The third entry in the Endless Ocean series, Endless Ocean Luminous on the Nintendo Switch, is an interesting game. It’s not so much of a game as it is an ocean photography simulation.
Luminous’ Story Mode is clunky and hard to get through, but the Shared and Solo dive modes are beautiful, enjoyable and can even be educational.
Short review
Overall rating: 2.8/5 Stars
Pros:
- Solo and Shared dives. These are the heart of the game, and it turns out swimming around and scanning fish can be quite fun.
- The design. The gameplay is relaxing and beautiful, giving a nice, relaxing atmosphere.
- Educational. It was enjoyable to see all the marine life and learn fun facts about them, too.
Cons:
- Lackluster Story Mode. It can be hard to get into, needing lots of scans to access tiny bits of story.
- There’s not much else. Swimming around and studying fish. That’s about it.
Long review
Solo and Shared dives
The premise of Endless Ocean Luminous has you diving through the fictional Veiled Sea, collecting information on all the various kinds of wildlife there. You can do this in two different modes, Solo or Shared mode.
In Solo mode, you’re plopped on your own in a randomly generated section of the Veiled Sea to hunt around for different species. There are hundreds of kinds of creatures to find, from clownfish to blue whales to prehistoric dinosaurs.
Shared mode is similar to Solo mode in that you are placed in a randomly generated section of the Veiled Sea. But you are also linked up with a random group of other divers and you can work together to explore and find treasure. You can also find special creatures as you work together in this mode.
Whether you want to swim on your own or with a group, the hunt for creatures in these modes is easily the best part of this game.
The design
The Veiled Sea is a beautiful experience. Combining the decent graphics, the calming music and the overall laid-back vibe of the game resulted in a pleasant experience. If you need something to relax you after a long day, this would be a good game for that.
Educational
Did you know there are crabs that can grow to 12 feet wide? Or sharks that can live more than 300 years? Or that bluefin tuna, like sharks, need to keep swimming or they die? It might just be the part of me that always wanted to be a marine biologist, but I was fascinated by the facts I learned as I swam around and scanned interesting creatures. I even got to learn about some prehistoric and extinct species.
There are a few technical inaccuracies (such as sockeye salmon and blue tang swimming in the same vicinity), but the rest of the facts I checked seemed accurate. I found it enjoyable to be playing a game and learning at the same time.
Lackluster Story Mode
Story Mode is the weakest part of this game. At the beginning, you work up a head of steam through Chapter 1 and then hit a wall in Chapter 2, where you are required to make hundreds of scans to access tiny portions of story.
The story itself revolves around collecting light to help heal and protect a crucial piece of the Veiled Sea called the World Coral. It could be a compelling story, but it’s far too blocky and sidetracked.
Not much else
In the end, there isn’t a whole lot to this game. It’s all about scanning fish, and that’s it. If that’s your thing, and you want a laid-back, relaxing dive simulation, you would enjoy Luminous. If that’s not your thing, then Luminous won’t be the sort of game for you.
Endless Ocean Luminous trailer
You can watch the trailer for Endless Ocean Luminous here: