The vision for the Lumines series has always been very clear. Designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi wanted to combine the simple pleasures of a puzzle game with entrancing music and captivating visuals, making you feel like you're playing through a multi-sensory rave.
He achieved this with the beloved PSP original, and with every entry since, the series has built upon its core vision with gameplay tweaks, new modes, and great tunes.
After taking a detour with the equally excellent Tetris Effect, Lumines Arise is arguably the best game in the series, and nails Mizuguchi-san's 20-year-old vision.
Dropping mismatched blocks into a grid to form squares of the same colour is a simple mechanic to build a game around, but like other games in its genre, Lumines never grows tired or repetitive because it's entirely driven by the player.
Every round is different because you're always learning and getting better at the game; it's a very adaptable puzzler, one in which you can afford to make mistakes and go with the flow.
But that's how Lumines has always been. What makes Arise so special is in its beautiful presentation and the most robust set of modes and features the series has ever had.
In addition to the excellent Journey mode at its core, which takes you through each of the varied stages, you have access to dozens of training missions, special challenges, time attack modes, and the series' best competitive multiplayer.
The fact it can all be experienced in PSVR2 as well is the cherry on top of a scrumptious cake. Whether you play it flat or in virtual reality, Lumines Arise's arresting visuals, eclectic soundtrack, and sheer amount of stuff to do cements it as a franchise high point, and one of the best PS5 games of 2025.