Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles Preview

Last month I got invited to attend a Wired Productions presentation, and one of the many games showcased was Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles — I fell in love instantaneously.

 

You take control of Lumote, a green bioluminescent creature journeying into the Great Depths to seize control of the Mastermote. The game plays as a 3D puzzle platformer where you will use Lumote's ability to connect to various objects in the environment and control them.

 

Your main goal across the many puzzles present in the game is to turn everything into a blue colour, which will open the entrance onto the next challenge, deeper into the depths. Deceptively simple at first, Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles swiftly had me perplexed as to what I had to move, when, and how.

 

In-between puzzles there are hidden golden collectables that are tucked away in nooks and crannies — often very deadly ones. Although they don't serve a greater purpose other than collecting, they offer a lot of fun and a momentary break from the brain lag that the puzzles provide; they are the main platforming focus as well since most puzzles have a clear and traversable land.

 

One of the challenges presented by the game is the tutorial, or rather, the lack thereof. The preview begins immediately after the loading screen with no text present in the game, with neither indication nor explanation for the controls. Although this might sound frustrating, it offered a sense of wonder and exploration in which I discovered everything seamlessly and effortlessly. The tutorial levels work flawlessly, in large part present in the game, which allows the player to explore on their own without confusing them with large text boxes explaining what Lumote can do and where. It offered a pleasant sense of discovery which allowed me to understand the controls; it flowed perfectly, allowing me to comprehend everything without a text-based tutorial.

 

Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles has a steep difficulty curve. With new systems implemented in practically every other puzzle, eventually the puzzles went from simple and linear to gargantuan and menacing (which isn’t a bad thing), and it slowly became taxing to keep in mind what worked how. Trying to piece it apart is challenging because it isn't always evident which part comes first nor where the ending of the puzzle is; although the graphics are breathtaking with their colours, they don't offer a clear understanding at first glance. Ironically enough, I used the game's implemented photo mode that I assume was implemented to take pictures of the beautiful colours to be able to see the puzzles better.

 

The more adept you become at the game, the easier it is to understand what is present on the screen at any given time; however, the preview made this a problematic task due to all of the systems being implemented, with plenty more that I wasn't capable of experiencing.

 

All of this isn't to say that the game is bad; in fact, Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles is puzzle platforming done right. As I understood more about both the systems implemented and brand-new ones, the more I was intrigued to see what else the game would throw in my direction. Although this was — and sounds — menacing, it truly made for a great puzzle experience.

 

My preview time with Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles came to a close after the third level, where it got stuck in a cinematic with a date plastered across my screen: 24th of March. Here’s hoping that’s the official release date, because I’m dying to experience more of this game!

 

The game is expected to release early in 2022 for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.