Also available for Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PS Vita
Released May 24th 2016
7/10
A love letter to games gone by, ‘Lumo’ is a game from ‘Triple Eh? Ltd’ heralding the return of a lost genre.
This game came out at a time that I was rewatching ‘The IT Crowd’ on DVD. If you weren’t aware, the show’s DVD menus all have the characters in retro style games for comic effect. One such menu was an isometric adventure game with Moss and Roy attempting to avoid their boss while collecting items. I thought I’d like to play that game, and sure enough, ‘Lumo’ appeared.
It’s not ‘The IT Crowd’, but it’ll do.
In the very short opening sequence you play as a boy or girl who gets sucked into a computer game, transformed into a baby wizard. and forced to find a way to escape the dungeon. And the adventure begins.
It requires no more plot, and doesn’t suffer for it. Old school games never really did have much in the way of story. Mario had to save the Princess from another castle, Sonic had to free the bunnies from Robotnik, Lemmings had to not die.
The adventure is filled with pop references ranging from movie spoofs, (e.g. a couple of nods to Indiana Jones and at least one to Lord of the Rings) to re-imagined versions of classic games.
After you choose to play boy or girl and which colour outfit (I went green), you’re straight into the game. As you explore the dungeon, you find obstacles, traps, and puzzles that must be overcome if you wish to proceed. Your wizard hasn’t really got any tricks up their sleeve, and even has to learn the ability to jump a distance after going through a few rooms. Although as things unfold, your character will run, jump, swing, swim, slide, and ride through many varied situations.
There are also a number of collectible items to gather for the completionists, many of which are tucked away in secret rooms that can be easily missed. There are also a great few Easter Egg trophies too. Look out for ‘Drop the kids off’.
The game’s pace is pretty easy going to begin, but once you find the Lumo wand, the heat cranks up. Without wanting to give too much away, the puzzles get much more fiendish, the action a bit more frantic, and the dungeons notably more dangerous.
The game certainly does have a certain charm, but at points I did wonder if there was a good reason that this isometric style game died out. The main reason I struggled in some areas was that the camera was always locked in one position, and the character who was not all that great at jumping required some precision jumps, sometimes while avoiding dangerous obstacles. That simply is the nature of the game. I was in one room attempting to swing across dangerous poison water for at least 20 minutes. It really shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was. In another room, while riding a bubble, I felt I was mostly going through the course blind and hoping for the best. At least another 20 minutes of that I think.
For its faults, Lumo is a great little puzzle platformer that is likely to have you hooked. There’s a lot to explore, many different puzzles that will keep your brain engaged, and more than enough action to keep your thumbs active.
