Recently Microsoft held the 2010 Dream Build Play Competition in which Lumi came first place, and quite deserving so. While Lumi doesn’t bring anything new to the table it does take basic game development concepts and do it all correctly. The controls are tight, backdrops are beautiful, music is engrossing, and gameplay is not only simple, but addicting.
Your goal quite simply is to collect fireflies scattered about each level and release them unto trees to illuminate the world. Initially, players may feel as though their movement is limited as they move their rounded yellow character across the screen in search of fireflies, but he also can latch himself onto red and blue spheres that are scattered throughout the world. By holding the right trigger, Lumi will will naturally be attracted to the red spheres, and pressing the left trigger will do the same with blue. Pressing the wrong trigger for the wrong color will fire him away from the colored object. Furthermore, these spheres are constantly spinning in either a clockwise or counterclockwise motion. The best example of comparison would be jumping from barrel-to-barrel in Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. It took me a moment to get the controls down but after a few moments I was zooming around the stages like Sonic The Hedgehog.
While the music is mellow, and the violins evoke a lonely sentiment you share with your character in his gloomy world. Initially only one song repeats, but it changes after the third level. I did notice what I believe to be a glitch – some levels will say I have 100% completion, even though I had not collected all of the fireflies or lit up all of the trees. Other people seem to share this issue as well. The length of the game may bother some gamers due to the price, but I think it his a good point. There are a total of 10 levels which can be completed in one extended sitting. Finally, one hit deaths can be a bit frustrating at times, but the levels are pretty small and the save points are spaced frequently.
While Lumi is priced at the maximum allowance on Xbox Live Indie Game (400 MS Points, $5) it is still a better deal than most of the higher priced XBLA titles out there. Make no mistake – this is a well polished product which shines through and through from beginning to end and would make a great addition to anyone’s Xbox collection.
Mike Wall’s Impressions
With its lush, colorful graphics and charismatic, cheerful protagonist, Lumi hearkens back to the heyday of 2D platformers and titles such as Rayman and Super Mario Brothers; but don’t be fooled by its visuals alone: Lumi is a very different breed of game and one that is very rewarding on its own terms.
To put it bluntly, Lumi looks stunning. I don’t mean to say that it’s stunning for a downloadable game or for an indie game; its 2D sprites are gorgeous for any game. Yes, its rich color palette is beautiful, but what is most impressive is how the detailed backgrounds are affected by the light of the game. As Lumi (the game’s namesake protagonist) prances along through the dark landscapes, he is surrounded by an aura of light that illuminates the rest of the world around him. It’s a really neat visual trick, and obviously fits the light theme of the game.
Lumi’s brand of 2D platforming is very different from other games like Mario or Sonic. There are hardly any enemies that stand in his path, though that doesn’t mean Lumi is a stranger to death. The primary mechanic of latching onto spheres and launching the little flame around the levels seems harmless and jovial at first, but beyond the first few levels, that little ball of light will fall down his fair share of bottomless pits.
As the levels progress, they begin to require precise timing on when to release from one orb in order to make it safely to the next. Missing a particular jump can mean restarting an entire sequence or falling into one of those curious pits. Like any good platformer, the controls are never a hindrance and missing jumps is usually a matter of impatience or poor judgment. Still, that doesn’t mean the game can’t be incredibly frustrating at times, particularly during some of the boss fights, which can require stringing together a lot of precise jumps in a chain in order to survive. Thankfully, there are ample checkpoints and unlimited lives.
Lumi’s original gameplay concept and beautiful art style make it an incredibly easy title to recommend to any fan of 2D platformers. It has a very fresh feel to it, and does a great job of throwing a wrinkle in the level design right as old ideas begin to feel stale.
Update: Edited incorrect amount of levels
Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to add a free demo of Lumi to your download queue.
Lumi was provided for review by the developer Kydos (and a second copy was purchased). It is available for 400 MS points ($5)
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