The Monster Tamer genre has seen quite the renaissance lately. New games are being released all the time that experiment and explore the time tested mechanics of the usual turn based RPG formula. Games like Doki Monsters evoke nostalgia while games like Cassette Beasts bring with them unique and innovative concepts. So what happens when you have a game that manages to do both? You get LumenTale: Memories of Trey. Developed by Beehive Studios and published by Team17(the same publisher who gave us the impressively well made Date Everything and Amber Isle), LumenTale is poised to make its debut and I couldn’t be more excited to share my thoughts on it. This is one game I'm going to be playing for a while.
In LumenTale: Memories of Trey you play as…well Trey. Trey is an amnesiac cyborg who is discovered unconscious in the Scarlet Woods by a local kid named Ales. Trey then wakes up in a laboratory/home on the edge of seaside town Iris Hamlet. There, he meets Kapan, a researcher and inventor who is also Ales’ uncle as well Ales’ robotic friend Moka.. After an attempt to give Ales a birthday present backfires, Trey has to go after him and in the process discovers his talent for using a Holoken and working with Animon, marking him as a Lumen. After tragedy strikes Iris Hamlet, Trey embarks on a journey to discover more about himself along with Ales and Moka.
The game does have a bit of a slow start with all the tutorials it throws at you, but they never felt obtrusive and came at a decent enough pace along with the story. LumenTale takes place on the continent of Talea, which is divided between the factions of Mythos to the north and Logos to the south. Talea is also inhabited by creatures made out of Anivis called Animon. Animon have one of five core attributes and control at least one of 13 different elemental types. For example, my starter was an Ozelash, which is of the Furor attribute and an electric type. Toxigall is another animon of the Furor attribute, but it’s a virus type. This combination of attributes and types makes for each Animon having its own unique weaknesses and resistances. For example Toxicall is weak to electric, while Ozelash isn’t. But both are weak to frost. Fortunately the game gives you the option in battle to scan individual opposing Animon in order to get a better idea of what its weak or strong against.
Speaking of battle, the game puts its own spin on that as well. As many as four Animon can be sent out at a time, which means battles can get a little crazy. Turns happen in a cycle, with each Animon on both sides having its chance to act in a given cycle. A bar on the side shows the order in which Animon will get to take actions, with faster Animon getting to move sooner. An SP meter also builds up each time super effective damage is dealt or an opposing Animon is knocked out. The side that fully fills their SP will get to take an extra action called a TP action in which any Animon can use an attack. There’s a surprising amount of depth here, even more than would normally be seen in a game like this. Even crazier are the boss battles, as bosses get multiple health bars and can absolutely decimate you if you’re not prepared. In fact, I actually had to try one boss a couple of times before I could beat it. This is a game that will test you at points.
Once weakened in battle, wild Animon can be caught using little marbles called Billia. These Billia are used in a Holoken, which Trey acquires early on. The Holoken also has applications in the overworld. Trey can throw it like a yo-yo to break boxes and later on, other obstacles as Trey unlocks the ability to infuse with an element. Hitting an Animon in the overworld will either attempt to catch it or start a battle depending on if you have Billia selected or one of your own Animon. If attempting to catch, you’ll be prompted with a quick minigame to improve your chances. Failing to catch an Animon results in it chasing you and you have to either stun it by throwing Animon Billia or entering battle. Speaking of Animon Billia, hitting an Animon with one normally will either start a battle, or instantly defeat it if your Animon are strong enough. Defeating Animon not only awards experience, but also material which can be used to upgrade the attacks your Animon can learn. On top of all of that, bonus points can be put into specific stats on an Animon, further customizing and making them stronger. I appreciate how much attention to detail there is and all the ways to make each playthrough feel different just from a gameplay standpoint.
Of course, none of that would matter much if the game didn’t look the part. Thankfully, it does. The overworld and its pretty varied cast of characters are rendered in a beautiful pixel art style. Animations are fluid and filled with life. Each character and Animon has their own unique look and sprites. Grass is green and pops, caves look dusty, and so forth. The environments are a well made mix of 2D and 3D elements, and there’s always more to see. In battle, a dynamic and moving background keeps the action looking alive as the bouncing and well animated Animon trade attacks. Characters also have bubbly and colorful portrait art to accompany dialogue. These portraits come with various expressions and even a colorful aura to match the characters current mood. It just goes to show how much attention to detail the devs put into LumenTale.
That extends to the sound design as well. Battles come with punchy music that keeps things feeling lively. The overworld has fairly vibrant sounds as well to accompany you as you explore it. Other little details like Animon cries and Animal Crossing style squiggle noises for talking characters add to the world as Trey continues on his journey. Bosses have fittingly epic sounding tracks and so forth. There’s not much more to say as it’s pretty much the standard for games like this. I can’t think of any themes that make me want to go out and look them up(yet) but neither do they make me want to turn the sound off. In fact, I often found myself enjoying a lot of the musical motifs and themes the game used. The ending jingle still lingers in my mind. It’s always a good sign when the sound design sticks with you even after turning the game off.
LumenTale: Memories of Trey is definitely worth checking out on release. If you’re at all ready for a new monster tamer game to take the scene by storm, here you go. The Animon are adorable, the characters look great and the story has a lot of intrigue. I’ve talked very little about it in this review but there is quite a bit of lore behind Talea, it’s two halves and even the Animon themselves. It goes beyond just a story about an amnesiac cyborg and his quest to find out more about himself. It goes beyond just adventuring in a new region and challenging other Lumen. But that’s all I’ll say on that. If you’re a fan of this genre, don’t miss out on this upcoming gem. LumenTale: Memories of Trey releases on Steam and Nintendo Switch on May 26th.
