Lumentale: Memories of Trey

Lumentale is a beautiful RPG game for children that strongly pushes a retro vibe. So strongly that you might mistake it for being in some emulator and playing a PS1 or Dreamcast original.

Let's address the elephant in the room; the big, yellow, electric elephant that trumpets "Pika...Pika... Chuuu!" Chances are you've heard of the obscure Japanese indie cartoon called Pokemon. I think they even made a game or two, about 25 years ago or so. If you are among those few people who have played some of them, it's possible that Lumentale will occasionally give you a mini deja vu feeling.

There’s the old Professor Kapan, who will explain everything about Animon to Trey (the backpack-wearing android protagonist) and Ales (the boy with a cap, the sidekick), who are magical creatures that replace animals everywhere. You will choose your first, free Animon. By the way, you catch them in balls that you throw at them, and if the Animon considers you worthy, it will fight for you forever. Lumens are people, and apparently also androids, who have the power to battle with Animon on their side.

In their free time, they help in every village they pass through with mundane side quests, and enslave legions of innocent Animon in Anispace, a space within Bilia - Holoken (Ani-balls?) where they presumably spend time just waiting to be called into battle. Become stronger, collect all the Animon, and travel the world through villages, towns, and arenas challenging other Animon trainers, uh, Lumens to battles, while also saving the world.

If all of this sounds familiar, yes, you’ve probably played at least one of... several (dozens of) Pokemon games. Or you think that all those games and their clones are the same game, just reskinned for 30 years, or you believe they are part of an original genre, valuable and standalone.

Why would you give Lumentale a chance? Because you fall into the latter category, and you can’t wait to dive into a new world full of mystical creatures to catch and xp. And the world here is solidly detailed, the music is relaxing, and there’s plenty to explore. You’re not here for the graphics and walking simulator? Fair enough, I agree. Let’s say a few words about the controls, menus, and the meat of every RPG: battles.

Options for adjusting everything in the game, from technical to gameplay aspects, are easily accessible and detailed. It’s also positive that you don’t lose much if you have an old PC, because even at lowered resolutions and details, Lumentale looks okay. Given that the game is graphically undemanding, retro style with sprites on 3D backgrounds, it’s unusual that the camera is fixed and there’s no free rotation in movement. If it rotates and zooms, it does so when predetermined.

In battles, the view is also fixed, but it doesn’t bother you because you’re looking at HP bars and turn order, not so much at the Animon sprites. The core gameplay within battles is turn-based, everything is transparent from turn order to resistances and status changes and attack elements. It’s solid and dynamic, with no unnecessary animations, and it unfolds quickly.

Despite the targeted audience, the game can be quite challenging if you're careless. Namely, the first boss took me out with a oneshot. The game assumes that you won't rush but will complete quests, so you'll be of appropriate strength when you reach the boss. Even in the first few hours of combat, it's clear that the balance of the fights has received the most effort. The challenge is immediately present, and the game will send you back to the fountain in the first town without fail if you relax and take the fights lightly. It didn't help me that I chose Salabel for the first Animon; they clearly resisted everything in the first forest. As expected, as you progress, your creature becomes stronger at later levels.

All in all, Lumentale is a solid game if you accept it for what it is; it's here to scratch that itch for you, the fan of Pokemon-related games and subgenres.

A copy of the PC version of the game for review purposes was provided by the publisher Team17