【Sedan Sex (2018)】

Let's see. PlayStation Portable,Sedan Sex (2018) PlayStation Vita, and iOS.

Before its Nintendo Switch (and PlayStation 4/Xbox One) release this week, those were the platforms on which I already owned and had played Luminespreviously. Each one, a version I'd happily, enthusiastically purchased. And here I am, back on my bullshit and fully on board for Lumines Remastered.

I think a lot of us probably have games like this in our lives. Familiar, comforting experiences that you can just slip into and lose yourself for a few hours. I don't think it's quite accurate to say it happens on "autopilot" -- I'm completely focused and engaged when I play Lumines. It's more that the act of play is effortless and almost meditative.

You might be wondering: What is Lumines? I've written about this before, but I'll briefly summarize again.

Luminesis a falling blocks puzzle game that makes you feel like you're playing Tetrisin a late '90s dance club, during the era when "electronica" was this fascinating new toy in pop culture. Pulsating beats and bursts of neon light create a trancelike vibe as you match like-colored blocks at an ever-escalating pace.

It's not quite Tetrishowever. Your playing field is wider than it is tall, and the falling blocks are always 2x2 squares made up of four smaller squares. Each of those smaller squares sports one of a level's two different colors, and fallen blocks disappear when you can get a 2x2 formation (or multiple, overlapping 2x2 formations) of the same color grouped together.

While you're dropping blocks and matching colors, a "Time Line" constantly sweeps across the playing field from left to right at a steady pace. Successfully matched color blocks only disappear after the Time Line passes over them, so you can really maximize your score by timing your block drops and thinking ahead to where you'll place the next ones.

I don't know what makes Luminesso sticky for me. I'm not generally big on its particular brand of club music in my daily listening habits. And while I think puzzle games are great, action and story are more my thing.

But Lumineshas been a constant in my life since it first launched in 2004. The newly remastered version doesn't do much to change things up or add anything new; it's just prettier.

But that's fine! Very few games have the kind of staying power that makes them still feel fresh and engaging more than a decade after they were first released. Luminesis one of those games. It's something I'm excited to own a fourth time, and will happily buy again many times over in the future.

Disclosure note: While I did buy three earlier versions of the game, I received a review code for Lumines Remasteredon Switch. I would have definitely purchased it at release if I hadn't gotten a code, but it's worth noting nonetheless.