One of my biggest regrets from E3 this year was my inability to schedule a demo with Inti Creates for Luminous Avenger iX. After all, I’ve been the guy who has been championing Azure Striker Gunvolt on the oprainfall site pretty much since the beginning, and with good reason! And while my colleague Quentin did a great job of covering the game at E3, sometimes it takes a fanboy to really dive into the meat of a game. So let’s see how I enjoyed Luminous Avenger iX at PAX West 2019.
The first thing I noticed playing Luminous Avenger iX was the art. Sure, the art is also fantastic in every Inti Creates game, but the transition from 3DS to Switch is immediately noticeable. Everything is more lush, colorful and full of detail. That bump in hardware also translates to the combat, and while I wouldn’t say things were clunky at all in the Gunvolt games, things seem just a bit more fluid now. Copen is a rampaging beast, and it’s glorious fun blasting and dashing with the frenetic combat system. I also really appreciate that Inti took the fan complaints to heart and moved the dialogue to set points in the levels, instead of constantly occurring as you wander about. Luminous Avenger iX also uses cutscenes well to show the dialogue and emphasize powerful attacks.
I got a chance to play through two different levels in my demo. One had a more challenging stage and easier boss, and the other was the reverse. The first boss was some sort of monstrous puppeteer that summoned reddish pink weapons out of thin air, not unlike a twisted Green Lantern. He tried to dice me with his constructs, shoot me and even summoned a spiked ball and chain to ruin my day. He was tough, but not nearly as tough as the other boss, a twisted “artist” who looked like a crustacean and used explosives to devastating effect. The only reason I survived that fight was I was constantly charging my Bullits so I didn’t take damage when I was blown up.
Luminous Avenger iX plays wonderfully now, and I’m very excited to play the released game. After talking with my contact, I can also confirm the story will give some clarity to where it takes place in the Gunvolt timeline, though I couldn’t get any specifics out of him. All I know is this is the sort of game that keeps me playing videogames, and I’m excited to see where the story takes us fans. If you own a PS4, Switch or play on Steam, this is worth picking up later this month. If you’re still not convinced, stay tuned for when oprainfall’s eventual review coverage goes live.
