LumenTale as old as time
by Jim Norman
The Pokémon Company is showing no signs of returning to the series’ classic formula any time soon, so indie devs have stepped up to fill the gap. We’ve seen a whole host of games set out to capture those early-gen vibes on the eShop in recent years, and today, another is joining the party.
Team17 and Beehive Studios have today released LumenTale: Memories of Trey, a creature-catching RPG that instantly put us in mind of some Gen IV or V good times.
It’s got everything you’d expect from a genre throwback: 140 Animon to collect, type weaknesses/strengths, training, battling, and an art style that combines classic pixel art sprites with 3D environments. It’s not pure Pokémon, to be clear — there appears to be more focus on cooking and crafting here, and a mechanic that lets you attack on the fly — but the vibes are all present and correct.
Here’s a brief rundown of the game’s key features, and a handful of screenshots:
Travel an expansive world: Journey across the rich and cultural world of Talea, filled with secrets, quests and regions as unique and diverse as the Animon you encounter.
Collect and train Animon: Discover and capture 140 Animon, each with elemental affinities and assigned one of five different emotional attributes that can offer advantages in battle.
Unique art cards: Increase the chances of finding your perfect Animon, or the rare Lost variants, to build the ultimate team. Trade these locally or online through the Animon Trade Station.
Cooking and crafting: Rest at fountains throughout the world to cook food from found and bought recipes, and craft resources to support your journey.
The Anispace: Train your Animon in the Anispace, a dedicated area offering a change of pace from adventure. Craft or purchase furniture from local vendors and customise it to make the perfect home for your creatures.
LumenTale is available in both a Standard and Deluxe Edition (which throws in the Deluxe DLC with the base game) on the Switch eShop. It’s another one of those Kickstarter success stories, which we love to see, so here’s hoping that it can stand apart from the crowd in the rapidly growing Pokémon-like genre.
What do you make of LumenTale? Will you be checking it out on Switch? Let us know in the comments.
Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since.