Old School: Isometric Platformer Lumo Out Now
Classic cavern questing
Lumo [official site] is an isometric platformer throwback dealio that aims to provide a "modern take" on a long-forgotten genre. Made by ex-Ruffian fellow Gareth Noyce, it's been in the works for a couple of years now, but has been released into the real live world today. I had a bash of the demo at Rezzed earlier this year and liked it, but first have a launch trailer:
As is pretty clear from that, Lumo is a nostalgic nod towards the isometric platformers that were popular in the 80s and early 90s - such as the classic Knight Lore. While I realise some of you might not have been born then, and therefore might not care much for the conceit of trekking through over 400 self-contained murder rooms, I really quite enjoyed the brief shot I had at Rezzed this year. I do also realise that nostalgia may have clouded my judgement slightly, but, hey, sentimentality is a byproduct of being a million years old. I hope you can take my word for it.
Assuming the role of a young lost child, Lumo sends you deep into a deathtrap-laden dungeon without much explanation beyond: get from point A to point B, while avoiding/overcoming point C. At first, shuffling is your sole means of getting around and only by successfully besting puzzles can you hope to learn new skills, such as climbing and jumping, as you delve deeper into the unknown.
In the short section of game I played, this was pretty straightforward stuff - push a box here, stand on a pressure plate there - however it seems things get distinctly more complicated if the above trailer is anything to go by. I mean, there are over 400 levels, after all.
I reckon I'll jump into this later on this evening, however if you've already started I'd love to know how you're getting on.
Lumo is out now for Windows, Mac and Linux priced £14.99/17,99€/$19.99 on GOG, The Humble Store and Steam.