Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is a new 3D puzzle platformer from publisher Wired Productions and developer Luminawesome Games that is available now on most of the major platforms. It’s a game that has a beautiful look to it but is the art of figuring out its puzzles worth your time?
The main thing that attracted me to Lumote when I first saw it some time ago was the striking visuals it has going for it. As soon you start up the game you are put into this gorgeous bioluminescent world full of red and blue colors. The world is set underwater but it has a very alien kind of feel to it as well which I really dug. The visuals really create a relaxing experience and when combined with the soothing soundtrack, it creates quite the calming atmosphere. There is even a photo mode built in so that you can take plenty of great shots of it. This isn’t something you see in most indie games so I really appreciated the team including one in a game as good looking as this one.
Lumote just kind of plops you into its world with not much explanation. You play as a green squishy blob like creature that has to descend further and further into the depths with the goal being to turn the red areas controlled by the Mastermote back into blue. That’s basically it for story with no cutscenes, voice acting, or much else presented to you. Everything is pretty much left up to you to interpret as you will. Playing as your little creature you have the ability to jump and double jump with the X button while the circle button lets you control motes in the world. You’ll be using this to solve the various puzzles that get more and more challenging as you get further. The whole world is interconnected and you can see much of what awaits you long before you actually get to it at any given time. To get through each section you’ll have to solve the puzzles which can involve taking control of a mote to move it onto a switch to open your path, standing on other things to make them grow, and so forth.
The game gradually introduces more mechanics as you get further but a lot of it starts to feel kind of the same as you go leading to a feeling of repetitiveness. I also think players who need a bit of hand holding or guidance will likely not enjoy this as a lot of it can feel directionless. Lumote is really a game about letting you figure things out and if you enjoy that then you’ll have no problem with it at all. Puzzles are about figuring them out for yourself but I feel it’s worth mentioning as I know some players can grow frustrated. Something else that frustrated me a bit was that when I died while in the middle of trying to solve a puzzle, I was reset back to the last checkpoint flower and had to start everything in that puzzle over. This caused me to feel like I was wasting too much time at points which was annoying. Outside of moving through the levels and solving the puzzles there are also golden hidden objects in each level for you to seek out as collectibles. If you’re a trophy hunter you’ll find 54 trophies in this game to collect including a Platinum. Most of them shouldn’t be too difficult but there is a speedrun trophy and a couple for not dying in parts that could raise the difficulty.
Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is a challenging and beautiful 3D puzzle platformer but one whose design could frustrate some players out there. I enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the game and for the most part didn’t struggle too much with solving the puzzles. For others though, I can see how they could get stuck with not really knowing where to go or what to do and that is worth considering before making your purchase.
*Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PlayStation 4 version reviewed. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles
$19.99
Pros
- Beautiful and relaxing visuals and music
- 3D platforming gameplay feels good
- Challenging puzzles that will test your brain
Cons
- Puzzles and the world can start to grow repetitive over time
- Lack of guidance and losing progress could frustrate some players
