lumines, where forming squares hurls ‘garbage blocks’ onto your opponent’s grid, in a similar vein to Puyo Puyo Tetris. 

It’s an impressive package for a mid-priced title and one which is amenable to different play speeds. In the accessibility features, there’s a ‘no-stress Lumines’ toggle if you want to soak in the atmosphere without any worry of failure, along with options to remove some of its theatrical elements – like dramatic zoom-ins when you complete a square, or graphics for bonus indicators – if you want a purist experience devoid of these modern flourishes. 

Lumines Arise will not win over anyone who has bounced off the series before, but as a revitalising gateway for newcomers, and a slick expansion of what’s come before, this is an operatic makeover of the highest calibre. Tetris Effect set the template for this title’s existence, but based on the results so far, we’ll take plenty more puzzle games elevated with the same level of production and creativity. Meteos next, please. 

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed) and PC
Price: £32.99
Publisher: Enhance
Developer: Monstars and Enhance
Release Date: 11th November 2025
Age Rating: 7

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