Nintendo continues to surprise fans with unexpected game releases in 2024, which many speculate will mark the final year of the Switch. Including notable titles like Another Code: Recollection and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the emphasis on remakes and remasters from lesser-known franchises suggests there may be even more surprises ahead. Endless Ocean Luminous, the third entry in the Endless Ocean series, is one such title that likely caught many off guard. It’s been over 14 years since the second installment, Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Endless Ocean 2: Blue World in North America), graced the Wii. With such a long hiatus, is this a series worthy of your attention?
In Endless Ocean Luminous, players can enjoy three distinct modes: Story, Shared Dive, and Solo Dive. The Story Mode predominantly serves as an introduction to the game’s mechanics and world. As a novice diver, your objective is to explore the Veiled Sea, scanning various marine species and collecting the emitted light to help rejuvenate the World Coral. Throughout your journey, you’ll be guided by Sera, your AI companion, and occasionally joined by Daniel, another human diver, as you unravel the secrets lurking beneath the waves.
Regrettably, the Story Mode falls short of expectations. Many chapters consist solely of two-minute cutscenes devoid of gameplay, leaving the narrative stagnant. To unlock successive chapters, players must scan a specified number of creatures, with requirements escalating as you progress. This leads to a disjointed experience that often feels anticlimactic given the investment of time required to see it through. It quickly becomes obvious that the main attraction of the game lies elsewhere.
Fortunately, the majority of your time in Endless Ocean Luminous will be spent in the Shared Dive and Solo Dive modes. These modes offer a procedurally generated map where you can explore at your leisure. While traversing the expansive areas can be done relatively quickly, fully exploring them can take several hours. The game provides minimal direction, with your only guidance being a percentage completion status for both the map and the marine life you have scanned. To assist in your exploration, you have a radar that indicates nearby salvage. This can sometimes be disorienting, particularly when searching for small objects glowing in a vast environment. Nonetheless, this relaxed exploration style encourages a more organic sense of discovery.
As is typical with open-world games, Endless Ocean Luminous emphasizes exploration and discovery over mere collection. However, it can feel overly hands-off at times, particularly with the Mystery Board, a 99-square grid you gain access to early on. This component is vital for completing the Story Mode, yet you’re given no guidance on how to unlock the squares. After fifteen hours of play, I had managed to fill in just a third of the board, purely by chance while collecting items, uncovering lore in obscure boxes, or stumbling upon hidden locations. Because many elements are randomly generated, it often feels like luck plays a more significant role than skill, which can be frustrating. Providing hints on the Mystery Board or additional map features to delineate objectives would have enhanced the experience without sacrificing the discovery aspect.
The terrain and environments present in both Shared and Solo Dive maps are limited in variety, meaning players will likely experience the bulk of the game within the first few hours. While the locations of these mini-biomes change with each map, the species that populate them remain largely the same, diminishing the excitement of new discoveries as you progress. The impact of finding a dark cave teeming with ancient life lessens with repeated visits, which can lead to disappointment if you’re initially hoping for unique features in every dive. Nevertheless, the game offers enough content to maintain a level of replayability and accommodate both brief and extended gaming sessions. Despite the lack of clear guidance, the thrill of what you might uncover during dives keeps the experience engaging. It is worth noting, however, that completionists may find this game less satisfying due to the slow pace of new discoveries in subsequent dives.
The main draw of the game is undoubtedly the variety of marine life awaiting discovery. With an impressive roster of 578 species, players can encounter everything from freshwater and saltwater fish to mammals, crustaceans, and a few mythical and prehistoric creatures. Scanning them into your log is straightforward: simply hold the L button while they are in view, a mechanic reminiscent of the Metroid Prime series. You can also capture photographs using various filters for a limited time during exploration. However, species interactions are minimal, with many creatures merely occupying a designated spot in the environment and showing little behavior beyond swimming in place. Despite this, the diversity in the game is commendable, each species having a detailed entry in the log that provides insights into their behaviors and history.
Even with occasional moments of disengagement, I found Solo Dives to be a rewarding experience full of surprises. There are moments where the maps feel empty, but specific areas serve as mini-maps teeming with diverse species and collectibles. It’s easy to get swept away in an intricate cave network or discover hidden realms. Since the creatures are mostly to scale, I often uncovered multiple species while scanning schools of fish or encountered surprises in seemingly barren landscapes. Adding to the thrill, players can discover rare species or anomalies, which trigger the appearance of an Unidentified Marine Lifeform (UML) once a specific number of discoveries have been made.
Shared Dive operates similarly to Solo Dive, with multiple players entering the same map from different starting points. To collaborate, you must locate each other; once found, you’ll register as Dive Buddies. This allows for shared map progress, player tags, and teleportation to each other’s locations. While the absence of voice or text communication can hinder coordination, it does enhance the exploratory experience, turning it into a fast-paced adventure, especially if your goal is to swiftly uncover points of interest. With the potential of up to 30 players on the same map, I experienced a vibrant sense of collaboration during Shared Dive, significantly contrasting with solo exploration. I was relieved to notice no performance issues during the event, making it an enjoyable game for friends who want to play together.
Visually, Endless Ocean Luminous employs a subdued color palette that sometimes fails to impress, appearing flat and lacking in detail even on OLED screens. When playing in handheld mode, it can be particularly challenging to discern details in crowded environments. However, this might be intentional to reflect the natural murkiness of the Veiled Sea, making issues like draw distance and the texture quality less impactful. Thankfully, I did not experience significant pop-in while exploring. The various creatures are easy to spot due to their blue glow—or yellow, in the case of rare varieties—until scanned. Most creatures are rendered in realistic scales and showcase solid (though somewhat repetitive) animations, adding a satisfying level of realism to the game. When viewed closely, both in-game and in the creature log, the models display impressive detail. The particle and lighting effects during night dives contribute to an atmospheric environment without impairing visibility. Although loading times can sometimes drag upon entering a map, the exploration itself remains smooth and enjoyable.
The soundtrack is light and ambient but fails to significantly enhance the overall experience, with music often starting and stopping unpredictably while playing. The most consistent sound comes from the rhythmic motion of the player character’s swimming, which can feel more unsettling than soothing while exploring the empty stretches of the Veiled Sea. An adjustment option for the frequency of music, aside from just volume, would have been beneficial. Endless Ocean Luminous offers extensive AI voice work, which can be a double-edged sword. In Story Mode, the AI’s attempt to convey human emotions and mannerisms can come off as forced and awkward, whereas Daniel, your human companion, defaults to unintelligible bubbling sounds. On the positive side, every entry in the Creature Log benefits from full AI voiceovers, which strikes a balance given the substantial amount of information included in the game.
Overall, as long as you don’t expect a completionist’s dream, Endless Ocean Luminous presents a relaxing and satisfying experience, ideal for both solo sessions and group dives with friends. The limited diversity in procedurally generated maps may cause the novelty of exploration to fade before mastering everything. While the Story Mode suffers from a lack of depth and coherence, its extensive content more than compensates for these shortcomings. If you’re open to a unique gameplay flow, this title is certainly worth diving into.
6.5/10
A copy of Endless Ocean Luminous was provided by Nintendo UK for the purposes of this review