Me da pena decir esto, pero estoy un poco decepcionado con este juego. No es que sea malo, funciona bien si lo que quieres es un escaparate en el que ver peces bonitos y descubrir especies de las que probablemente nunca habías oído hablar, pero el resto de la experiencia es bastante mediocre.
Hay una notable falta de la personalidad de los anteriores, no solo por lo poco emocionante que es descubrir especies nuevas una vez ya llevas varias inmersiones, sino por la sensación de poco cuidado que da todo.
La interfaz es cutre, la voz generada por IA da una sensación aún más desagradable, la calidad de los modelos de los peces es inconsistente (algunos son preciosos y otros parecen de hace dos generaciones) y los entornos son bastante sosos en su mayoría.
La idea en sí no me parece mala y es agradable echar el ratito viendo peces sin más preocupaciones, pero no puedo decir que esto sea un buen juego, lamentablemente.
Incluso el modo historia, que sin ser nada del otro mundo es totalmente inofensivo, está lastrado por unos requisitos de progreso francamente absurdos.
Una pena que la franquicia haya vuelto así cuando podría haber sido algo mucho más interesante.
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It's such a shame to say this, but I'm a bit disappointed with this game. It's not bad, it works if you're looking for a showcase to look at pretty fish and discover species you've probably never heard of, but the rest of the experience is kinda mediocre.
There's a noticeable lack of the charm the previous games had, not just because of how unnoteworthy it feels to discover new species after you've been in a few dives, but for the overall feel of unfinishedness everything has.
The interface is bland, the AI-generated voice makes it all the more disagreeable, the fish model quality is inconsistent (some are gorgeous and some feel from a couple generations ago) and the environments are mostly pretty boring.
The idea itself isn't bad and it's nice to spend some time looking at fish without a care in the world, but I can't say this is a good game, unfortunately.
Even the story mode, which is unremarkable but harmless, is held back by some frankly absurd progress requirements.
It's such a shame this franchise came back like this when it could've been something more interesting.
Hay una notable falta de la personalidad de los anteriores, no solo por lo poco emocionante que es descubrir especies nuevas una vez ya llevas varias inmersiones, sino por la sensación de poco cuidado que da todo.
La interfaz es cutre, la voz generada por IA da una sensación aún más desagradable, la calidad de los modelos de los peces es inconsistente (algunos son preciosos y otros parecen de hace dos generaciones) y los entornos son bastante sosos en su mayoría.
La idea en sí no me parece mala y es agradable echar el ratito viendo peces sin más preocupaciones, pero no puedo decir que esto sea un buen juego, lamentablemente.
Incluso el modo historia, que sin ser nada del otro mundo es totalmente inofensivo, está lastrado por unos requisitos de progreso francamente absurdos.
Una pena que la franquicia haya vuelto así cuando podría haber sido algo mucho más interesante.
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It's such a shame to say this, but I'm a bit disappointed with this game. It's not bad, it works if you're looking for a showcase to look at pretty fish and discover species you've probably never heard of, but the rest of the experience is kinda mediocre.
There's a noticeable lack of the charm the previous games had, not just because of how unnoteworthy it feels to discover new species after you've been in a few dives, but for the overall feel of unfinishedness everything has.
The interface is bland, the AI-generated voice makes it all the more disagreeable, the fish model quality is inconsistent (some are gorgeous and some feel from a couple generations ago) and the environments are mostly pretty boring.
The idea itself isn't bad and it's nice to spend some time looking at fish without a care in the world, but I can't say this is a good game, unfortunately.
Even the story mode, which is unremarkable but harmless, is held back by some frankly absurd progress requirements.
It's such a shame this franchise came back like this when it could've been something more interesting.
Bueno si te lo tomas como un spin-off sin ambiciones de ser el juego del año.
Pero como tercer título de la saga... las comparaciones son odiosas pero como EO1 y EO2 no hay ningún otro juego y es así.
Muchas cosas a mejorar (ost inexistente, historia más bien sosa y nada de nada integrada con el gameplay, lo de los mapas random que le quita todo el atractivo a la exploración porque literalmente son las cuatro mismas zonas pero movidas de sitio, el farmeo de peces sin piedad, por decir algunas) y pocas que resalten como algo positivo (la variedad de animales en la enciclopedia está bastante bien... y poco más).
Quiero pensar que tenían una deadline de dos días porque si no es imposible concebir que el mismo team que hizo los dos juegos anteriores haya hecho semejante cosa pero en fin al menos es... un juego, supongo.
Pero como tercer título de la saga... las comparaciones son odiosas pero como EO1 y EO2 no hay ningún otro juego y es así.
Muchas cosas a mejorar (ost inexistente, historia más bien sosa y nada de nada integrada con el gameplay, lo de los mapas random que le quita todo el atractivo a la exploración porque literalmente son las cuatro mismas zonas pero movidas de sitio, el farmeo de peces sin piedad, por decir algunas) y pocas que resalten como algo positivo (la variedad de animales en la enciclopedia está bastante bien... y poco más).
Quiero pensar que tenían una deadline de dos días porque si no es imposible concebir que el mismo team que hizo los dos juegos anteriores haya hecho semejante cosa pero en fin al menos es... un juego, supongo.
My first dive into the Endless Ocean series, does Luminous swim above my expectations or sink well below them?
In the current era of game development where more and more large publishers are finding development so expensive that they have to focus almost all of their time and resources into big, familiar, and proven ip, it is really nice to see Nintendo and Akira work together again on an ip whose last game was around 15 years ago on Wii. Seeing Endless Ocean return in the HD era was a nice surprise even as someone whose only interaction with the series before this was testing the Wii discs I own to make sure they work.
So what exactly is Endless Ocean? Well it's basically an ocean exploration game where you swim around and scan fish as well as pick up treasures you find sparkling away and that's about it. Honestly I think that's fine, it makes for a really good relaxing experience in a similar vein to Animal Crossing. It does mean you'll probably feel burnt out by the gameplay if you're playing for multiple hours at a time but if you play for an hour or so at a time and take your time with the game then there's a pretty fun experience to be had exploring the ocean and learning about the many creatures that call it home. Like I didn't know there was a fish called Thanatos that just loves killing things! There's also extinct and prehistoric creatures in the game to find as well as unique species called UML that appear when you scan a certain number of creatures marked by an orange dot.
There isn't anything like oxygen management or aggressive fish to worry about here either, this is literally all about getting you into the ocean to explore and learn and it's a pretty chill and relaxing experience.
There's a few modes in this game to choose from. A story mode that sees you learning about a special Coral Reef that provides life to the world of Endless Ocean that is slowly dying for some reason. It's fine for what it is but the biggest issue with it is that to unlock more chapters, you have to scan a LARGE number of fish. Like Chapter 2-1 is something like 500 fish you need to scan which is pretty close to the 570+ unique species in the game so it's clear from the beginning that you just need to scan the same creatures over and over and over again to make progress in the story mode which isn't that fun when you get no real incentive for doing that.
Solo dives see you dive into a randomly generated ocean space where you can take your time to explore and scan all you want. This could've been a good fun mode if it wasn't a large random open space because for one person, you don't feel like you're making much progress on a map due to how big they are. That and structurally you'll be seeing the same kind of shipwrecks, crevasses, and caves over and over, it just becomes pretty repetitive, pretty quickly for solo players.
So the real focus of the game is actually the group dives via the online mode where you and friends or randoms can work together to explore a randomly generated ocean space like how you would in solo dives. The difference here is with multiple people, you can have the creatures and map of these places explored at a good pace and have the UML show up a few times during a session. People can tag items and creatures they find as well and it's another pretty well done online experience where you get a pretty friendly and welcoming time. These dives are also time limited to an hour which also helps to keep the mode from outstaying its welcome. This is what the game feels like it was designed for and where I got the most enjoyment from.
There's also a Mystery Board where if you find certain objects during your dives, you uncover one of 99 squares on the board, you can learn about an ancient civilization that called this ocean its home. It's a neat extra thing to give you a little bit more to do on your dives.
Endless Ocean Luminous is an unexpected but welcome return to the series. There's a relaxing and chill experience to be had here exploring the ocean and learning about many different creatures but if you're playing solo then it can get repetitive real quickly unfortunately. Online players will get the most fun out of this one.
In the current era of game development where more and more large publishers are finding development so expensive that they have to focus almost all of their time and resources into big, familiar, and proven ip, it is really nice to see Nintendo and Akira work together again on an ip whose last game was around 15 years ago on Wii. Seeing Endless Ocean return in the HD era was a nice surprise even as someone whose only interaction with the series before this was testing the Wii discs I own to make sure they work.
So what exactly is Endless Ocean? Well it's basically an ocean exploration game where you swim around and scan fish as well as pick up treasures you find sparkling away and that's about it. Honestly I think that's fine, it makes for a really good relaxing experience in a similar vein to Animal Crossing. It does mean you'll probably feel burnt out by the gameplay if you're playing for multiple hours at a time but if you play for an hour or so at a time and take your time with the game then there's a pretty fun experience to be had exploring the ocean and learning about the many creatures that call it home. Like I didn't know there was a fish called Thanatos that just loves killing things! There's also extinct and prehistoric creatures in the game to find as well as unique species called UML that appear when you scan a certain number of creatures marked by an orange dot.
There isn't anything like oxygen management or aggressive fish to worry about here either, this is literally all about getting you into the ocean to explore and learn and it's a pretty chill and relaxing experience.
There's a few modes in this game to choose from. A story mode that sees you learning about a special Coral Reef that provides life to the world of Endless Ocean that is slowly dying for some reason. It's fine for what it is but the biggest issue with it is that to unlock more chapters, you have to scan a LARGE number of fish. Like Chapter 2-1 is something like 500 fish you need to scan which is pretty close to the 570+ unique species in the game so it's clear from the beginning that you just need to scan the same creatures over and over and over again to make progress in the story mode which isn't that fun when you get no real incentive for doing that.
Solo dives see you dive into a randomly generated ocean space where you can take your time to explore and scan all you want. This could've been a good fun mode if it wasn't a large random open space because for one person, you don't feel like you're making much progress on a map due to how big they are. That and structurally you'll be seeing the same kind of shipwrecks, crevasses, and caves over and over, it just becomes pretty repetitive, pretty quickly for solo players.
So the real focus of the game is actually the group dives via the online mode where you and friends or randoms can work together to explore a randomly generated ocean space like how you would in solo dives. The difference here is with multiple people, you can have the creatures and map of these places explored at a good pace and have the UML show up a few times during a session. People can tag items and creatures they find as well and it's another pretty well done online experience where you get a pretty friendly and welcoming time. These dives are also time limited to an hour which also helps to keep the mode from outstaying its welcome. This is what the game feels like it was designed for and where I got the most enjoyment from.
There's also a Mystery Board where if you find certain objects during your dives, you uncover one of 99 squares on the board, you can learn about an ancient civilization that called this ocean its home. It's a neat extra thing to give you a little bit more to do on your dives.
Endless Ocean Luminous is an unexpected but welcome return to the series. There's a relaxing and chill experience to be had here exploring the ocean and learning about many different creatures but if you're playing solo then it can get repetitive real quickly unfortunately. Online players will get the most fun out of this one.
Wow, okay! I have really conflicting feelings about this one.
Let's start with the good: graphics and atmosphere are awesome. Trailers didn't make the game justice in that regard. The decision to make randomly-generated maps each dive was great, especially for a online game. There's also a wide variety of animals, even extinct ones, with detailed descriptions for them, for those curious. And most importantly, it really excels in being a relaxing, contemplative game.
But it stops there. Arika and Nintendo had this really interesting concept in their hands and did nothing else with it.
I played a bit of the first Endless Ocean to understand what I was into with Luminous prior to its release, and I gotta say, the only upper hand Luminous has are the controls (pointer controls on the original are BAD in 2024). But other than that... The original 2007 game has a more diverse soundtrack, more content (including a boat where it serves as your base and even has some land animals), and, most importantly, a better integrated story.
Luminous's story mode is a collection of cutscenes that are a GRIND to unlock. You gotta go in two, three dives just to unlock a chapter. And said chapters are often just 3 minutes long. A full dive is 1 HOUR long. The story isn't anything special, although it has a nice message. Also really ain't a fan of Sera, the AI character, voiced by AI. Feels a bit tonedeaf for a huge company like Nintendo to use AI voices in their games, when the AI in voice acting discussion is at its peak. At the very least, they used AI voices for a AI character, so it's not that awful. HOWEVER, why couldn't they translate the game for more languages if that's the case? The game is sadly not available at all in my home language, Brazilian Portuguese.
And although it's basically a multiplayer game, you always feel you're by yourself. Communication is basically through emojis and emotes you barely ever use. And because you're in the sea, you barely pay attention to other player's customized outfits. I don't think anybody ever noticed I patterned by diver's outfit to look like Samus, and that's a shame.
And I feel the game is further hindered by... The Switch's own shortcomings. Better yet, Nintendo's own dumb ideas. As in pricing such a simple light game for $50, and making such a multiplayer game without built-in voice chat. Since the Switch overall does not have voice chat.
But, despite all these shortcomings, Luminous is still... really addictive for some reason? Like, I know it's barebones but I still see myself going back to it. Still haven't finished the story, but I can see myself grinding my way to finishing it, because, after all, the core experience is fun... Even if Nintendo and Arika didn't do much with it. My 2.5 stars is just that: it's a good experience... halfway completed.
All I'm saying is that, at its current state, maybe if they had released it for $30 (or hell, made it Nintendo Switch Online-exclusive for "free"), and if it had somehow voice chat, it'd be the PERFECT game to relax and wind down chatting with friends if it was cheaper and it had voice chat. I could even see it becoming a hit.
Maybe Arika would have a hit in their hands if they ditched their relationship with Nintendo with the franchise and released it on PC on something. In case you don't know, before Endless Ocean, Arika released two games on a franchise called "Everblue" on the PS2, that played similarly. The first Endless Ocean even reused assets from Everblue. Maybe it's time for a another sucessor on another platform?
Let's start with the good: graphics and atmosphere are awesome. Trailers didn't make the game justice in that regard. The decision to make randomly-generated maps each dive was great, especially for a online game. There's also a wide variety of animals, even extinct ones, with detailed descriptions for them, for those curious. And most importantly, it really excels in being a relaxing, contemplative game.
But it stops there. Arika and Nintendo had this really interesting concept in their hands and did nothing else with it.
I played a bit of the first Endless Ocean to understand what I was into with Luminous prior to its release, and I gotta say, the only upper hand Luminous has are the controls (pointer controls on the original are BAD in 2024). But other than that... The original 2007 game has a more diverse soundtrack, more content (including a boat where it serves as your base and even has some land animals), and, most importantly, a better integrated story.
Luminous's story mode is a collection of cutscenes that are a GRIND to unlock. You gotta go in two, three dives just to unlock a chapter. And said chapters are often just 3 minutes long. A full dive is 1 HOUR long. The story isn't anything special, although it has a nice message. Also really ain't a fan of Sera, the AI character, voiced by AI. Feels a bit tonedeaf for a huge company like Nintendo to use AI voices in their games, when the AI in voice acting discussion is at its peak. At the very least, they used AI voices for a AI character, so it's not that awful. HOWEVER, why couldn't they translate the game for more languages if that's the case? The game is sadly not available at all in my home language, Brazilian Portuguese.
And although it's basically a multiplayer game, you always feel you're by yourself. Communication is basically through emojis and emotes you barely ever use. And because you're in the sea, you barely pay attention to other player's customized outfits. I don't think anybody ever noticed I patterned by diver's outfit to look like Samus, and that's a shame.
And I feel the game is further hindered by... The Switch's own shortcomings. Better yet, Nintendo's own dumb ideas. As in pricing such a simple light game for $50, and making such a multiplayer game without built-in voice chat. Since the Switch overall does not have voice chat.
But, despite all these shortcomings, Luminous is still... really addictive for some reason? Like, I know it's barebones but I still see myself going back to it. Still haven't finished the story, but I can see myself grinding my way to finishing it, because, after all, the core experience is fun... Even if Nintendo and Arika didn't do much with it. My 2.5 stars is just that: it's a good experience... halfway completed.
All I'm saying is that, at its current state, maybe if they had released it for $30 (or hell, made it Nintendo Switch Online-exclusive for "free"), and if it had somehow voice chat, it'd be the PERFECT game to relax and wind down chatting with friends if it was cheaper and it had voice chat. I could even see it becoming a hit.
Maybe Arika would have a hit in their hands if they ditched their relationship with Nintendo with the franchise and released it on PC on something. In case you don't know, before Endless Ocean, Arika released two games on a franchise called "Everblue" on the PS2, that played similarly. The first Endless Ocean even reused assets from Everblue. Maybe it's time for a another sucessor on another platform?