At Summer Game Fest 2025, Lumines Arise captured the hearts of many with its innovative blend of music and puzzle gameplay. Known for its signature style of synesthesia, Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s games have always stood out by combining visuals, rhythm, and interactive elements to create a unique sensory experience. 
With titles like Rez, Child of Eden, and the beloved Tetris Effect, Mizuguchi has crafted a legacy of games that challenge both the mind and the senses.
Lumines Arise, while not the first in the series, is undoubtedly the most ambitious. This time, the game builds upon the creative foundation of Tetris Effect: Connected, borrowing from its smooth audiovisual transitions and adding a new layer of complexity. During the demo at Summer Game Fest, this was the game I kept coming back to. Each session, even after just thirty minutes of play, left me thinking about its intricate mechanics and beautiful, hypnotic soundtrack.
In true Lumines fashion, the gameplay revolves around placing 2×2 color-coded squares on a grid, linking squares of the same color to create combos. But the magic happens when your actions trigger beats and musical notes that remix the track in real time, offering a dynamic auditory experience. As you clear blocks, the music seamlessly transitions, with each track bringing a new combination of color palettes and melodies.
What sets Lumines Arise apart from its predecessors is the exclusive musical direction by Hydelic, the composer behind Tetris Effect: Connected. The game’s music ties everything together, offering a cohesive soundtrack that changes dynamically with your gameplay. Hydelic’s ability to create diverse sounds is evident throughout, adding a new depth to the experience. Notably, one track featuring chameleons headbanging to heavy bass drops stood out as a personal favorite during the demo. The music elevates with each combo chain, enhancing the sense of progression and reward.
In terms of gameplay, Lumines Arise stays true to the formula that fans love, but with a new mechanic called the Burst. Players can now fill up a Burst meter over time, which, once triggered, locks a square in place, making it easier to chain together combos. The Burst mechanic introduces a layer of strategy, as you must decide whether to use it right away or save it for a critical moment when you want to maximize your combo potential or skip a track you might not enjoy. Despite this, I found it hard to dislike any of the tracks during my demo run, and I found myself enjoying the music just as much as the gameplay.
The demo left a lasting impression. By the end of my first playthrough, I earned an S rank in about seven minutes. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the footage in time, so you’ll have to settle for a not-so-smooth recording I managed to get later. Nevertheless, Lumines Arise was undeniably one of the standout experiences at Summer Game Fest.
Scheduled for release in Fall 2025, Lumines Arise will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR 2, and PC, with a free demo dropping this Summer. Fans of rhythm games and anyone looking for a mesmerizing, music-driven experience should keep their eyes on this one.