THE TOP 100

THE BEST, BIGGEST AND OTHERWISE NOTABLE GAMES FROM THIS SUMMER'S BLOWOUT

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LUMINES ARISE

Developer Enhance, Monstars Publisher Enhance Format PC, PS5, PSVR2 Release Autumn

Concluding our Lumines Arise demo session on a couch in the middle of a crowded venue, it takes a few seconds to remember where we are, as we readjust to a reality that is not dictated by falling blocks and pounding rhythms. For the past 15 minutes, we have been utterly spellbound. It won't surprise anyone to learn that this effect was achieved by Enhance, the studio founded by Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi.

This latest fusion of music and play builds upon the foundations of Tetris Effect, Enhance’s 2018 reimagining of the classic puzzle game as an audiovisual extravaganza. We fill up a grid with two-by-two squares, each segment of which is one of two colours, as they fall from the top of the screen. A white timeline bar clears any squares of matching colours at a steady cadence, scoring points and building up our combo meter. Wrinkles soon appear in the form of flashing blocks. which occur at random and can be linked to matching colours to create long chains, cleared by the timeline to net us a hefty number of points. Our tactical efforts are initially hindered, though, by the sheer density of information thrown at us.