Lumencraft

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 572 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Lumencraft Game Cover
Starting at $2.32Buy now
Get on Steam

"Lumencraft is a Role Playing game with great gameplay and stellar visuals, offering both single-player and local multi-player in a co-op, split screen setting. Explore procedurally generated levels, build your base, dig tunnels, and battle darkness to find the precious Lumen, Humanity's only hope for survival."

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 572 reviews
story11 positive mentions
grinding22 negative mentions
  • The game features a fun combination of mining, tower defense, and base building mechanics that keeps players engaged.
  • The graphics and sound design are impressive, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
  • The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively working on updates, which bodes well for the game's future.
  • The game can be repetitive and lacks sufficient content, leading to a feeling of monotony after a few hours of play.
  • There are significant balance issues, particularly with resource scarcity and the effectiveness of defenses against later waves of enemies.
  • The current multiplayer options are limited to local co-op, which restricts the gameplay experience and may frustrate players looking for online multiplayer.
  • story89 mentions

    The game's story is largely criticized for being shallow and unengaging, with many players feeling that it lacks depth and meaningful narrative elements. While there are missions that provide some structure, they often feel repetitive and disconnected, with little to no character development or lore to enhance the experience. Overall, the campaign is seen more as a series of gameplay challenges rather than a cohesive story-driven adventure, leaving players wanting more in terms of narrative content.

    • “The campaign consists of several missions where you explore, defend, and collect materials to set up your base against the alien minions. After completing each mission, you unlock minerals used to increase permanent perks for being stronger in the next mission.”
    • “I like the story behind the game.”
    • “The game is very nice without any reservations. I can recommend it for its nice graphics and interesting storyline that does not require special skills and does not require expensive equipment. For 13 dollars, it's a good price for such a game.”
    • “No compelling story.”
    • “I mean it has story, but I couldn't care less about it.”
    • “No audio, no characters, no dialog, no lore... just a series of missions with the most basic of text boxes tying them together.”
  • gameplay82 mentions

    Lumencraft features a straightforward gameplay loop centered around mining, base building, and tower defense, which many players find enjoyable and atmospheric. However, the experience can become repetitive over time, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped and combat lacking depth. While the game offers a solid foundation and fun mechanics, it may require further updates to enhance variety and pacing for long-term engagement.

    • “I wish more games were like this, oozing with atmosphere, fun, and simple mechanics.”
    • “It has an addictive and fun gameplay loop with its exploration and resource gathering mechanics.”
    • “The overall gameplay loop is really fun, tower defense with a twist; I'm enjoying myself so far.”
    • “Lumencraft is a game with few mechanics: dig for minerals (lumens and iron), build towers, fight bugs, and avoid the only environmental hazard of lava.”
    • “The mechanics of melee and shooting as a player are clunky.”
    • “The gameplay is mediocre at best.”
  • graphics36 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful art style and vibrant visuals that enhance immersion and gameplay. However, some users criticize the optimization and performance issues, particularly at higher resolutions, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the aesthetic appeal and satisfying visual effects during gameplay are frequently highlighted as strong points.

    • “The game looks really nice; it's got a good art style that makes you want to immerse yourself in it.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and for the gameplay pretty interesting; the only problem is sometimes there are performance issues, but nothing game-breaking.”
    • “Fantastic graphics - it isn't 4K 'photo-realistic' rendered, and that's a good thing. The art design is exemplary as everything looks both lush and vibrant but at the same time semi-realistic and roughly textured.”
    • “The graphics in this game are terrible and optimizations are non-existent.”
    • “Badly optimized for basic graphics.”
    • “I understand the game is in early access, but if you have your graphics set above 1080x768, you can't even load the game.”
  • replayability25 mentions

    The reviews for replayability are mixed, with some players praising the game for its solid replay value and enjoyable mechanics, particularly in tower defense and multiplayer modes. However, several users express concerns about the lack of procedural map generation and long-term incentives, which detract from the overall replayability. While some find the game fun and engaging enough for repeated play, others feel it falls short in providing a compelling reason to return after initial sessions.

    • “This is a really solid tower defense game with excellent replayability.”
    • “Easy to grasp, endlessly replayable.”
    • “Overall, Lumencraft is an extremely fun game with lots of replayability.”
    • “A solid mining + base defense combo with very little replay value.”
    • “Currently, the most important downside is average replayability and lack of some kind of long campaign/story mode.”
    • “Good game that I can't recommend due to replayability issues and a lack of metagame.”
  • grinding23 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable and addictive, appreciating the sense of progression and strategy involved, many others criticize it for being slow, tedious, and poorly paced. The initial learning curve can lead to frustration, and the repetitive nature of resource gathering often detracts from the overall experience, especially in the campaign mode. Ultimately, the enjoyment of grinding seems to depend on individual preferences for pacing and gameplay mechanics.

    • “Not too grindy, with a nice sense of progression and reasonable strategy. It's all about digging, upgrading the drill, and enjoying the journey.”
    • “What to expect: 2 hours frustration with learning curve, 6-8 hours enjoyment, then tediousness because of very poor pacing in game design.”
    • “I wanted to like this game but the slow mining speed, combined with a slow walking speed, a poor rate of resource generation and a slow grindy campaign have rendered that impossible.”
    • “The foundation is promising but gameplay is an unfortunate combination of slow, tedious, and punishing.”
  • optimization12 mentions

    Overall, user reviews indicate a mixed experience regarding optimization. While some players report significant performance issues, including stuttering and the need to lower graphics settings, others find the game polished and well-optimized, particularly in its early access stage. There is a consensus that while some performance dips occur during intense moments, many believe the developers are actively working to address these concerns.

    • “The graphics are beautiful and the gameplay is pretty interesting; the only problem is that sometimes there are performance issues, but nothing game-breaking.”
    • “It's got some very cool mechanics and seems very polished and optimized even in its early access stage.”
    • “I know performance issues will be fixed over time; we just need to be patient.”
    • “Optimizations are non-existent.”
    • “Needless to say this game is poorly optimized and the developer is slapping us in the face attempting to justify it by 'bragging' about 60 fps with a four generations old GPU, the bottom of the barrel GTX 1060.”
    • “Badly optimized for basic graphics.”
  • stability10 mentions

    The game's stability is a mixed bag, with frequent freezing issues reported during loading screens and saving, particularly in borderless windowed mode. While some players experience minimal bugs and enjoy smooth gameplay, others face persistent glitches that hinder their experience. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further stability improvements to enhance playability.

    • “Great mining/tower defense/arcade shooter mix, and pretty much bug-free for me besides one weird campaign crash.”
    • “Runs great at 8 watts; sure, with some bugs it slows a bit, but there is a lot going on.”
    • “On to my review, the game runs great.”
    • “The game freezes on every loading screen in borderless windowed mode.”
    • “Also, saving the game freezes everything.”
    • “Unable to play without glitches.”
  • music7 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while many players appreciate the soundtrack and its quality, noting it complements the graphics well, others point out that it consists of only a few tracks. Additionally, some users have reported issues with disruptive sound effects during cooperative play, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Love the soundtrack.”
    • “And the soundtrack is great.”
    • “Great art, sound, and music.”
    • “-- during remote cooperative play there is a huge scratching noise that doesn't stop until you completely turn off the music and effects.”
    • “The sound quality is really sweet, but the music isn't much as it pretty much only has a few tracks, but it's all still good stuff for what's there.”
    • “Weird zooms, stuff hard to read, info center AI is just bizarre with cycling through monsters in the next wave (although the random-tones music you get from pounding the button there is nice!).”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive mining feel, unsettling elements, and unique enemy designs, creating a captivating experience. Players appreciate the combination of fun mechanics and a rich atmosphere, although some minor annoyances, like floor cracks, are noted. Overall, it successfully evokes a strong sense of ambiance that enhances solo gameplay.

    • “I wish more games were like this, oozing with atmosphere and fun, simple mechanics.”
    • “I really enjoyed it solo, and the game has a really nice atmosphere.”
    • “Its atmosphere is good, and it is fun to play, albeit a bit annoying at times (looking at you, floor cracks).”
    • “The feel of mining, the unsettling atmosphere, and the disgusting enemy designs (I hate spiders) won me over instantly.”
    • “The game lacks any real sense of immersion; the atmosphere feels flat and uninspired.”
    • “Despite the potential for a creepy setting, the atmosphere falls short, making it hard to feel engaged.”
  • humor4 mentions

    Players appreciate the game's humor, noting that the developers showcase their comedic talent through clever achievement titles and amusing references. Overall, the humor is well-received, contributing to an enjoyable experience, though some users are eager for online co-op to enhance the fun.

    • “Even from the achievement titles on Steam, I can tell the developers can write and be funny.”
    • “That is hilarious and impossible.”
    • “The game has some funny achievements and references.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization of the game is viewed positively, as it is not seen as a mere cash grab or asset flip; instead, players appreciate that it offers substantial content despite being in early access.

    • “The monetization strategy feels like a cash grab, despite the game having actual content.”
    • “It's frustrating to see a game that could be great being held back by aggressive monetization tactics.”
    • “The early access model is being exploited for profit rather than to genuinely improve the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Lumencraft

Play time

9hMedian play time
10hAverage play time
2-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games