Is Endless Ocean Luminous Worth It?

Quick Links

• Review

• Time Expenditure

• Cost

• What Players Are Saying

The original Endless Ocean launched on the Wii in 2008 and received a sequel - Endless Ocean: Blue World - only a couple of years later. Both games utilized motion controls to create immersive underwater experiences unlike anything else on the console. Instead of defeating bosses or gathering resources, your main goal is to explore the ocean's depths to discover new species and treasure.

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Endless Ocean Luminous is the first entry in the series in nearly 15 years, and it comes with a variety of new features, like online multiplayer that supports up to 30 players at a time. It can certainly be a relaxing or social experience depending on what you're looking for, but before you dive in, we'll help you decide whether Endless Ocean Luminous is worth your time and money or not.

Review

While TheGamer does not have an official review for Endless Ocean Luminous on the site, I'll do my best to summarize my experience with the game to help you decide whether it's worth picking up.

I remember playing the original Endless Ocean on the Wii and loved how different it was from anything else on the console. The promise of aquatic ambiance as I slowly swam between reefs and searched for new species was an amazing alternative to other games like Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, and Rock Band. The announcement of a new title for the Nintendo Switch was initially exciting, but once I dove into the water, it turned out to be more of a shallow and lukewarm experience than I expected.

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The core gameplay of swimming around with fish and other creatures is fortunately still intact, but if you're looking for anything meaningful or memorable in this title, it's probably best to swim elsewhere. A certain amount of zen comes with the feeling of floating underwater, but once you start struggling to discover anything new, it's hard not to feel frustrated at the game.

There is a campaign to play through, but you won't be able to make much progress in it until you reach incredibly high milestones in either the solo or shared dive modes. You can complete chapter one immediately, but to reach the next section, you need to scan a total of 500 creatures. After you complete Chapter 2, you'll need to go back out to either solo or shared dives to scan 3,200 creatures before accessing Chapter 3. It's a lot of work for a not-so-great narrative that feels as shallow as a puddle on a sidewalk. As far as I know, nobody has actually beaten the game because these requirements become even more ludicrous.

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Solo dives are interesting as each time you hop into one, it randomly generates a new map for you to explore. As promising as this sounds, each map rarely feels unique from anything else you've experienced so far, and points of interest like sunken ships and dilapidated buildings are forgotten the moment you swim away from them. It's also frustrating how often you will stumble upon the same species of fish and treasure that you've already found, making the ocean feel much smaller than it should be.

I can't comment too much about the online multiplayer because I didn't have anyone to swim with, but if anything could make Endless Ocean Luminous more satisfying, it would be a bunch of friends to make the journey more exciting and memorable. It's pretty cool that the game supports up to 30 players at a time, but it's really hard to imagine anyone taking full advantage of this feature.

You and anyone you want to play with will need to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online to enjoy the multiplayer.

If you just want to turn your brain off for an hour or so and swim aimlessly to relax for a bit, Endless Ocean Luminous can be a reliable title for that. Unfortunately, if you play for much longer than a couple of hours, you'll start to see the same things over and over again, and what was meant to be a meditative adventure quickly turns into frustration.

Time Expenditure

One of the nice things about Endless Ocean Luminous is that you could arguably play it forever if you really wanted to. Because the maps for either solo or shared dives are randomly generated, you will see slight variations each time that might make each dive feel fresh.

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Regarding the campaign, it's still hard to know how long it takes to beat, even after the game has been out for a couple of weeks. Because you need to do so much searching to even unlock story chapters, there isn't much data on how long you should expect to spend with the game before rolling credits.

According to howlongtobeat.com, one person has beaten the game and recorded that it took them 39 hours.

Cost

If you're planning on purchasing Endless Ocean Luminous for the Nintendo Switch, it will cost you $49.99 USD. Whether you prefer to own your games physically or digitally, it will cost the same price either way.

You can also purchase Endless Ocean Luminous through the Nintendo Switch Game Voucher program. This allows subscribers of Nintendo Switch Online to purchase two games - including Super Mario Bros. Wonder, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and many more - for $99.98 USD. Endless Ocean Luminous is cheaper than most first-party titles, but it's a nice offer that might be worth taking advantage of.

What Players Are Saying

While we typically try to include as many opinions from the staff as possible, Endless Ocean Luminous' mixed reception turned most of us away from it. But hey, we got one!

Enchantingly Beautiful And Peaceful - Shannon Elkins

Endless Ocean Luminous manages to provide one of the most relaxing experiences I've had with underwater-themed games. While the story and overall gameplay are somewhat shallow, the simplicity is exactly what allows the game to excel in exploration. The focus is on curiosity, gorgeous sea life, treasure hunting, exploration and relaxation. If any of that sounds good, this is a title you won't want to miss.

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