Lumino City on Google Play Pass uses hand-crafted worlds to create a whimsical puzzle game

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I love to game, although I don’t get the time I used to get to devote myself to anything new for long periods of time. Due to that, I’ve been looking at alternatives in mobile games, so I can pick up little snippets when I get a minute to chill out.

I recently subscribed to the Google Play Pass for the same reason, and the first game it suggested to me was Lumino City. I don’t know how I missed this charming puzzle game when it won prestigious awards back in 2015, as the hand-crafted environments are simply breathtaking.

Lumino City is a mobile game with hand-crafted environments

Yes, I said hand-crafted. Not coded, not drawn, hand-crafted. Clearly taking design cues from ’70 and ’80s classic kid shows like The Magic Roundabout, everything in Lumino City has been hand-made, out of cardboard, paper, small lights, and glue – lots and lots of glue. That was then painstakingly filmed, and the game characters digitally added.

Image: State of Play Games

See the crazy number of hours that process must have taken? That’s the same scene in the game, the market, in both pre-production building stage and in the finished game. Totally deserving of the Artistic Achievement award it won at the 2015 BAFTAs. To do all that physically is insane, with some of the world models being higher than the people working on them.

I love this stuff, the meshing of the physical and digital to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Go play Lumino City if you haven’t already. If you have, go play it again and marvel at the craftsmanship involved – State of Play Games will appreciate it.

What do you think? Did you ever play Lumino City? Plan on it now? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.