Endless Ocean Luminous REVIEW!! | The GOOD and the BAD

[@NintenTalk]

Thank you SO MUCH for watching my review!! What do you think about Endless Ocean Luminous!?

[@CMJ321]

I Was really upset with it i really wanted lore a hub world and a story! i also wanted to play a story with my sister such a shame! everything else is alright! get the 1st and 2nd if you want an actally good game!

[@rebeccatom2188]

The original endless ocean was so spectacular that it had a full page article in the Seattle times. My dad saw it and thought it might be educational and so he got it for me for Christmas. Honestly, that game was top tier aesthetic. From the changing sunsets/sunrises throughout the day, freaking Haley Westerna on the soundtrack, the suspenseful story that makes you feel like you’re really on an epic expedition, to the educational aspect of learning about fish down to their scientific name, this game was so awesome. I ended up getting a degree in environmental science and studied some oceanography when I grew up. For over a decade I thought about what a return to this game might be like - will the graphics be even better? Will be even more moving? I wonder if the ppl who designed it really played the old one or understood it. I feel like that should’ve been a requirement. I was so excited to see they had a new one. It’s kinda sad to see this one not really live up to its former glory and also it seems to incorporate more strategic “gaming” targets (think pew pew pew) rather than being an aesthetic and educational game…

[@seanbrennan5192]

It’s such a let down, it breaks my heart. I can’t even play it for more than an hour. A hollow shell of what it once was. I was so excited….

[@maikomarx]

The thing is this game really doesn’t feel like an endless ocean game. I grew up with EO2 and played countless hours finding all the fish, treasures, and gaining enough pelagos to reopen the cavern of the gods. Just the whole vibe of having a team of divers go on an adventure across multiple different seas, meeting up at the island or aquarium, unlocking all the different diving gear. It’s just not here at all. The controls feel different too. Never would I find myself wishing a game had floatier controls, but here I am. And yea, I get that this is more laid back and doesn’t intend for the creatures to be dangerous (even though they added Thanatos and multiple large, dangerous marine reptiles), or have scary situations, but that’s also something EO2 excelled at. When I play subnautica, I’m afraid that a leviathan will kill me. When I play EO2, I’m afraid I’ll find something in the depths that I shouldn’t. This game had so much potential to expand on a bigger story, have more unique designated areas to explore (rather than one big randomized area), have a campy yet endearing cast of characters, and have more secrets to find. Seriously, I was shocked when I started to find many of the named mythical creatures from EO2 within the first hour, having done absolutely nothing. I remember having to do puzzles and waiting for full moons and following birds across the world to find certain creatures. I don’t know. This game is certainly its own experience, but it seems far from an endless ocean game…

[@aquatrez]

I'm still disappointed that Luminous is such a departure from the previous games, particularly everything Blue World had added. But accepting it for what it is, I have been enjoying it. The multiplayer focus has been fun, even if it's not what I wanted.

[@Aquatictigress]

I still think Blue World is the best. For me, interacting with the fish was everything. Also unlocking more info by doing something in particular for a fish like feeding or finding a legendary after solving a puzzle just felt rewarding. Here, nothing is really earned except for the cosmetics. I do like the game for what it is. I just wish there was more.

[@Pandora8_]

I bought this game just because of pure nostalgia. Its a great exploration game, but i feel it lacks in the story line as well as some of the special creatures you find. I can still remember on the Wii game when you come across the whale and its calf and the music that plays when it appears was such a magical moment for me as a child. This time around in Luminous, you see any kind of whale or large creature and its just like... oh...cool..next. Kind of dissapointing really.

[@nathanconnors9927]

I’ve been really enjoying doing solo dives in this game but as a blue world fan it is really sad to see the story separated from the diving experience. the fun of blue world is that you discover new areas to work towards the goal of finding the end treasure, but this game has it broken up that it makes it feel like there’s no clear objective. I think story mode should have been exploring each new area to find the next key story beat instead of just watching a cutscene and then the solo dive mode would just be to go in at your leisure to explore after unlocking that map

[@nicolerobertson2654]

Lack of good story mode is a bit of a downer, but I'm excited to try the game so I can hang out on lobbies with everyone on the discord!

[@GrayyisGayy]

I was a huge fan of the Endless Ocean series, specifically Blue World. I thought it did a really good job making fake places based off of real biomes. It did have some "This animal is here for some reason even though irl it's nowhere near here" Probably bc of time constraints and not wanting to go over their budget but overall it was pretty fun and attempted to keep an air of realism. I think the attempted realism sort of drew me in bc while there were some animals that were not real or were sort of folklore things or extinct animals it felt kind of like they could be. In Luminous some of the "Rare" creatures are repeats from blue world that vary in size contradicting the fact that they were individual members of a species, can be found multiple times in the same map and some of the new ones are sort of lazy in my eyes. Calling inverted color scheme orca just a genetic mutation when you could include real genetic mutations that are way more interesting like albinism, melanism, or different color mutations on different species. The inclusion of extinct animals was cool and seeing them in a game is awesome. Finding UML's is fun to me and some of those designs are cool but overall it just feels like in luminous you find random shit just by going with no real barrier to finding them. And if that's your thing then yay I just wish it went back to trying to be sort of educational and when you do find something unique it still feels unique as opposed to the ancient mother for the third time or a third inverted coler scheme orca.

[@hirakatashii]

This sounds cool, but I don’t know if I want to spend $50. If it dropped to $30 I’d definitely give it a try

[@chrisg8820]

Agree $20-30 I’ll give it a shot.

[@rebek18]

Same

[@RachelXKnight666]

@fondue542it’s literally got a story mode 😂😂

[@RachelXKnight666]

@fondue542 that’s not what you said though. You said it didn’t have one 🤣

[@reelingwithrobby]

This game feels like a mobile game compared to the previous EO’s. I was and still am a MASSIVE fan of the first two and still play on the Wii, with that being said, this game is merely a shell of the former. The lack of soul and life in this game is heartbreaking. It’s literally an AI narrator. The worlds are randomly generated. There’s freshwater fish in the ocean. This is so saddening as someone who has been waiting 15 YEARS for another game. Unbelievable.

[@daisy-mz5nd]

my biggest problem with this game is the lack of specialness or intentionality. I've put about 10 hours into this, but I have hundreds on the previous games combined ! I miss the scientific accuracy. The previous games had some magical aspect to them, but on the whole the fish were in places that they would be irl, and they acted how they would irl. But in this fish are in the most random, unintentional places and it loses so much accuracy and believability. I saw a giant squid, an animal that's notoriously hard to research because it lives in such deep water, out in 40 ft deep water. So it didn't feel special or cool to see it, especially when the game wants u to just point ur scanner at it once and leave. Pat, you called the game an "interactive encyclopedia" during your stream, and I would say that would be true if any of the animals were realistic, but they're not. As for the informative aspect, you can't even tell if an animal is mythical/extinct without digging into their info entry, and even then it's sometimes not clear! Ok sorry for the rant that's just my gripe as a LONG time endless ocean player - thanks for the video Pat!

[@jenniferbilka31]

I agree it is weird seeing fish in places they would not be IRL. It is kind of a let down.

[@Jack_MxM]

Maybe the giant squid was heading off to wash ashore somewhere like they sometimes do irl 😂

[@TheExileWolf]

Great review. As someone new to the series Its good to see a review from someone who played the previous games and can breakdown their own pros and cons with the game. I picked up the physical version today and most of my time will be spent doing solo dives.

[@Messed-up-logic]

I miss the set locations. The Amazon river in the 2nd one was good and the story definitely let me down. But the nostalgia is big in this. Exploring and diving is good. The I miss the legendary creature and salvage side quests. They made the game.

[@wordbonder4468]

Yeah, I pretty much agree completly, except in my case the solo dives are the main thing I'm into. I started playing the story first and almost gave up on the entire thing it was so bad! Glad I gave it a second chance and tried a free dive before I did.

[@Tank_Facts]

Blue world is still an excellent play. I managed to get it running on a very legitimate wii (tm) on a widescreen with some AA, texture filtering, 6x render resolution and I am frankly SHOCKED at how well it holds up. All the models could have gotten a once-over and you'd have a perfect re-release for switch. I'd think the biggest thing to get in the way would be getting the online for Blue World to work on switch and re-licensing all of the music as a lot of significant story beats utilized licensed music to great effect. I still have Dulaman (the song that plays on your first trip down the Cortica river) on my phone, as well as The Last Rose of Summer (Arctic music, IIRC.) That game convinced me to get scuba certified. It was such an inspiration.

[@Tank_Facts]

Additionally, it's interesting that the solo mode doesn't have a time limit on dives- as that's ironically what was used to pace gameplay in the first game. Certain side missions and challenges were slightly harder to complete because of the limited air supply and required companions. Progression came with a small grind to complete mapping and mission objectives in order to upgrade your gear, to then improve your chances on later dives. Beyond that, it also shows that they hadn't planned for a world above the surface. If you did run out of air, where would your character return to? There's been no established world on the surface other than some loosely referenced "Headquarters."

[@fangorn875]

I only done 3 chapters before I jump to solo dive. The solo dive is the main reason I buy this game. Look at fishes, discover fishes I never heard of. Just chill.

[@epiccarrot88]

I feel bad for this game bro. I feel like people had such high expectations, and the devs were essentially up against a wall, forced to release the game before the next Nintendo console releases or it will be dead on arrival. I mean, Arika aren't a big company. They don't have the budget to rework an entire game for a new console. Ultimately, there is a story here, you just have to dig for it and it's told through the treasures, context clues and places found in the world. And as for the gameplay, it's incredibly solid. The world is beautiful, there are so many fish, the locations are fascinating... I think that, for what the game is, it's good. It's just not on the level of Endless Ocean 2, and that's why people are hung up on it. I admit, I kind of was too Day 1. I played the game, and thought it was shallow. However, the more tablets I read, ruins I saw and connections I made, I began to realise there's something more here. Do I wish it could have been told with a true story mode? Yes. But considering when it released, I also understand why it isn't. I just hope this doesn't discourage Arika from making more. There is an incredibly solid base here, and the gameplay, world and lore have been carried over fantastically into a more universal control style. They can use this to make a game in the future like Endless Ocean 2, but that's only if you give them time. Appreciate the game for what it is, while also acknowledging you hope for more in the next game. Endless Ocean 1 could also be argued as a shallow experience compared to 2.

[@ibm30rpg]

always an excuse by Nintendo fanboys

[@kairi8882]

@@ibm30rpg lol he\she literally felt dissapointed at first. Most of ppl here hating the game say theyve played 1 and 2 but that must be lie

[@Theguywhoasked1177]

It sucks that this new one doesnt have the stuff from the older games, like the private reef. Aquarium, hub. It really just looks like they wanted to just make it for shits and giggles.

[@HinatadeiLaotaku]

The Wii endless ocean had a lot more environments and more rock formations that were colorful

[@wendyloomis7039]

I’m really enjoying the game. I agree with you totally on the “story” but I love seeing and learning about the fish. I haven’t been able to try the multiplayer mode. I need to check your discord and see if I can join in.

[@bubblesteach7291]

I liked steering the boat and picking where I wanted to go in the previous game and the critters that randomly showed up on your boat. I feel this one was thrown together and not as well thought out. I also miss the music. All in all I prefer the wii version best.

[@JezzaRose1]

I watched you live stream and immediately bought it! I love this game!!

[@mintendogaming]

I find it so satisfying to mark treasure for other players and it’s so fun to play multiplayer!! I also like finding the thingies to unlock the picture on the 99 board. It’s pretty much an exploration and collecting game! Super fair thoughts and a good review!! I have a lot more hours to play and I’m excited!

[@NintenTalk]

Thanks for watching Min 🧡

[@drewluczynski9609]

On its own it’s fine, but when you get off from Blue World it’s more of a step backwards then a step forwards

[@111music7]

I'm glad I watched this video before buying the game. I really do love story when it comes to cozy games. It gives me more motivation to play. So if I do get it I know not to expect much from the story. I tend to me a little uncomfortable with multi-player games with random people so knowing there is a time limit on it actually makes me feel a bit more comfortable knowing I'm not stuck with people for hours if I choose to play that long. I don't know if I'll get it but this definitely was helpful.

[@SohiHien]

you can also leave online play any time you want, the max limit is an hour but you could leave immediately after spawning in it you want.

[@BrickGirl101]

You did forget to say with leveling up you also get the capacity to swim with A) More fish or B) the higher number you can swim with a whale or one of the big bois, I got this yesterday and have already sunk like 10 hours into it I’m definitely enjoying the Solo Diving the best myself.

[@caitlinbarbery5260]

Ok this is just a realization thought that I had, I have a question. Do you think Endless ocean luminous was made this way because it’s a social experiment so that the creators can get feedback from people of what they want and don’t want from the endless ocean franchise, so that they know what to do if they make another endless ocean game? Just a thought. There’s gotta be a reason why they took so long to make another game in the franchise, and it ended up very low-neutral

[@SadVIad]

Very good review. This game will add some nice diversity to my game collection. I'll probably get easily 100 hours in this. This will probably be one of the main games that hold me over until the next console releases. And luckily, I've never played this series before so i wont be let down

[@johnanderson4808]

You answered several specific questions I had. Thank you for that.

[@jenniferbilka31]

SO glad you did this review! I've been loving this game!! I agree the story aspect is totally lacking. I was in a solo dive and Sera told me to swim to this area and attempt to scan a UML or whatever it's called. I got there and there were multi colored bubbles popping up in certain spots, tried scanning it multiple times and nothing. So if i come back to that again i'm clueless on what to do lol. Also i dont understand the emojii's? When discovering a fish and you hit Y they pop up & i'm not sure what the purpose is? All in all I really am loving the game so far & hope to join in on one of the multi player dives soon!

[@NintenTalk]

The emojis are just there to mark things for other players 😅

[@jenniferbilka31]

@@NintenTalk ah gotcha. That makes sense 😆 thank you!

[@nicked_fenyx]

The colored bubbles meant there was a special "UML" animal nearby (there's only one type that creates those bubbles afaik). You probably just missed it. Thankfully, you can find it again on another map. It'll eventually come up. As far as the stickers go, use them to mark treasure you find in multiplayer. You can also use them to tag rarer types of marine life, after which that animal's location will be tracked on the map using the icon you applied. Most importantly, if you're in multiplayer and are the first person to find the UML creature after everyone completes the "scan x number of special fish" mission, make sure to mark the UML using one of your tags. This is because the red circle that shows everybody the general area where the UML has spawned will disappear as soon as the first player scans said UML. After that, the only way for other players to locate the UML is if it has been tagged. It's always frustrating to work together as a group to find and scan the "glitched out" looking fish, only to be unable to scan the UML because the person who finds it doesn't mark it and I can't see where it went. Hopefully this will happen less as more people play the game and learn its mechanics. 🙂

[@willcordell3612]

this seems like a hidden gem for an era that's past... though I might pick this up for nostalgia sake. The graphics seem charming enough. Either way, I appreciate your video and glad I found your channel! Subbed!

[@lacriptavideoclub]

There’s a game I bought a looong time ago called Dive: The Medes island secret on the Wii. T play it every summer. I think it’s fun because you run out of oxygen and different animals can attack you. Super fun and chill too

[@nicked_fenyx]

Thank you so much for this. You said everything I've been trying to say about this game. It's not perfect, and sure, it could use a few more features, but as a long time fan of the series I'm enjoying it for what it is. I personally am glad the aggressive creatures were removed, but I get why some people enjoyed having them around. The story is pretty bad overall, but it does get *slightly* better towards the end (though never amazing). There are also enough bits of lore sprinkled around via the puzzles you solve, the descriptions of the treasure you find, etc to pique my interest. The one hour limit for multiplayer dives doesn't bother me the way I thought it would. With several people on the same map, most of it gets uncovered within an hour anyway, so I rarely mind starting a new session/map at that point. Plus I can always save the map code and explore it more in solo dive if I find a map that's super interesting (I've already done this once). Also, just a quick clarification: the game's achievements are actually separate from the "99" mystery board. Achievements can be found under your profile, and most (not all) of them have descriptions so you can see what you need to do to earn them. That said, earning them just give you another title to display under your character's name, so it's kind of meh, lol. I do wish the 99 mystery board gave me some clue on what to do, though. Especially since I'm at the point in the story where I have to complete the entire board in order to continue. Not knowing what I need to do in order to accomplish that is a bit frustrating. Overall, though, the game is a super chill experience. I have over 20 hours in so far, with no signs of slowing down just yet. It's definitely a much simpler experience than earlier entries in the series, but I'm enjoying it for what it is. Glad to see others able to do the same.

[@codagaming9186]

I played the og two games, and haven't decided on picking this one up yet...but it doesn't look great. It's looks honestly very empty and shallow. I'm not sure why dev went into random gen maps, and I don't really understand the point of such massive attention to multiplayer. You say that the exploring is good and relaxing, but the world doesn't look as good as the OG ones. The first two were so much about the magic of the ocean, while this one looks like it just is meant to fill out Nintendo's quarterly report. All the marketing for this game has felt like nothing about Endless Ocean.

[@KariSuttle]

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been really undecided about whether or not to get this game, with all the bad reviews coming out about it.

[@felicitymonday]

I bought it yesterday and haven’t had a chance to play it yet but I’m looking forward to playing it later today it looks cozy and relaxing 👍😊

[@JessNapier]

Also fun fact and I didn’t know this til now, but when you scan a fish press the plus button and they will follow you 😅 you might already know that tho.

[@NintenTalk]

Yes! As you level up you can have bigger and bigger fish follow you!

[@BRisecomics]

The blank wall and blank room is what made me sub !!!! Lol

[@ashleybrown3237]

You know after seeing reviews, I was considering returning this game (physical coming today) and checking out abzu or subnautica. I do have two young kids though that I know will get hours of gameplay out of this. I'm also going to check out the discord to see how multiplayer goes.

[@AnnaRoemantic]

Abzu is an amazing game, I highly recommend checking it out some time

[@feraldrgn]

The story mode sounds like a tutorial mode rather than a fleshed out experience.

[@BroadwayBrittany]

It really is. Each level basically just tells you how to use a new feature. Problem is, you have to do a TON of “grinding” (scanning fish) in single/multiplayer mode to even get to those levels. So by the time you’re “taught” how to do something, it’s like “yeah, I know, I’ve been doing that for the past 3 hours, thanks.”

[@spicymustard4904]

No ones talking about the fact that both the Ink pen and having the ability to dip your head out of the water to look around the land scenery. I used to screw around with the ink pen in the first game and draw stuff on fish XD, it makes sense that the ink pen is gone cuz, well, no Wii mote this time around, makes sense ig but it’s quite sad. But what doesn’t make any sense is the fact that you can’t even dip your head out of the water anymore like something I found out today is that THERE IS land outside of water, by going into first person mode with the camera and looking up near a big rock wall, you can clearly see trees and land, but… you cant look out? Well, what’s the point of even rendering outside land if you can’t even look above the surface to admire it? Also why do fish randomly have hitboxes and then sometimes don’t? Like the blue whale, there is clearly a hitbox on both sides but you can go straight through it if you go through on top or below them. The game is good, bought it day one as I played the first game and am quite nostalgic for it, not really as interested in the story mode as much as I am in the solo diving mode. Also another thing people aren’t bringing up is the fact that this game’s menus and design look so good, especially the loading screen, it is such a nice stylized loading screen dude XDD, also the sfx for selecting stuff is very reminiscent of the first game (never played the second game) and I love that. There are questionable choices in this game no doubt but I feel like for how much content it has (achievements, fish count, treasure count, seriously SO MUCH stuff) it’s worth the 50 bones. It’s fair to dislike the game though, there is a lot of grindy and questionable stuff, but I think if this game is went into with an open mind and knowledge of what your in for, your gonna have a good time Also I know it’s a long comment and I apologize, these are just some of the things I have been wanting to vent out about the game XD

[@NintenTalk]

Haha no worries about the long comment! I do miss the pen and yeah not being able to poke your head out of the water is such a weird thing they left out 🫠

[@JessNapier]

I am loving this game so far and I agree with you. The story is awful. I am super bummed about that, but the dives make up for it. I am hoping we see a dlc and some updates to make it feel like the other games in the series.

[@NintenTalk]

A DLC with new creatures and biomes would be amazing!

[@JessNapier]

@@NintenTalk yes, that would be awesome! A social hub that’s on a beach or ship would be awesome too. Have some shops in the social hub area to buy different gear would be cool too.

[@OgawaBurukkuART]

Thank you for this review! My daughter loves fish, reptiles, etc and she has been asking for this game since she found out about it. She's 6 so she's never played the previous entries in the franchise, and neither have I, but I had seen a bunch of negative reviews on Amazon and wondered if this was a bad game to get her after all. Seeing your review, I can see why people gave it negative reviews. Sounds like the old games were better! I think with Nintendo titles there is always hope for DLC, so maybe some omissions will be addressed, but I do think my daughter will enjoy this game since she has nothing to compare it to. So thanks for changing my mind about purchasing it-- she'll have a lovely back to school gift waiting for her next month :D

[@audreyscrapaloup]

I played all evening yesterday and like you the game delivered what I wanted from it. I never listen to critics because most are not into this type of game, so of course it will score poorly. I have yet to try the multiplayer mode. Looking forward to it.

[@RachelXKnight666]

The zero star reviews by users on metacritic are hilarious 😂😂

[@mymthegreyful]

yay ; y'all are in your new blankity blank home . Good on ya !!

[@retrokrazygaming1825]

Thank you for the very balanced review of this game. 😊 I’ve been thinking about getting it, but I wasn’t sure due to seeing many critical reviews about it. Upon watching your video, it kinda solidifies what I have previously seen people say about this game. I still would like to buy it, just for the single player exploration alone of just relaxing taking photos of fish. I do own the Wii version but never got around to playing it so I’m new to the series. Your views on this game pretty much reflected how I thought about it, so thank you for that. 😊 I think I’ll still buy it. 👍 It’s good to hear multiplayer on it is so good too!

[@cherrygummybear1132]

I agree that the story mode is beyond awful. Also I m a woman so I was happy to unlock the pink skin for my dive suit but I look like a dude in a pink dive suit! Lol! I really wanted to explore that frozen ocean longer too! Edited because I do enjoy the game and will spend tons of time playing. ❤

[@pamelaj791]

I'm a diver, so I will definitely be buying this game... but only when it goes on sale. Sometimes just a simple, cozy game is all I want so I'm glad to hear you describe it as that. Staying with the underwater theme.... Have you considered reviewing Subnautica?

[@NintenTalk]

I’ve been wanting to try out Subnautica now that I’ve been playing this!

[@Hope33787]

Honestly, I wouldn't say I like the story for exploration games, it makes me feel as though it takes away from the exploration by-yourself type thing. I do love collecting things in exploration games though. I think I'll pick this game up soon.

[@Lee-yo2kd]

Thank you for this review! I feel like this is the first one I’ve seen where the reviewer actually played the original games. I loooved them and was so disappointed to see that many of the og features were removed. I also have mixed feelings about the randomly generated maps- cool concept but I wish it were just a bonus feature and baseline gameplay had fixed maps you could return to repeatedly. Overall it seems like the game has no stakes which is sad as I’m big on story. I’ll get it eventually but probably when it goes on sale.

[@terrimay6171]

I'm still considering it. Had it for the Wii, wasn't impressed. Glad to hear that you liked the single player mode, that would be what I would be most interested in, the exploring aspect. Thanks for the review.

[@SadVIad]

It modestly deserves an 8/10. The reviews aren't reviewing the game. They are complaining about what the game doesn't do, not appreciatimg the game for exactly what it does do. This isn't a monster hunter game.

[@coke.707]

Thanks for the review! I have a question. In the online mode, is it possible to enter random rooms or is it necessary to have a code to play with other people?

[@NintenTalk]

This is actually a question I have because I have only joined rooms where someone has given me the code. But I do notice random divers so there must be a way!

[@coke.707]

@@NintenTalk Nice thanks for the reply :)

[@RachelXKnight666]

I’ve never had to have a code to play multiplayer. I just select to join a dive and it takes me to random dive

[@coke.707]

@@RachelXKnight666 Great thanks!!

[@RachelXKnight666]

@@coke.707 there are two options in the multiplayer section. One is to start a shared dive. The other is to join a shared dive. The starting a shared dive option drops you into a dive and then other divers join. The join a shared dive option is the one you had to put a code in for

[@nubberton1345]

I’m very disappointed that it’s more similar to the first Endless Ocean instead of Blue World. Blue world felt like a massive upgrade from the original and it is a disappointment seeing it venture in a different direction.

[@jennyslittletreasures2575]

I love this game.....I agree there are things the older games have which this one hasn't which I liked but I still love this one as well my favourite things to find is either whales or dolphins as they r my favourite animal

[@NintenTalk]

Love the whales in this game 🥰

[@ViraRiva]

i never played endless ocean so i have no previous game to compare to. everyone saying blue world is perfect compared to this i might pick that one up. i still want to play luminous though, it looks like a good game to play before bed but i will wait for the price to go down. $50 seems like a lot for what is offered.

[@moonkey537]

Maybe a mod can be made to have sharks and other dangerous creatures attack 😁

[@EmSwizzle]

Definitely agree on the story mode (and a lot of the other points you made haha). I remember one chapter where they showed a couple sharks, and intense music began to play. I thought we were going to have to swim away for our life, but no the sharks just swam away. Very anticlimactic and not as fun as it could be… Great game otherwise tho 😂😂

[@crankysourbill4689]

I've been enjoying the solo dives very much so. Makes for a nice mental break.

[@mixedbouquet1]

The least appealing aspect for me is the group swims. My Internet is very slow. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two EO games, so my excitement and anticipation for this game were very high. I personally am very disappointed in it. Had they not given it an Endless Ocean label, I think it would have been better because, for me, this is nothing like the first two games except for diving. No actual story, no NPC interaction, no creatures interaction. No private reef or aquarium if you liked those. No going on land to see and interact with the sea life on shore. There are SO many things missing, sadly most everything I loved about EO is gone.😢 There is no character creation..This one may be silly to some, but I want to choose my name and gender. I want to see what I look like without the diving mask. I wanna swim in a polka dot bikini, lol. Those things aside, I have been trying to pretend that this isn't an endless ocean game and enjoy it for what it is. Yet I still find myself disappointed. I want the same visual experience they showed in the trailers. I strongly dislike how all the creatures look blue and/or glowy until you scan them. Or someone else scans them in group dives. I want to swim and take in all the beautiful colors of the sea and all the life. I don't like seeing all blue things until I scan them to find out they are actually yellow, black and white, multi colored, etc. Instead, everything I approach, it's like "one fish two fish, blue fish... another blue fish". That's not the imagery the trailers portrayed. And I miss being able to feed and interact with them. I mean...How cute were the seals and manatees when they were petted in the previous games? I think the game is kind of okay if all you want to do is swim and explore or play with friends. That's just not what I needed from this game. I hope that they will remaster the first two games for the switch, but am not holding my breath.

[@NintenTalk]

I do wish they had you pick a masculine or genuine body type! I do miss the fish interaction 😭

[@melosa0mbrage801]

I am overworked and stressed af so a cozy underwater game like that is just perfect for those times

[@clapiotis]

One mistake in your video. The achievements are not tied to the Mystery Board. The Mystery Board reveals itself through the special coins you find in the ocean and sometimes when you do other things that I will not reveal here since the game is still new. Greetings from Athens, Greece.

[@kalbean24]

i like the fact that there’s no danger tbh , but i do miss petting the dolphins and having them follow me and having them as a partner basically .

[@jodiemcclure7854]

I bought this game and I've been enjoying it alot

[@AbigailLewis-ie7it]

Man. I really loved Blue World’s story with your team and your home base. Don’t think I’ll get it if it’s not like that…

[@huntersausageandredbeardsh2360]

I do appreciate your honesty about certain aspects of the game though.

[@ryanpierce5460]

I personally like the game. I'm fascinated with the ocean. It's like swimming in an aquarium. It's not a binge game. I can't spend hours with it but I do like it. I play it very casually.

[@Socksrule3032]

Would I like this game if I like collect-a-thon games? I love dave the diver for trying to collect all the fish, getting level 10 on all the recipes, etc. Also a big fan of the lego games like lego undercover if that helps.

[@M00nlightOfficial]

Pretty much. The series is all about recording different species and salvaging treasure.

[@kairi8882]

youll love this, this series is like that but relaxing (though i find also Lego games relaxing for example but u know what I mean)

[@IHopeUDance20]

I think it's a SOLID $50 game! The multiplayer alone makes it worth buying. I completelyyyyy agree with you about the lack of "dangerous creatures", especially because in the tutorial, they warn you to not swim too close to the fish. 🌟

[@t.d.tthedragontamer2764]

In my opinion i feel like it's going towards the DLC route to add more but i still LOVE this game and LOVE the series. If they do go into the dlc route i hope they add the surface areas like in blue world. Whatever they do with the game going foward i will still comeback to this game constantly. EDIT: One thing I forgot Is that if they do make a dlc I think they should bring back the aquarium.

[@sasamichan]

I had forgotten, you can' pe or feed fish. u you can make them ride on your back.

[@TimmyvsTommy]

Hearing that the story mode gets locked behind other modes is so wild, it’s usually the other way around haha

[@OscarHernandez-dj3yv]

I feel like endless ocean got a small budget for this game. Shame. But what they did put in there is quality

[@pacbilly]

The music at 3:19 sounds like a lounge version of Caroline, No.

[@aovoonthefarmsouthernillinois]

I bought this game, but I do not know how to navigate it. Do you have a video on navigating?

[@sladkru]

In the real life you have obviously time limit when scuba diving (your air) and in real life you shouldn't pet, touch, feed fish in the ocean. Those facts make the game more realistic.

[@elliestephenson4511]

Hi from the UK! I used to play both the older games on the Wii I actually recently replayed the second one just for funzies - and I had such a good time I loved it when I was younger! The story was soon good, the soundtrack was gorgeous Hayley Westenra and Celtic Women were well selected, I loved singing along Exploring the temples with my dolphin companions… and getting shitscarred when a goblin shark appeared 🤣 I might give it a go but when it’s cheaper but note paying £40 at the moment but still feel I might have to replay the old games to recover from the disappoint 🙈 😅

[@huntersausageandredbeardsh2360]

It would be nice to hear an accurate review of this. Sometimes us fanboys get really bias towards certain franchises. If we do that enough as nintendo fans, these companies will become complacent and we don't want that.

[@JsYTA]

No pointer/touch controls is baffling to me. Pointer Controls to interact with fish helped made those first two games stand out. Target locking onto fish just isnt a fun loop.

[@EpicPaul64]

I think a lot of people forget that rentals are still a thing, and this game is absolutely rental-worthy! I picked it up for a few days via GameFly, had a blast, but now I'm ready to send it back. Also, thank you for telling me what I missed out on. It does seem like the first Endless Ocean was a blast, but I'm not sure I would have liked the more dangerous parts of Blue World; this game was good for being relaxing and explorative, and in that sense, it's a masterpiece! I absolutely agree with you that the Story Mode is utter trash! Even Paper Mario: Color Splash had a better story than this...

[@meganlumbert3978]

I wanted the story mode so bad! Endless ocean blue world is, imo, the best game ever made and I was really looking forward to this one :(

[@AngelRevelation444]

I never heard of Endless Ocean until the game was announced for the Switch as I never owned a Wii before and thank goodness for that as I do not want to be a player that compares this game to the past. I prefer to focus on only what it offers which is a laid-back ocean exploration game that offers a unique relaxing experience. I feel like most people are not understanding that leaving the game to have unfair reviews. They want Subnautica in a non Subnautica game and that's not what this is. What this offers is a chill experience to discovering all kinds of fish and even underwater ships and temples without a survival mode. You explore at your own pace with "no worries for the rest of your days" because having no system to worry about such as running out of air is "our problem-free philosophy" that puts no time limit to your exploration. Well in a solo dive anyway. Even then it has nothing to do with low oxygen as it's the multiplayer that has the time limit but that doesn't bother me either. The point is for the "cozy gaming" experience it does offer it truly delivers!

[@ellaezzell]

Thank you for this review it's exactly what I was looking for!! I'm on a budget rn so I have to be picky about the games I buy haha

[@Beriothien007]

Though I understand why people were critical, as someone who became a diver because of the original endless ocean, I have a love for the series. I like the idea of having to know the fish before going on. You need to know the waters and what they could be like. Is this tqhe gold that the first 2 were? No, not even close. But, I still love it. It has flaws, but compared to other games that have come out, this is the gold in the poo-pile

[@TheRareRaptor]

The most important part of Endless Ocean was the realism and educational aspects of it. Cartoonizing some designs, opting to add "fight" mechanics, and the lack of good looking environments just ruin it. I don't want a randomly generated world in a game that's supposed to be about learning about our REAL world. It's a massive failure in my eyes to the franchise; I don't feel any wonder at all looking at it. Multiplayer is cool, but I think it'd be nice to have them port the old games to the switch instead.

[@Livin4Christ29]

Yeah 50 is a bit much for this game. Idk if I am gonna get it or not yet

[@bcharizard1]

I haven't bought it yet and I'm worried I won't like it. I really just need to unpack my wii and play endless ocean blue world because that's what I'm craving, it would just be easier to play on switch.

[@toolemanful]

Very nice relaxing game to chill with!! Im enjoying it

[@shminerva]

Where’s my boy Jean Eric😭 I need the crazy family trauma from blue world that throws me into like 3 different oceans and rivers to find pieces of a whistle

[@caitlinbarbery5260]

Ok so, I’ve been a fan of the endless ocean franchise for 14 years since I was 9 years old, and now I’m 23. First 2 games are absolute masterpieces. When I heard of luminous, I was thrilled for many many weeks. But then when I played it, I cried for over an hour because of disappointment. First thought was that I thought the company Arika did this to us to ditch us and leave its fans behind. And then my next conclusion was maybe they made a crappy game to make a better one. I was getting closer but it wasn’t quite that, or at least not all of the answer. And finally, tonight, I had a realization. After 6 months, I think I finally cracked the code as to why endless ocean luminous is so crappy. First, you must remember that the first two endless ocean games were created to function on the original Nintendo Wii. EO 1 was released on January 21, 2008. EO 2 was released on September 17, 2009. Video games like these that go in detail, usually take multiple years to develop, and the yearly release reveals that they previously worked on both projects way before they released them and ran tests on them. But, it seems like their original plan was to only include two endless ocean games. But, it could’ve been that the year after EO 2 was released, Arika saw how successful the two first games were, that the third installment became a project, the first two games were premeditated and sought out to release one year from each other, when the previous developments of those 2 games were completely unannounced and secretive. Therefore, the third installment became a backup plan if the first two games became successful. Hmm, that could mean something significant: It could definitely mean that after they released endless ocean 2, they already planned to make an endless ocean 3. Most likely what happened was, after they released endless ocean 2, as they were developing it, they were probably originally going to put it on the Nintendo Wii, but then 3 years later before they finished developing the third installment, the Wii got discontinued. So, they could’ve needed to restart a lot of their progress, and scrap together some of what they already had previously, and try to work with a new program. That’s also explains the new details of what the fish look like, how the fish move etc, because of a new program. Maybe it took 15 years to make because they needed to narrow a story down to something more boring and simple so that they don’t risk messing up a big story line to a new program (Nintendo switch) that they aren’t experienced with yet with games like that. Therefore, there is a high chance that endless ocean luminous is an experimental game more so than an official and long lasting game. Something to tide us over until they develop another endless ocean game since now they know what they are working with. With the original Nintendo Wii, yes it held data, but it ultimately required to insert a game disk, therefore the Wii was more flexible with data usage. But for the switch, it’s more sensitive to the reactions of graphics and data, and further need to clear data in order to fit in a new game. If they ultimately made luminous a high quality game and released it, there is also a high chance it would’ve taken up a lot of data. But now, there’s a chance they are trying to work with what they have. Another reason why I know this is only an experimental game, is because a lot of luminous is copied and pasted. Let me explain: in the 2 previous games, we had unique character personalities and qualities. In luminous, even though there are new names to few characters, the personality reflects blandly off of characters like GG (but less creative), and as for the Ai, that’s a cheap copy of when the characters originally reached out to talk to your character while you dive. And they copied and pasted repetitively of the EO 2 legendary creatures over using them (no longer treated as unique). And when they inserted the idea of multiplayers around the world, that’s to bring it back and make up for when Nintendo shut down multiplayer on the Wii. As for the storyline about the world coral, it’s a similar theme to chasing a dream, chasing something around the world (but in the same ocean). The veiled sea copies both themes of EO 1 & 2, it’s one ocean, but different water type fish and environments from ancient ruins, to river waters, to salt waters and ice cold waters. And the randomness of the underwater layout and lack of activity from the fish, also feel experimental. Kinda like with Xbox or the PS systems with early released games, except the switch doesn’t do those. So instead, it’s an experiment, until the next game is released. And lastly, maybe the game was rushed because they could be also working on an Endless ocean 4, to release it quicker. Endless ocean luminous is probably a bookmark, to the final stages of another endless ocean game.

[@claireakins1518]

Excited to try this game!

[@alexandramurphy-linzy6568]

I'm quietly hoping that this game does not perpetuate the idea that sharks are violent creatures. Give me the sea puppies that I know exist.

[@jillgalsterer9987]

For multi player mode, can you play with gamers you don't know?

[@SohiHien]

yes, random people will join your dive

[@adamdavis1737]

So as a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist. I work in physical therapy now so that didn't quite pan out but I still have an absolute love and fascination for the ocean and marine life. So basically anything that has to do with underwater exploration is always right up my alley. Endless Ocean 2 was one of the most enthralling games I ever played as such and when I heard that they were doing another one I was so excited. So there's a big part of me that is incredibly disappointed with this game. Because it strips away so much of what actually made the last one feel like not just a diving simulator or chilled out relaxed exploration game, but actually a video game with objectives and features and different modes of play. Instead it now is just swimming around and looking at fish. With so much of that interactivity stripped away On the other hand, despite the fact that I have some games in my library like Dark Souls or fighting games other games that demand some attention and offer challenge. I'm also very much the casual game I like games that have sandbox modes and offer that chill relaxing experience as well. And this definitely offers that while I am still not sold that multiplayer was the best direction for this franchise to go in, there is something light-hearted and enjoyable about being dropped into the ocean with everybody else and having some fun with stupid emotes while swimming around looking at fish. So I can't say that there's nothing to be found here. I think the procedural generation works fine enough, even though I'm left wondering if the game would be better if there were more handcrafted environments, at the very least you are still never seeing the same exact thing twice. Which works with me 1 hour time limit for each die even though I don't necessarily think I would have preferred that to be a gameplay mechanic either. So I'm left pretty conflicted I think there's a lot here that they could expand upon including multiplayer and how that works with overall gameplay. There are things that you could add to this game that make it really great and help it stand out from the rest of the series. But at the same time for what it offers right now it kind of feels a little bit like a tech demo on aging hardware that should be 20 to $25

[@NintenTalk]

I agree with a lot of this! I do think the charm has been stripped back a bit. I’m hoping the update events make this game even better. Still a pretty chill experience

[@adamdavis1737]

@@NintenTalk You have done the most comprehensive review of this game that I've seen so far. I think too many of them immediately focus on the negative. There is absolutely still a market that this game will appeal to out there. Despite how disappointed I am, I'm still that market. If it weren't for the fact that another game in the franchise had offered so much more to it, I would probably not feel so burnt. Play or like I said if this was just a cheaper game I would have definitely also had a different perception of it But the worst case scenario is this is indeed one of those games that is super chill to play in bed before turning in for the night.

[@SohiHien]

Honestly I hate the online play. I'm usre just playing with only friends would be good but with strangers? It sucks. It goes by so quickly, everyone seems to get the biometric points super fast and by the time I exit out of the cutscene for the creature spawning someone has scanned it and then I frantically try and fugure out where the heck the thing has spawned on the map because there is no marked point on the map like with solo dive of where it spawned so every time I can't find it before it despawns. Also I agree with the story mode, I can't believe there will be a cutscene locked behind scanning 2000 fish, which is just an annoying grind in solo dives to unlock another story mission. Why it wouldn't unlock an entire full chapter at a time instead of EACH CHAPTER MISSION is just wild. It turns the chill exploration of the game into a grind instead where I just swim around to find large schools of fish to scan over and over. Also having freshwater fish dumped into the ocean and all the rare creatures just randomly swimming in places just takes the fun away from it. Like Thanatos is just there, in every dive I've had so far.

[@RachelXKnight666]

Why does it matter who scans it when you all get credit for it?

[@SohiHien]

@@RachelXKnight666 It doesn't matter. I'm just saying it happens so fast I have no time to figure out where the special creature appeared because once it gets scanned it disappears from the map so I can't find it and see it myself and scan it for my encyclopedia before it despawns again. It makes it not fun.

[@hidicproductions4849]

Hm. Ok, that's a bummer. I loved finding stuff and sell it in the second part. And all those maps. The character customization with many different diving suit. The new maps look bland and empty. I mean, compare that with the aegais from the second part. I hope, that Nintendo will rerelease Blue World in HD or 4K on the Switch. Then I will think about buying this console. But not for this game. Because it doesn't look like something, I want Endless Ocean to be. I want a island and a table with books about fish. Not emotes. Not stickers. I want handcrafted maps. Not procedural generated empty sand plains. I want a compelling story. It doesn't need to be good. But decent. I want to hunt treasures. I want to enjoy the depths. Like the valca caste in the ciceros strait. Or the amazonas river. I hope, they will rerelease part 2 or give us a better game in a few years.

[@Narusasu98]

100% agreed

[@DawnGrimm]

I was going to buy this game at launch. After watching multiple reviews I decided not to for $50. I will, however, wait till it goes on sale and buy it then.

[@ningboch18]

A fair review, love how you present your game comments. I’m not into online playing mode, so the game is not for me.

[@yolandatanner1509]

I had that for the wii plus I love under water game