Review: Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles - Short, gorgeous brain tickler (2024)

Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is a wonderful little puzzler that doesn't take very long to complete but the journey remains memorable thanks to the dancing neon-like light show that permeates your attempts to get through the towers, whose capture is needed for completion.

Combining story and graphics into a single unit is not usually what I do in reviews but Lumote's setting pretty much dictates this as a must-do on the list.

There is no narrative story to speak of. You are a squishy little thing in a beautiful underwater world, attempting to change the colour scheme of everything around you.

However, the story is subtly hinted at and told to the player through environmental sounds and visuals, all of which ultimately end up describable in a single word - chill.

This theme of keeping the player relaxed continues into the gameplay portion of Lumote. You are not presented with challenges that require your absolute focus so you don't miss that 0.1-second reaction window and the puzzles themselves are not complicated enough to keep you in one place for too long.

Instead, you will find yourself going through the new environments that double down as puzzles all the time while none of them are overstaying their welcome. Coupled with the aforementioned relaxing sounds and graphics, this approach to gameplay forms this unique blend of challenge and wonderful relaxing tones that I don't really see in other games.

As a result, Lumote is somewhat close to meditation as it keeps your mind focused but not strained. I would highly suggest playing this game with a controller while you're laid out in a lazy bag.

Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is absolutely gorgeous all the time, no matter where you look. The devs were evidently aware of this as they included a pretty awesome Photo Mode in the package.

With it, you can take pictures from various angles and lengths, at times being able to see the entirety of the map. Considering the map is a singular entity and photo mode allows you to see from a different perspective, you might get a new sense of your character's size while surprising you with all the road you now know you traversed.

Luminawesome Games didn't go for quantity and simply chose to provide players with a beautiful game that doesn't overstay its welcome. Then again, you will undoubtedly hear arguments that it's too short as it will take less than 10 hours to complete. Still, costing just $18, the game provides a much longer entertainment experience than a movie ticket with popcorn and (maybe) a soda would.

Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is a breath of fresh air in the modern gaming world as it provides a unique sense of joy. I came out of my playing sessions feeling relaxed but also fulfilled, not wanting for additional challenge and completely stress-free.

As such, I can honestly recommend this little title to just about anyone and if you're on the fence, the devs are offering a free demo - just dive in.