Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles

I honestly feel bad for not liking Lumote, but it just wasn’t that good. The strongest part of the game was definitely the art style. The colors and environments are really pretty and visually interesting, which is what kept me playing as long as I did. Unfortunately, the puzzles felt confusing more than rewarding, and I never really felt compelled to keep going. Overall it just ended up feeling boring and hard to stay invested in. Pretty colors aside, I definitely don’t think it’s worth $20.

Lumote is a unique puzzle platformer with 2 worlds, 2 playable characters and a bunch of collectibles exclusive to the first world. The first world is huge with 6 towers and 60 puzzle rooms total. Once completed, a second world is unlocked with a new character. That one has 25 puzzle rooms, the puzzles are slightly less complex, favouring platforming and timing a bit more. The game’s graphics/style is absolutely dreamy. I think it’s supposed to convey underwater which is pretty convincing. I prefer to play the game at night with the dark backgrounds and neon light colours. The puzzles are generally satisfying. At first, I was still trying to figure things out and wasn’t sure what was happening, then it clicked with the second world and I was eager to replay the game for a couple of achievements. The sound effects are generally very high quality, although I don’t remember if there was any music used aside from a few specific moments. The game is pretty polished all things considered, since the puzzles can get complex and require lots of testing from game testers. The game does have some flaws, a few are more severe than others. Let’s start with the minor ones: the story and graph…

This semi-hesitant recommendation is predicated on the game being cheap enough that you don't mind tapping out at the "halfway" point like I did. I finished all of Lumote's base content, feeling relatively satisifed. I felt like the visuals and music were overly repetitive and some of the later puzzles pretty finicky, but I had an alright time overall. Unfortunately, World 2 continues to have largely the exact same visual and musical aesthetics, and did not provide any indication that there would be new mechanics to keep things fresh (but *did* provide indication that things would be significantly more finicky) - so, not wanting my opinion of the game to tank, I stopped playing. For $4, 5 hours of reasonably challenging (albeit very visually repetitive) puzzle gameplay is a plenty good deal, so I feel comfortable recommending the game on that basis.

Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles unfolds like a serene descent through an otherworldly ocean of light, presenting a puzzle-platformer that prioritizes atmosphere, rhythm, and spatial logic over narrative exposition or mechanical complexity. Playing as Lumote — a soft, bioluminescent creature made of gentle pulses and curious chirps — you are dropped into the Great Depths, a massive living structure overtaken by red corruption. The world itself becomes your guide as you move deeper, lighting towers one by one, turning crimson regions back to cool blues, and gradually drawing closer to the enigmatic Mastermote who presides at the bottom. The game avoids conventional storytelling, leaning instead on visuals, color shifts, and the progression of puzzles to convey its journey from imbalance to renewal. The gameplay is built around elegant minimalism. Lumote’s abilities consist of moving, jumping, double-jumping, and — most importantly — possessing other creatures known as Motes. These Motes act as organic switches, tools, or carriers of energy that activate platforms, rotate structures, or open gates. Each puzzle space is a kind of organic circuitry board, its glowing pathways reveali…

A cute little puzzle game with interesting, squishy mechanics.

Tedious