The release schedule has been generous this month, and I’ve been struggling to keep up with all the games landing in my inbox. At least, that’s my excuse for being a day late telling you about Luminas: Parasite Reign, the new Pokémon-inspired survivors-like that I’ve been looking at the last couple of evenings.
This cutesy little bullet heaven hit Early Access on PC this week, and I’ve played a few runs now. Enough to give you an idea of what the game is all about. So let’s get to it, yeah!?
What is Luminas: Parasite Reign?
As alluded to in the headline, Luminas: Parasite Reign is a bullet heaven, which, as you well know, means that it’s a roguelite in the style of Vampire Survivors. Unlike VS, however, this one is aimed at a younger audience.
Read More: The Best Bullet Heavens.
The Pokémon inspiration is writ large over everything. For example, you have to unlock new critters over time, and then you can recruit a small party of them for each run. You control one, and the other two scurry around after you, like they were attached on rubber bands. Finally, during combat, you can even evolve them like you would a Pokémon.
The voxel aesthetic was also pleasingly familiar. As a parent who watched my kids play Minecraft Dungeons, I felt a similar vibe here. I also enjoyed the various special effects from the different attack types, but the environments could be made a bit more reactive and interesting to explore.
Two’s company, three’s a party
This isn’t the first game I’ve played like this, where you must build a party of characters and use them to withstand a horde, but it’s certainly one of the more accessible. Wildkeepers Rising is another, if you’re interested, and Yet Another Zombie Survivors is the third that comes to mind, although that one’s aimed at an older audience.
While it is undoubtedly cool to recruit and equip three different characters at once, seeing all of their respective abilities filling up the screen at once meant that I was sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer amount of activity, often taking place just behind the action. Because everything – the characters, the baddies, the XP, and the effects – is all made of voxels, my old eyes found it hard to keep track as the screen got really busy.
Between runs, there seems to be plenty to do back at the village. Here you can upgrade your Luminas and equip items to boost their stats. You can’t just use items across the board either; you’re going to have to upgrade each character with their own stuff. There are eight at launch, and more due to come during Early Access.
It’s clear what Luminas: Parasite Reign is trying to do, with its cute voxel graphics and creature collecting elements. If you’ve got a little one who likes Pokémon, this should keep them entertained for a while, if you don’t mind the fact that it’s still in Early Access, at least until next year. Either way, it’s off to a good start.
