Lumo Reviews
Lumo has a heart. It’s filled with a charming aesthetics, classis retro style gameplay, fun references to other franchises, and just offers a solid good time for platforming fans. It has a moody if somewhat chill soundtrack, a simple yet fairly pleasing visual design, and it just makes me smile every time I play it.
While mostly fun and enjoyable, Lumo’s loose controls make some puzzles incredibly difficult, and not in a good or fair way.
Lumo is the Finnish word for ‘enchantment’ and that is exactly what the game is – enchanting.
Lumo is a charming throwback to the isometric arcade adventure games of the 1980s, but is held back by its short length and some frustrating platforming sections.
Lumo packs many different challenges and puzzles into its oldschool isometric 3D platform adventure format. It can be tough at times, but it's nevertheless thoroughly enjoyable - riffing on many classic British games of the 80's that you mightn't know, but will enjoy discovering.
Lumo might not be perfect, but in resurrecting a very specific sort of puzzle adventure that the industry has seemingly forgotten, Gareth Noyce’s heartfelt love-letter to the past succeeds in weaving a yarn which manages to feel both fresh and compelling at the same time. This is the isometric platform puzzler you never knew you wanted.
A loving tribute to isometric adventures of the Spectrum era, that does just enough to ensure new fans can enjoy it as well.
Lumo is an enjoyable love letter to the isometric games that old-school gamers like me remember from their childhood.
Lumo could have easily been another retro inspired title that did little other than revel in old-school visuals. It's actually a lovely trip down memory lane.
While the score below is very much based on my experience (duh), you can knock this grade up a half point if you love games that revel in challenge and restarts. Lots and lots of restarts. Regardless, this is a well-priced indie with a lengthy, ten-hour campaign. I also suspect that there are players out there who might end up loving the idea of Lumo more than the execution. That said, if the controls could be made less frustrating I would love to see a sequel.
You are most likely not going to see Lumo appearing on any “Game of the Year” lists this fall, but it is absolutely a valiant first outing for developer Gareth Noyce. The title shows that he has the chops and creativity to take another shot at a style of game that has been long-abandoned.
Lumo is a big, puzzley, dungeon-romping love letter to the history of gaming, filled with references to a huge number of titles but still more than able to carve out its own identity.
Gareth Noyce's revival of the British isometric puzzle game offers a deep and amiable dungeon filled with eccentric wonder.
A fun, imaginative platformer that’s full of ideas, but prepare to die, a lot.
LUMO is a surprisingly fun throwback to a genre of puzzle adventures lost to the winds of time, and also a loving nod to the career of its creator. It's an enjoyable dungeon crawler with some fiendish puzzles and punishing death traps.
Lumo is full of well thought out puzzles, but it lacks certain gameplay touches that could have pushed it into being a great game. My main gripe is that the jumping feels awkward and, coupled with perspective issues, means you can fail a simple puzzle dozens of times. The game does have a certain charm to it, and I would recommend it as a nostalgia trip for players that grew up with similar games, but this will not be for those who aren’t fans of classic titles or puzzles.
A love-letter to games gone past and to games in general, Lumo is a delightful if sometimes frustrating little puzzle platformer.
Lumo takes all of your rose-tinted memories of the isometric adventure genre and manages to faithfully re-create them – whilst making the much-needed changes that make going back to those old games so painful. True, some gamers won’t appreciate the soft touch, but Noyce caters for them too if they want more of a challenge.
Lumo is a shout back to all those games many of us love and miss. It's frustrating at times, but when you skate this close to the source material it’s to be expected, and is a risk worth taking.
Lumo has bags of charm, and I’m actually quite impressed with the overall presentation and the variety of puzzles and platforming challenges, but it’s very hard to forgive for those clunky, inaccurate moments. The game became less enjoyable the more I played it, and the knowledge of that destroys any enthusiasm I might have had for playing it again