First thing’s first: If you’re going to play “Lumines Arise,” there is one setting you need to change before you do anything else. Go into the menu, and change the vibration from “Normal” to “Strong.” And if that doesn’t sound appealing to you, I’d recommend turning off the game, and playing something else. You need to feel the pulse, pal.

This music puzzler started out as a PSP release over two decades ago, and it’s seen numerous iterations leading up to “Arise.” There’s more particles and polygons flying around, for sure, but the core gameplay remains the same. You’re maneuvering bi-colored blocks of four dots to make matches on the board as a sweeping line moves laterally to clear the board of joined dots.

The scenery is vivid and the themes are wild, but that killer PSP game shines through no matter what. The “Journey” mode that takes you through each of the levels is an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, but your enjoyment depends strongly on how much you like “Lumines.”

Tetsuya Mizuguchi has long been associated with these kinds of overwhelming assaults on the senses. “Space Channel 5” and “Rez” on the Dreamcast, “Lumines” and “Meteos” on the mid-2000s handhelds, and the glorious “Tetris Effect” on more modern platforms all have Mizuguchi’s fingerprints on them. There’s a certain flair that’s hard to deny in spite of a wide range of aesthetic choices — sometimes even in the same game.

I have a habit of booting up the remastered version of the original “Lumines” when I need to zone out on the couch, so I can confidently say that this is a strong entry in a series I’m already invested in.

The main issue with “Arise” comes from the direct comparison to “Tetris Effect.” Not only is “Tetris” a better game all around, but the benefit was more obvious for the stoic Soviet falling block game once it was bathed in that Mizuguchi maximalism. It’s a very unique way to play “Tetris,” but “Arise” is just a logical progression for “Lumines.”

If you were hoping to have your mind completely blown, I think you’ll leave slightly disappointed. There’s a lot to love, but I can’t shake the feeling that this suffers from going back to the well.

With that said, I was fully delighted by the variety of levels. From the creepy terminator vibes of “Automaton Digits” to the trippy licks in “Chameleon Groove” to the airy joy of “Hope Blooms,” there is no possible way that you won’t find something that tickles your fancy.

Readability suffers in some stages when the dots are too similar in visual weight and color, but you could certainly argue that it’s a purposeful choice to impact difficulty. Even at it’s worst, it’s only a minor issue. The speed is a much bigger cause of early failure for yours truly.

It’s not shooting to the top of my end-of-year list, but as soon as I’m done writing this sentence, I’m going back to play more. That should tell you all you need know.

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“Lumines Arise” is available now on PS5 and PC.

Image credit: “Lumines Arise,” Enhance Games