Preview: Lumines Arise on PS5 Is the Eye-Popping Glow-Up the Series Deserves

While it isn't a household name in the same way Tetris is, Lumines can stand proudly alongside it as one of the great falling-block puzzle games.

The two series share an interesting connection, perhaps best represented by Tetris Effect — a combination of the game's timeless line-clearing gameplay with the audiovisual splendour that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's series is known for.

Now, things are looping back around, as the brand new Lumines Arise reads from the Tetris Effect playbook. We've put some time in with the playable demo — available now until the end of 3rd September — and have come away reminded of just how special this formula is.

In Lumines, 2x2 squares made up of two different-coloured blocks fall into the playfield. Your job is to arrange them and form 2x2 (or larger) squares of all the same colour. Any colour-matched squares are removed from the field when the timeline sweeps across it, in time with the tempo of the music.

As with any falling-block puzzler worth its salt, the rules are very simple, but there's plenty of depth to discover once you get to grips with it. Clearing four our more 2x2 squares in one sweep leads to a combo which, if you can keep up the momentum, awards big points.

Gravity is an important factor, too; unlike Tetris, blocks will fall to fill any space beneath them, and this can lead to all sorts of planning and strategy.

The fundamentals of what makes Lumines tick are all present and correct in Arise, and it remains a hypnotising, addictive, and satisfying puzzle game at its very core. However, it's the presentational flare that takes things to new heights.

This series has always been designed around fusing puzzle gameplay with music and visual effects, and that's just amped up to eleven here.

Though there are only three stages in the singleplayer portion of the demo, there's a clear variety in the music and the themes. Pleasant vocals accompany a mysterious man walking in the background; ambient synths play over a more abstract black and pink realm; and a pair of chameleons rave to faster, pulse-pumping beats.

It's dynamic and eye-melting, even more so than Tetris Effect. If anything, it borders on being overwhelming, though we can't say we ever truly struggled to parse the action.

The image quality squeaky clean, and when the animated backdrops and vivid colours are all popping off while you rack up combos and zone out to the music, it's incredibly satisfying and engrossing to play. With a decent pair of headphones, there are few games that draw you in quite like this.

Arise isn't all pretty lights, though — it adds a big new mechanic to the core game. While you play, a percentage number above the timeline builds up. When it reaches 50% or higher, you're able to trigger Burst.

Burst temporarily stops the timeline from removing completed blocks of a particular colour, allowing you to create a monstrous combo by stacking that colour as much as you can. The higher the percentage when you trigger it, the longer you have.

Once it's over, your combo pops, and any blocks of the opposing colour flood back into the playfield for a follow-up combo, and the massive payoff is delicious.

It's perfect for getting yourself out of a jam, and of course it helps you achieve the highest scores possible.

The multiplayer side of the demo introduces an all-new mode, Burst Battle. This is an intense, one-on-one competitive mode in which completed squares and combos will send garbage over to the other player.

The garbage blocks pile up on either side of your playfield, narrowing it and making it harder to play effectively.

However, using Burst enables you to bounce back; if you're able to make the most of the mechanic, you can really turn things around and retaliate against your opponent, something that wasn't always possible in Lumines' old VS mode.

It's worth mentioning that Arise features a lot of great accessibility options that can dramatically change the game to suit your comfort needs. For example, you can tone down the animations and visual effects if the default is too much.

Additionally, a 'No-Stress Lumines' option allows you to stop blocks from automatically falling, disable game over, or both, allowing you to practice or play more casually.

We've only played a handful of stages and one multiplayer mode, but the Lumines Arise demo fills us with confidence in the full release.

The base-level game is as strong as it's ever been, it feels responsive and intuitive, and the audiovisual treatment elevates it to new heights.

The only question we really have left is about additional modes and features. There's the singleplayer Journey mode, which will comprise 35+ stages, and we now know about Burst Battle on the multiplayer side.

The demo teases Missions (a series of increasingly hard challenges), Playlists (a way to play your favourite unlocked stages in any order), and Loomii-Pon. We expect this is where you'll customise your in-game avatar.

We're hopeful there could be various other modes to enjoy in much the same vein as Tetris Effect, but there's time between now and the November release date to learn more about Arise's full offering.

We had a blast with the demo, but what do you think? Have you played the demo for Lumines Arise on PS5? Tell us in the comments section below.