Lunistice's core precision platforming instantly hooked me as soon as I picked up the controller. I see a lot of the comparisons to Sonic, and for the most part I agree; it's generally very tight jumping across small platforms with occasional rail riding sections with a few easily spotted shortcuts and side corridors that you can make your way to for a tougher challenge and extra collectibles to find out more about the main story. In this sense, the speed isn't always a given, since it takes dedication to master the demanding platforming despite the simple controls, but it is most definitely a reward flying through stages and scoring S ranks once you get into the swing of things. For the sake of description however, I actually think it might be more accurate to describe this as a 3D Freedom Planet (yes I know, that's Sonic inspired too); the main character, Hana, has a double jump and a full body tail swing attack that performs triple duty as a enemy clearer, a hurtbox extender to quickly snag nearby collectibles without wasting time turning around, and a "triple jump" to extend your aerial drift and gain a bit more height.

There really aren't many nitpicks here; the rhythm section does feel a bit out of place, but I'd assume that figuring out the cycles for speedrunning and understanding the tempo would make it feel much less frustrating, thus serving as an example of the game leaning even more heavily towards "easy to pick up, harder to master." I unfortunately do think that playing as Toree (one of the unlockable extra characters in the post-game) of Toree 3D fame isn't that satisfying, as the levels still have tons of enemies that you just have to outright avoid (since you can't attack) while often turning a ton to collect all the stars, and the consequence of dying in one hit from enemies means that despite Toree feeling like the fastest character, I still felt like I had to play much more cautiously to avoid a reset. The other unlockable character, Toukie, is a lot more interesting; in exchange for a slightly slower character, you get three jumps of slightly lower height instead, opening the door for more creative and different pathing than that of Hana's. Even though I don't think the extra content in the form of Toree playthroughs is that great, and the actual game can be "beat" in a couple of hours, the core gameplay as well as Toukie make the fairly low asking price of $4.99 absolutely worth it. Combined with nostalgic graphics of the PS1 era and some banging tunes, this is definitely a great hidden gem if you're into short and sweet 3D platforming with emphasis on quick bursts of challenging yet rewarding bursts of slick action.

Reviewed on Nov 23, 2022


3 Comments


1 year ago

It seems as though most developers on itch.io who make these ps1 aesthetic games live in this bubble where they all look out for each other. It's great seeing Toree making a cameo, whose games are developed by a different dev: Siactro.

I also remember Peeb Adventures (which is also a ps1-looking game) having tons of references to these other ps1-esque games, such as Zera: Myths Awaken

I'll definitely be checking this game out, thanks @drax for bringing this game to my attention!

1 year ago

Thanks for reading! I'll definitely have to check out Peeb Adventures and Zera, as those look right up my alley.

1 year ago

Zera is cool cause it was a Spyro fan game, but you know how that shit goes