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ENDLESS OCEAN LUMINOUS (SWI)
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Publisher: Nintendo.
Developer: Arika. Released: May 2024. Genre: Diving Adventure. Posted 27th December 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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Along with crafting the Street Fighter EX series and some spin-offs for Nintendo such as Dr. Mario, Akira would begin releasing underwater adventures across multiple consoles. Everblue served as the blueprint with two entries on the PlayStation 2, before developing into a key Nintendo series with Endless Ocean. Two successful Wii entries followed, but the series would remain dormant for well over a decade until resurfacing for the Nintendo Switch with Endless Ocean Luminous. It’s always great to see a cult series return, but while Akira would come up with some nifty ideas and offer another relaxing dive into the ocean, some key faults and very odd design decisions render this sequel something of a disappointment.
Like its predecessors, Luminous revolves around exploring the ocean, gathering treasure and discovering species of aquatic life. However, as a first entry on a console other than the motion-controlled Wii, this entry adopts a more traditional control scheme. You can move your diver, raise and lower altitude with the right shoulder buttons and scan or enter camera mode with the left side. It works pretty well, meaning navigating the vast ocean landscapes doesn’t cause frustration, and a repeatedly tapping the B button gifts a speedy swim which is helpful. While offering a story mode, this Endless Ocean proves pretty relaxing, with little structure in dives other than exploring the surroundings, attempting to scan all the fish in an area and seeking out special UML fish by scanning odd signatured sealife.
That's one way to discover new marine life!
Despite this, Endless Ocean Luminous is often be let down by peculiar choices, which turn the experience into something of a slog. The main story is pretty thin, concerning a new diver who begins exploring the Veiled Sea, which is in danger due to mysterious events. It concerns a tablet of mysteries, as you and a colleague try to figure out why the ocean is beginning to suffer. The missions themselves are basic, ranging from short tasks that can be beaten in minutes, to just cut-scenes that allow no interactivity. It sometimes resembles an extended tutorial, and the odd storyline doesn’t quite have you wanting more. Elongated is the key word here, as a number of barriers prevent story progression. You’ll often have to hop back into dive mode, as missions will be inaccessible until you’ve scanned a requisite number of fish. It grows wearisome quickly, and with so many short missions, it feels like a way to pad a shallow story mode.
Its nadir comes in the form of the Mystery Board, which also plays an in-game role. As you explore the ocean, certain tasks will reveal part of this board. They range from seeing certain sights, guiding specific fish to special tablets and more obscure tasks which involve finding collectables and then seeking out said treasure referred to. A lot of these can be found while exploring, but others require tedious steps and finding specific dive sites to obtain. Trying to complete this board without a guide is incredibly complicated, and the last two squares for finding special variants of UMLs requires pure luck as the spawn rate on these is very low. While exploring and scanning levels up your diver and rewards customisable gear, ranging from colour schemes to decals, these cost a ton of money and require serious grinding to fully unlock, which proves less enticing.
Its nadir comes in the form of the Mystery Board, which also plays an in-game role. As you explore the ocean, certain tasks will reveal part of this board. They range from seeing certain sights, guiding specific fish to special tablets and more obscure tasks which involve finding collectables and then seeking out said treasure referred to. A lot of these can be found while exploring, but others require tedious steps and finding specific dive sites to obtain. Trying to complete this board without a guide is incredibly complicated, and the last two squares for finding special variants of UMLs requires pure luck as the spawn rate on these is very low. While exploring and scanning levels up your diver and rewards customisable gear, ranging from colour schemes to decals, these cost a ton of money and require serious grinding to fully unlock, which proves less enticing.
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Dive mode bears its own issues. This mode relies on procedural generation, which could have made for dynamic seas to explore. You can even share these sites with codes given after a certain amount of exploration. Unfortunately, while slightly changing terrain, maps often follow the same few templates which grows a tad stale. But it also removes some of the brilliant discovery moments of prior games, as there’s no prescribed location for everything. While there’s hundreds of unique fish to find, ranging from regular breeds to more prehistoric and fantastical ones, they feel lifeless. You cannot interact with the fish other than scanning them, and they don’t acknowledge anything around them as smaller fish swim happily with predatory ones. The only bright spot is that dives allow you to play with up to 30 players cooperatively, which is certainly handy for exploring faster and allows you to interact with emotes. Otherwise, it feels like a step backward.
It’s pleasantly presented at least, boasting attractive visuals despite taking place entirely underwater. The environments are spacious and well textured, fish models look ace and everything runs at a smooth clip. There are a few unsightly issues such as clipping and odd animations, but it’s otherwise a good-looking game. The sound is pretty ambient, with plenty of moments where the soundtrack comprises of water effects, fish cries and your swimming diver’s kicks. It’s relaxing, and punctuated sometimes by a few lovely (if short-lived) music interludes during specific moments. There’s substantial voicework from an AI companion, but the only other human you encounter talks in gibberish for some reason.
It’s pleasantly presented at least, boasting attractive visuals despite taking place entirely underwater. The environments are spacious and well textured, fish models look ace and everything runs at a smooth clip. There are a few unsightly issues such as clipping and odd animations, but it’s otherwise a good-looking game. The sound is pretty ambient, with plenty of moments where the soundtrack comprises of water effects, fish cries and your swimming diver’s kicks. It’s relaxing, and punctuated sometimes by a few lovely (if short-lived) music interludes during specific moments. There’s substantial voicework from an AI companion, but the only other human you encounter talks in gibberish for some reason.
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Endless Ocean Luminous is an odd game, even considering the series it belongs to, but perhaps not in a positive way. While the relaxing scuba diving remains intact and observing the hundreds of fish species is novel, a few irritating design choices sadly get in the way. Whether it’s a lacklustre use of procedural generation, or a story mode that’s prolonged with repetitive tasks and tutorial-like structuring, these impede the potential for laid-back fun. Fans of the series might still find plenty to like, but for those unfamiliar, it’s harder to recommend as you’ll likely tire of the obstacles thrown long before completion.
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VERDICT
"While the relaxing scuba diving remains, Endless Ocean Luminous is let down by a few irritating design choices, whether it’s lacklustre use of procedural generation, or padding the tutorial-like story mode with repetitive tasks." OVERALL: 5/10 |
OTHER RELAXING VIDEO GAME VENTURES REVIEWED
LocoRoco (2006, PlayStation Portable)
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Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (2017, PlayStation 4)
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