LIGHTHOUSE IN LUMINO CITY SOFTWARE

That’s not to say the puzzles were necessarily too hard or needed to be made easier. This was so far off the mark, but it seemed more logical to me than “the developer expects you to put the clues in this order just because they decided it should be so.” I subtracted the buttons that were one color from the ones that were another color. I had no reason to assume that order mattered, so when the most obvious solution didn’t work (because I did it out of order), I started thinking in other ways. Being a little bit off and being completely and utterly wrong provide the same feedback - nothing. But there is no indication that these clues have to be used in a specific order and the keypad doesn’t give you any indication that you’re on the right track. It’s just not good puzzle design to hide a whole playable area from people.Īnother puzzle has you uncover four clues that are used with a numberless keypad. A hotspot highlighter and more feedback from the game could have gone a long way. Good puzzle design makes the player think “what should I do?” not “what can I do?” When so much of the artwork is abstract, you can’t assume players will recognize that a dot is an important part of a puzzle or notice an arrow that blends in well with the scenery. A game shouldn’t hide these things from you. They blended too well into the scenery when they should have been more obvious so you know the scene extends further. But additionally, there were a few points where I missed arrows that show there’s a path available.

As I mentioned earlier, that was the whole start of my frustrations with this game. This extends to adventure games that don’t have hidden object scenes but hide some items a little too well, resulting in pixel hunting. I can stomach a hidden object scene here and there, but for the most part, they just feel like filler and a waste of time. Those who have been following me for a while might know that I despise hidden object games. This could have all easily been solved by the game saying “I can’t reach that from here” or something similar. I was ready to assume it was a glitch, but then I tried something I wasn’t sure I had yet and it worked. That’s even the case often in this game, which is what makes it even more frustrating when it doesn’t let you do that. Usually if you tap on something in a point-and-click adventure and the character can move there, the game will send them there, no matter where you are when you tap. No feedback to tell me I’m doing something wrong. I had to do something specific to get things rolling, but I had to be standing in a certain area for the game to recognize it. The next level brought even more rage, this time due to lack of feedback from the game. Unfortunately, this was only the start of my frustration.

I ran around and around and around trying to figure out what I missed, but eventually someone had to tell me about that object so I could pass. There are eighteen sections in the game and I got stuck on the sixth because I didn’t notice a very crucial piece that blended into the background.

LIGHTHOUSE IN LUMINO CITY SOFTWARE

Here’s a nice little clip of the Cyclist level that I made without any extra software or hardware:īut the game shoots itself in the foot sometimes with its artwork. And it even goes a step further to take advantage of Apple’s new in-game recording feature. The game also includes a camera to take snapshots like we’ve seen in Monument Valley and some other artsy games. I don’t think I even knew cloud saves could work this well, and it’s certainly raised my expectations for the future (sorry, game developers!). It still picks up where I left off on the first device.

I’ve not had a single issue with it, even if I leave the game open on one device before switching to the other. I honestly can say it’s the most reliable use of the iCloud I’ve ever seen. Not only does it sync your progress for levels completed, but also within the level you’re currently playing. The iCloud saves are flawless, allowing you to sync your devices and swap between them as often as you want. It’s the perfect game to pick up and play in short bursts or to sit on your couch with for hours. I’m glad that the dialogue is short and sweet, without long cutscenes to watch. I like that the game is broken up into bite-sized chunks, each of which you can revisit any time after you complete it. It seems like the perfect fit for iOS, even though it was originally designed for PCs. It follows a girl named Lumi on a search for her grandpa after he’s abducted from his home during afternoon tea.

Lighthouse in lumino city