Luma Island Review

Luma Island is a casual farming life simulator developed by Feel Free Games, a small Netherlands-based indie developer. I’m always up for cosy games (except for Stardew Valley, for whatever reason) so this seemed right up my alley. So, is the journey worth staying on the island or would I rather go back to playing one of my other life sim games?

The story begins with you. You’ve recently moved onto Luma Island, sick of your previous existence and wanting a change to something more fulfilling. However, after an earthquake has struck the town, it’s up to you to help the residents rebuild and discover the secrets of the island, all with the help of ancient spirits. The story is serviceable for this kind of game. Not overly complex, but had good enough writing to make you care about the various characters you meet throughout your time on Luma Island.

However, that’s only the writing. What the various townsfolk do is another thing entirely. The residents have nice little backstories and can be seen interacting with each other, but they don’t have much else outside of being quest-givers. With no relationship system, you can very easily just avoid talking to anyone unless necessary. It is nice to chat with them though as they will react to important events. You’re given slightly more interactions with the titular Lumas, special companions that you can pet and feed for crafting items, can follow you around, and even locate hidden treasure. They are adorable, but for the game to be partially named after them, I sort of expected more.

While I didn’t like how little I could interact with the townsfolk, I very much appreciated the looks of the game. The graphics are very cute and pretty. It’s a mix of detailed environments full of life and wonder and low-resolution textures and sprites that gives the game its own identity. Each biome is just brimming with personality and puzzles to solve. It does have some surprisingly creepy designs though for some creatures, or at least creepier than I expected for a very family-friendly game.

But enough about that, let’s get into actually figuring out what you’ll be doing in your time in Luma Island. The first task you’re given after the tutorial is to head into town and choose a profession. Would you like to be a treasure hunter? A chef? Or maybe even a blacksmith? Each profession comes with different crafting stations and a questline to follow until you've reached the max level. If you regret your choice or feel like changing it up, you can switch your job for a small fee. Professions are kinda tedious to max out though, as progressing through them is just all about crafting the required items. It does encourage you to complete other quests so you can get access to certain materials and shops, but they rarely do anything special with it. I thought being a treasure hunter would be more exciting, but I just ended up fishing and making pirate-themed items. At least with those very items, you can sell them off for a pretty decent profit. However, because of those professions, you’re encouraged to engage in the many activities you can do. Chefs need ingredients and buying food is expensive, so why not start a farm? Go mining as a blacksmith or a jewlerycrafter, or discover lost treasure as an archaeologist or treasure hunter. It’s actually pretty cool and at least makes each profession a little different. I do recommend not sticking to a profession for too long so you can unlock all the stations needed.

However, the island isn't too peaceful. There are plenty of caves and temples to explore and enemies to fight. The caves are randomly generated areas full of resources to mine and monsters to whip to death. You will need to bring torches with you, as staying too long in darkness kicks you out of the cave. Meanwhile, temples are a collection of puzzles with an occasional fight. The puzzles are actually quite good and genuinely needed me to rack my brain, but the combat was decidedly less so, just requiring you to whip your enemies into submission. Even if you get hit, you'll only lose some of your items, which you can pick back up quite easily. If anything, the only times I felt fear was when spiders suddenly came out from the darkness to attack me while I was mining. Be thankful there's an arachnophobia setting in the options menu.

The game is rather relaxing. Despite the fact that there’s a day and night cycle, there’s next to no reason to head to bed when it starts to get late. There’s no stamina to limit you and there is a tangible reward for everything you do. It has four player co-op too, so you can explore and rebuild the island together with friends and family.

That being said, it’s not all sunshine and infinite wheat. It is very grindy and it will take a lot of time to get everything and finish the story. It might be an attractive feature to some, but your mileage may vary. You might want to look up a guide because the game doesn’t exactly tell you how to obtain certain items for crafting. I also would’ve liked better camera controls and maybe a slightly faster running speed. It makes going through the large and expansive areas just take more time than I would like. I really didn’t like the fact that everything regrows. It’s good when you need resources, it becomes an annoyance when the field you’ve cleared suddenly has a bunch of trees. Finally, I wished that there was a minimap or an option to set down points of interest just so there’s less of a chance of getting lost or forgetting where important locations are.

Luma Island is a nice and cosy game to play with plenty to do and discover. While it is very grindy, lacks a tangible challenge, and is missing some quality-of-life features, it’s still a good game to play and can make for a fun adventure.