Lumino City

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Lumino City is a charmingly unique puzzle adventure game that takes you through a beautiful hand-crafted world made entirely out of paper, cardboard, and miniature lights. As a young resident of Lumino, you must solve a variety of intricate puzzles and explore the city to find your kidnapped grandfather. Along the way, you'll meet quirky characters, uncover secrets, and immerse yourself in a captivating storyline.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 646 reviews

graphics139 positive mentions

stability26 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a unique hand-crafted art style that creates an immersive experience.
Puzzles are creatively designed, providing a good mix of challenge without being overly frustrating, and the in-game hint system is clever.
The charming story and characters add depth to the gameplay, making it a delightful adventure.

The game suffers from occasional bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
Some puzzles can be unintuitive or overly reliant on trial and error, making it difficult to progress without external help.
Character movement can feel clunky, with unskippable animations that slow down the pace of the game.

graphics
239 mentions
58 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and charming hand-crafted aesthetic, which combines stop-motion techniques with beautifully designed environments. Players appreciate the stunning visuals and attention to detail, often describing them as a labor of love that enhances the overall experience. However, some critiques mention that the art style can occasionally hinder gameplay clarity, making it difficult to identify interactive elements.
- “The art style of Lumino City gives you an amazing cardboard experience.”
- “The graphics were awesome, of course, and clearly a labor of love.”
- “The aesthetics of the game are breathtaking, plus the clever camera angles, the brilliant soundtrack, and the entertaining puzzles make this game a gem!”
- “The visuals are very pretty, but do an absolutely terrible job of actually relaying useful information.”
- “I found myself getting lost a few times or just didn't notice key details because of how cluttered the aesthetic can be.”
- “In actuality, the gameplay is quite clunky, and it's often hard to know what you can interact with in the game because of the art style.”
story
216 mentions
35 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a young girl named Lumi searching for her kidnapped grandfather, providing a simple yet charming narrative that unfolds through her interactions with the inhabitants of Lumino City. While some players found the story engaging and appreciated its integration with the gameplay, others criticized it for being weak, linear, and lacking depth, with puzzles that often felt disconnected from the narrative. Overall, the story is described as cute and heartwarming, but many reviewers felt it could have been more developed and cohesive.
- “The story and main character are quite compelling; Lumi's grandfather is kidnapped while she is downstairs making tea, just as he was about to tell her something important.”
- “A cute hand-crafted point & click puzzle game telling the story about a girl, Lumi, looking for her grandfather, the handyman of Lumino City, a very peculiar city built high in the sky.”
- “The story is simple but impactful—completely familiar but also impressively defiant.”
- “The actual story and explanation of how and why of the kidnapping and what led up to it is shown as short vignettes as the credits roll by at the end of the game.”
- “For me, the uninteresting, almost non-existent story, and the lack of strong connection between the puzzles and the story, negatively affected the enjoyment of the game.”
- “The dialogue is economical and lukewarm, and the story, a simple kidnap plot/quest, does just about enough to propel the game along nicely while doing nothing groundbreaking.”
music
148 mentions
58 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to create a relaxing atmosphere, with many reviewers highlighting its soothing and uplifting qualities. While some found the soundtrack to be forgettable or lacking in variety, the overall consensus is that it complements the game's charming visuals and enhances the puzzle-solving experience. Many players appreciate the effort put into the music, noting that it significantly contributes to the game's appeal and immersive quality.
- “The soundtrack is a blissful blend of minimal acoustic and electronic instrumentation which generates a fantastic atmosphere.”
- “A beautiful game: from the gorgeous character design to the unique architecture of the Lumino City world to the relaxing music, every part of this game has been lovingly created.”
- “The music is beautifully done and works great with the story.”
- “The music is nothing of note.”
- “The music is pretty boring in my opinion, soft chill tunes that melt into the background but aren't very memorable.”
- “The soundtrack is fairly mild and forgettable but works well with the game in that it doesn't distract you from the game.”
gameplay
94 mentions
30 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Lumino City is a mixed bag, with many players praising its unique puzzle mechanics and beautiful aesthetics, while others criticize it for being clunky, unresponsive, and plagued by bugs that hinder progress. Although the puzzles can be engaging, the overall experience is often marred by frustrating interactions and a lack of smoothness, leading to disappointment despite the game's artistic merits. Ultimately, while the visuals and atmosphere are commendable, the gameplay fails to consistently deliver a satisfying experience.
- “Great mechanics and puzzles.”
- “Definitely worth your time and money, it gives you many long hours of relaxing gameplay.”
- “Beautifully crafted puzzle game with a wide variety of puzzle mechanics all using handmade sets and backdrops.”
- “It sucks Lumino City had so much aesthetic love put into it, only for the actual gameplay to let it down.”
- “Unfortunately, there is little else of value in this game, as the gameplay is extremely disappointing.”
- “However, as much as I'd like to love this game, the gameplay is so unresponsive that I'm on the verge of hating it.”
atmosphere
32 mentions
56 % positive mentions
34 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful visuals, charming handcrafted levels, and a fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the lighthearted and dreamy ambiance, which complements the puzzle-solving elements, although some note that the complexity of the puzzles may detract from the enjoyment for younger audiences. Overall, the game creates a delightful and immersive atmosphere that many find worth revisiting.
- “Aside from the wonderful graphics, lovely atmosphere, and music, the game itself is a well-designed relaxing puzzle game.”
- “A fitting soundtrack supports the game and gives a great atmosphere for solving the puzzles.”
- “Lumino City comes in a distant third place, with too much text and overcomplex puzzles for small kids to enjoy until they are older, by which time they find the game's atmosphere a little trite.”
- “I may have to go back and replay this one just for the atmosphere.”
- “The colorful city and peaceful background music create a dreamy atmosphere.”
stability
26 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent glitches, crashes, and buggy animations that hinder gameplay, particularly during puzzles. While some users experienced smooth performance on simpler setups, others faced significant issues, such as freezing when using the Steam overlay and needing to repeat actions multiple times for them to register. Overall, while the game offers enjoyable puzzles, its stability problems detract from the experience.
- “I can't even play the game; the lemon puzzle just freezes the game or crashes it. God, let me try to do the puzzle.”
- “I discovered upon consulting a guide that I was approaching the problem correctly, but buggy behavior on the game's part meant that I had to execute the correct step several times in a row before it would actually 'stick.' The animations were notably buggy in several areas as well.”
- “It's not only difficult to align the lens, but it is also very buggy.”
grinding
26 mentions
8 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
Overall, the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by a mix of tediousness and occasional cleverness in the puzzles. While some players find the puzzles entertaining, many describe them as repetitive and lacking in satisfaction, often exacerbated by cumbersome controls and a lack of challenge. The experience can feel drawn out and frustrating, particularly for those who struggle with the more tedious elements.
- “This is very doable for a veteran, but tedious and not worth the effort.”
- “Puzzles feel like those mediocre flash-game point and clicks -- usually dull, tedious or too obvious.”
- “Also, if you've been going at a puzzle for 30 minutes or so, the fact that you can't cancel your actions gets tedious.”
replayability
14 mentions
14 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its lack of replayability, with most players noting that it offers little incentive to play again after completing the main storyline, which lasts around 4.5 to 6 hours. While some players mention the potential for revisiting NPCs or enjoying the scenery, the consensus is that the game is best purchased on sale, as its replay value does not justify a higher price.
- “Overall, an amazing gameplay experience with replay value if for nothing but the scenery.”
- “At $20, the price is a little high for a game that should take around 6 hours to finish, especially since it has little replay value.”
- “There's not really any replayability, though I might go back and talk to some NPCs some more and look around a little.”
- “The only downside to this is that I don't think there's much replayability, at least in the short-term.”
humor
14 mentions
86 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, featuring a quirky cast of characters with snappy dialogue and creative, funny puzzles that enhance the overall experience. However, some players find the lengthy and nonsensical dialogues detract from the enjoyment, despite the game's unique visuals and heartwarming interactions. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect, contributing significantly to the game's charm.
- “Humor - there's a quirky pantheon of characters with distinctive personalities and snappy dialogue.”
- “Dialogues are filled with humor, and puzzles are very creative.”
- “This is a great style to bring this game to life, and the characters have some really funny and heartwarming interactions with each other and with you too.”
- “I don't mind the 720p-only resolution, I don't even mind the sometimes obscure puzzles, but the technical issues, hidden items, and the horrible font they use for the sometimes overly lengthy, nonsensical, unfunny dialogues just break the enjoyment for me.”
emotional
14 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its heartwarming storyline, charming music, and engaging visuals, creating an emotional experience that resonates with players. The clever puzzles enhance the feeling of accomplishment, while the animated characters and their interactions add depth and humor to the touching narrative. Overall, it successfully combines emotional storytelling with enjoyable gameplay.
- “A very clever game with a heartwarming storyline.”
- “The people that live in this tower got animated and added to the scenes and deliver a really heart touching mini story and harmony between these.”
- “Gorgeous visuals, intriguing puzzles and a heartwarming story.”
optimization
10 mentions
20 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while it runs smoothly on low-performance PCs and does not cause overheating, some players experienced stuttering issues, particularly during the credits, which detracted from the overall experience.
- “It runs smoothly on my MacBook with no heating and great performance.”
- “I also had some issues with the game stuttering while I was watching the credits.”
- “The stuttering made it visually hard to look at, which was disappointing as the credits reveal the true ending to the game.”
- “One big plus is the capability to run on a low-performance PC.”
character development
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
While the game is praised for its stunning character design and immersive world-building, the reviews do not provide specific insights into the depth or progression of character development. Overall, the focus seems to be more on the aesthetic and atmospheric elements rather than the evolution of characters themselves.