Sony launched its June 2025 State of Play event with a surprise reveal of Lumines Arise, from Tetris Effect creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi.
The game is scheduled for release in fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and PS VR2, with a demo arriving this summer. Watch the debut trailer below:
In a PlayStation Blog post, Enhance Director Takashi Ishihara explained that Lumines Arise is built from the ground up as a successor to the classic Lumines puzzle series, which debuted on PlayStation Portable 20 years ago, and features optional PS VR2 compatibility.
"Lumines Arise on PlayStation 5 with optional PS VR2 support is more than just a standard puzzle game — we aim to connect with players on an emotional level," Ishihara stated.
"You begin in darkness during the first stage (as glimpsed in today’s announcement trailer), and each of the over 30 stages evokes unique and complex emotional responses. Experience lush jungles, oceans teeming with life, poised snakes ready to strike, and electronic frontiers like Tokyo’s bustling streets and the vast expanse of outer space. All enhanced with visual effects designed to trigger synesthesia.
"At its core lies a straightforward puzzle mechanic. For newcomers to the Lumines series: rotate and position various 2×2 blocks composed of one or two colors to form single-color/pattern squares. A Timeline sweeps across the playfield to the rhythm of the soundtrack, clearing completed squares in its path. This creates gentle time pressure to build and combine squares, enabling bigger combos and higher scores.
"Players race to create combos while tracking the Timeline's constant movement, feeling DualSense controller vibrations as music surrounds them and vibrant backgrounds pull them deeper. This is when you enter a flow state, and the outside world fades away. Your heart rate quickens as your breath catches."
For a complete overview, here's everything announced during Sony's June 2025 State of Play showcase.
