Take a Deep Dive Into ‘Endless Ocean Luminous’

“Cozy gaming” really had a moment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Spiritfarer, and Coffee Talk offered players a modicum of peace during those distinctly tumultuous times, and many of us discovered, even after things settled down a bit in the world at large, that those experiences were still there for us whenever we needed a quiet space to unwind.

Endless Ocean Luminous, available later this week on the Nintendo Switch, takes the cozy games phenomenon deep under the waves, putting players in the role of a scuba diver tasked with documenting marine life in the fictional (and often fantastical) Veiled Sea.

With the help of specialty AI Sera and snarky dive partner Daniel, your real mission is to save the World Coral, an underwater wonder that is being threatened by disease. To save it, you must… scan a bunch of fish and turtles and whales and stuff to collect… light?!

Yeah, the central premise, while refreshingly ecologically minded, is paper-thin. It’s sort of the lowest-level “do game-y things for the game because of game reasons” motivation, which stinks because, shallow story aside, the simple mechanics and unbridled spirit of exploration offered in Endless Ocean Luminous are fun and engaging.

Stretched across the barebones Story mode, a seemingly endless array of Solo Dives, and massive Shared Dives that can accommodate an impressive 30 players, Luminous excels when you are left to your own devices under the water, navigating caves and exploring shipwrecks—scanning sea life, discovering sunken treasures, and even uncovering the odd environmental puzzle.

Both the shorter objective-based Story chapters and the more flexible Dives are occasionally punctuated by new missions called in by Sera from your unseen but benevolent masters at headquarters, usually pertaining to the appearance of Unique Marine Life. While most of the 500 species that populate the Veiled Sea are real-world critters, the UML represents a cadre of rare, ancient, and typically massive beasts that really bump up the game’s wow factor.

Unfortunately, I often had trouble locating that cool new UML promptly due to the sheer size of the dive locations—which, while gridded alphanumerically, extend from the ocean’s surface deep into its darkened depths—and the vague amber light in the HUD that indicates an objective is nearby. That same ambivalence extends to the game’s achievement system and its quasi-mystical Mystery Board, an image obscured by 99 unlisted special achievements. More often than not, racking up a new achievement of any sort felt pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but what didn’t feel hollow was the fun I had along the way.

Luminous‘s controls are straightforward and intuitive. The L trigger scans all the sea life in and around your reticule, while ZL puts you in photo mode (complete with filters). The R trigger lets you swim upwards, ZR dives down, and the B button kicks your legs for speedier movement. And, occasionally wonky navigation aside, the game never makes it feel like a chore to get where you want to go.

On the contrary, swimming in Endless Ocean is genuinely enjoyable, with a unique look and enchanting sound design that helps pull you in. Increasing your research rank and earning coins for the game’s myriad dive suit color palettes, decorative stickers, and diver emotes feels both rewarding and organic. In fact, it’s only the anemic story structure that downgrades this from a must-play to an interesting diversion.

Often, I’d make my way quickly through a handful of chapters only to be met with an arbitrary roadblock—like “scan X number of creatures”—before I could continue. With this in mind, I’d start a Solo Dive, but after a few minutes of leisurely exploration, the steady thrill of encountering a new species, and occasionally listening to Sera read me an informative paragraph about my latest quarry, I’d forget all about my original charge in favor of just exploring the big blue at my own pace. 

As a chilled-out deep-sea exploration sim, Endless Ocean Luminous works well. As a unique multiplayer offering, it’s even better. The only place it truly falters is in its implementation of the traditional single-player narrative experience, which is a shame because its earnest celebration of the natural world really could have been something special.

Review materials provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. Why won’t you swim with me, giant sunfish?