Luma Island

This is more like a 50/50 thumbs down, but this game simply commits the cardinal sin of being boring as hell in my opinion. It's a bit crazy to me that Stardew is the main inspiration for so many games like this, yet they still fail to capture the true essence of what made that game so great to begin with. Anyway, here are a few bullet points of my gripes with the game so far: - I love this genre of game for its lore, characters and mystery, all of which are extremely lacking in substance in this game. Every character is a one note stereotype with the most generic dialogue lines you will ever read. You can't build relationships with the characters aside from fulfilling their endless fetch quests, so there is also no interest there for the player to learn more about them. - Story-wise, aside from one event affecting the town near the beginning of the game (which results in a sea of MORE fetch quests), there is no overarching story to be found in this game. Why are there temples scattered all over the island? Well, it's because we need to give you more items to fetch for the side quests of one specific job, duh! At least for me, finishing a temple always felt like a "ah, finally we can get out of here" moment rather than something meant to feel challenging or adventurous. Given, I have only played 17 hours of this game so far, but the fact that I still have no idea what this island and its people are about and why I should care after nearly 20 hours is definitely proof to me that very little effort went into adding any kind of substance to this game in the writing department. - I have mentioned this before, but, holy SIDE QUEST HELL! I have never played a game where over 2/3 of my play time is simply gathering ingredients for recipes in order to unlock the next recipe and find more ingredients for it. There is zero fun in doing any of that and once you level up your job, all you get is yet more fetch quests to do. It never ends! At least in Stardew, you would level up by "doing" things, such as mining, but in this game you need to gather 3 different resources to level up your gear and it honestly is just adding more steps with zero additional fun factor to it. - The infinite inventory is nice, but the inventory system is also kind of a mess of its own. Why are all the resources in the same place exactly? Things like skill points and the different kinds of essence you obtain after gathering things all share the same inventory space as the 10 different currencies used in this game and the 500 other resources you gather as you explore the island. It is such a clunky and overwhelming system, I have no idea what the devs were thinking when they came up with it. - I can 100% understand re-using and recycling content in order to pad the duration of a game to a "certain" extent, but this game is criminally recycled. Every environment is super pretty and I will gladly grant to the devs that they did an incredible job on the visuals of this game, but also each environment is an exact reskinned copy of the previous one with slight variations made to it. What kind of wood do you get on your farm? Well, "farm wood" of course. What about the forest and the mountain though? All the trees give you "forest wood" and "mountain wood". So, what's the difference do you ask? Well, they take a bit longer to cut down and yeah, that's it. They are all used to make the same exact planks and whatnot, except the color changes between them. The same thing goes for ores, fish, berries, flowers, etc in every single biome you explore. Ennemies are also extremely recycled: ghosts are in all areas of the game and spiders (and later some bats) are in every mining cave you explore. They are only there to be a bother and present a vague sense of threat because none of them give any useful resource whatsoever and killing them only serves to level up you ONE single weapon of the game, a whip given to you at the very beginning. - Sidenote, but I'm a huge fishing lover in every single game I played that has this gameplay feature (yes, even Stardew, as annoying as it can be sometimes) and this is the first time I have ever found fishing in a game to be a complete and utter chore to do. Again, another mechanic made more complicated with more steps and zero additional fun factor to it. Not to mention the base mechanic ot "stalking" the fish is just tedious to do over and over in my opinion. - Lastly, why Lumas? This game is called Luma Island, yet the addition of Lumas is frankly so unimportant? They are kind of just there doing nothing. Their designs are the most generic ever (literally google "fantasy creatures" and there you go), their AI is the most basic there is, you get to pet them once a day and yeah, that's really all there is to say about Lumas. Nothing about them is explained in the game so far and yet you're supposed to collect them all I suppose. Imagine if Pokemon was like "hey, welcome to the world of Pokemon, gotta catch them all, the end" and that's what Luma Island delivers in a nutshell. All this to say, I'm getting tired of giving money to game developers that do not understand that "cozy" does not inherently mean "boring and repetitive". Cozy is a vibe, not an excuse to produce a lackluster experience devoid of any substance and challenges. Again, I love the visuals, the music and the general vibe of the game as a whole, but as far as the content of the game goes, there is a flagrant lack of trying that was done to enrich the experience and the gameplay and what we got instead is an endless sequence of chores to complete for NPCs you have no incentive to care about.

I liked playing this game for about 10 hours, and it is really fun and pretty in terms of visuals and interface. But it didn't take long for me to discover that Luma Island is in fact quite shallow, and to be completely honest did feel a bit like an early access game to me. So it wasn't worth the 20 euros for me, sorry. There is a town with shops and npc's, but their quests and conversations are so shallow that I found myself avoiding them. The main game mechanic is upgrading your professions by collecting certain items, but the grind is insane! There isn't really much else to do on the island than exploring and grinding for items. So after 10 hours I felt like I've seen everything the game had to offer, and I didn't feel motivated to play any further. :( (If you're looking for a game with similar mechanics (also grindy) but a bit more depth to the professions, I would recommend trying Fantasy Life I or Starsand Island. Both great alternatives with much more content!) Ending on a positive note! I did really appreciate the coziness of the game. This actually IS a cozy game, these developers understand what that means. No stamina, no inventory management, no penalties for dying. I think a lot of other 'cozy' games can learn from that. So I do really recommend this game for someone who doesn't mind the grind and is just looking for a casual fun time.

Рекомендую 👍 Проведено в игре: 12 ч. (из них половина — исследовали, половина — залипали на "какая красота") Играл в Luma Islands с девушкой, думали будет спокойная милая игра на пару вечеров. Оказалось — симулятор "давай ещё чуть-чуть и спать" Первые часы: — красиво — спокойно — исследуем остров — "смотри какое милое!" Через несколько часов: — уже строим планы — уже обсуждаем что дальше открывать — время исчезло Самое приятное: Играть вдвоём — отдельное удовольствие. Один что-то находит, второй радуется сильнее, чем первый. Самое честное описание: Это игра, где не хочется спешить. Хочется просто быть внутри этого мира. Плюсы: Очень уютная атмосфера Красивая визуалка и расслабляющий вайб В коопе эмоции усиливаются в разы Минусы: — Легко потерять счёт времени — "ещё 5 минут" превращается в час Итог: 9 уютных островов из 10. Спокойно, мило, залипательно — отличный кооп. Если отзыв был полезен — поставьте 👍, мне нужно оправдать наши 12 часов отдыха 🙂

The game is extremely generic. You see most of the content in the first hour, all next levels will have *exactly* the same materials, recipes, puzzles and all other mechanics - the only difference is different color for next tier items. Even gear is tuned to perform exactly the same at the start of each tier if you had fully upgraded it on the previous tier.

This is an interesting game in that I can see the arguments for and against it, and I think people should fully understand what they'll be getting before going into it. This is classified as a cosy game, and it is, to its core. That means there is no stamina to cut days short, no hit points, no inventory limits, and as such no real stakes at play. Now, you can certainly have cosy games where there are fail states and game loops that require a bit more from the player, but that isn't what this is trying to be. This is a farming/collectathon game that is in Peaceful/Creative mode regardless of what journey setting you choose. If you are okay with a game with 0 risk and a bunch of fetch quests and such to do then you'll enjoy it. If you require at least some risk then I would recommend Fantasy Life i, Snacko, or My Time at Portia for chill with some management of your time/skills. Stardew Vally of course is considered a gold standard, and if you need narrative then I'd go with Stardew, Fantasy Life i, or Portia. There is no real guidance in this game to get you familiar with or caring about townsfolk. There's some game design aspects that are a little odd feeling - Combat makes you drop some resources (which you can recollect immediately) since there's no HP, which ultimately means combat just slows things down. The torch mechanic and the required drops to make torches is pretty unbalanced. You can't venture far into mines without torches, as it'll kick you out when you hit darkness, which is very frequent. No proper introduction to the game world, you choose a profession then get quests to make things but there's no real narrative around it. No stamina but there's still a fade to black screen for starting a new day with no indication of auto-saving or what just happened other than a small icon in the corner, it's a little jarring and there's no reason to have it at all if you can ignore a new day occurring. It's a gorgeous looking game and I'm not saying it falls short for me, but I think it's important for people to understand that if you don't like playing games with 'god mode' on then you likely won't find fun in this.

Luma Island is another entry in the long line of recent cozy farming-style games. What initially caught my attention was its claim that it removes stamina limits and inventory restrictions. That immediately stood out, as these mechanics, while adding strategy and progression, can often feel tedious, forcing players to cut days short or make repeated trips just to manage resources. Naturally, this raised a concern: without those limitations, would the game be quick to breeze through? Fortunately, that isn’t the case. Luma Island offers a wide variety of activities to keep players engaged, including farming, fishing, mining, collecting creatures (called Lumas), exploring different zones and dungeons, and pursuing professions like cooking, jewelry crafting, and blacksmithing, just to name a few things. While this breadth of content keeps the experience busy and engaging, it’s also where the game shows some weakness. There’s a noticeable lack of depth in many of these systems, and the gameplay can start to feel like a collectathon. At times, this leads to a grind that becomes repetitive. Thankfully, the game includes co-op, which helps alleviate that repetition. Playing with others not only makes the grind more enjoyable but also allows for cooperation and some shared progress. One aspect that genuinely surprised me was the sound design. I initially played without headphones and at a low volume, but switching to headphones revealed a surprisingly rich audio experience. Small details like your footsteps sounding wet after walking through water add a layer of polish that reflects the care put in by the developers. This was also evident in their decision to release the sizable Pirates update for free. Luma Island doesn’t offer deep storytelling or complex character development, but that’s not really its goal. If you’re looking for a cozy, low-pressure game to relax with, it delivers a pleasant experience. While I'm sure it could be enjoyed solo, I think it's best suited to be played with friends, where you can collaborate, chat, and unwind together as you work through each in-game day. Final Verdict: 7/10

Это просто п****ц, а не игра. Двум ламповым пикми няшкам вместо чилловой фермочки + симулятора свиданий подсунули гриндилово-дрочилово на уровне Вальхейма Вставай, Шан Цунг, ты должен вспахать поле в сто тысяч гектаров (выкопать пять тысяч одних и тех же слитков, пройти триста душно-долгих храмов). Все активности быстро начинают повторяться и становиться душнее, медленнее, скучнее. Нет никаких улучшений базовых станций, из-за чего на протяжении всех этапов игры стоишь по три часа около этих столов и ждешь, когда они изготовят тебе 150 предметов, которые нужны для крафта артефактов (каждый стоимостью по две палки). Все сводится к гринду на профессии. Выбрали кузнеца и археолога? Крутяк, в построении фермы нет никакого смысла. Лучше сбегайте в шахту за сотней слитков и в 100 одинаковых растянутых храмов по полчаса геймплея на каждый. Так сильно хотели побыстрее закончить эту игру и никогда к ней не возвращаться, что на рандоме протыкали все финальные диалоги и выбрали концовку чисто случайно. Получили свое "вы богатые, но несвободные" и удалили игру навсегда со своих компьютеров 3 / 10 только за приятную графику и многообещающее, интересное начало

Luma Island is a fascinating experiment. This game invites you to indulge in the familiar trappings of all of your favorite farming/life sim titles with the quality of life features cranked to the maximum -- and whether that is to its compliment or detriment is entirely up to you and what you personally enjoy. Tool and item durability? Non-existent. Stamina? Infinite. Sleep? Completely optional. Inventory Management? Your backpack expands infinitely as you add items to it! Combat? Well, yes, but instead of a health bar or blackout system, you merely drop a couple items when hit by enemies which can be easily recouped by walking over them. There is zero punctuation in the progression by way of the standard institutions of the genre, you don't have to stop your choring or current questline to repair tools, sleep, or drop off the inventory you have amassed in a series of loosely organized chests. You are almost completely unhindered by maintenance, the only form of challenge manifesting via light puzzling, basic combat, and maintaining the (surprisingly vast and complex) plot of land you call home. If you are someone like myself who is able to luxuriate in the atmosphere of a well-crafted visual and auditory experience, able to propel yourself forward under your own steam, almost completely unincensed by exterior motivations, then you will find an absolutely vast volume of leeway to do so in this lovingly crafted gem. It's a feast for the senses. I have no experience with nicotine, but if this is what it feels like to take a long drag from a cigarette after an exceedingly long day at work, then I can completely understand why it's so difficult to quit... if that makes sense. Ask yourself if the above sounds appetizing to your sensibilities before diving in, but if you're erring on the positive side of that internal debate, then I implore you; Give Luma Island the firmest attention, and it will reward you with the warmest embrace.