LumenTale - Memories of Trey Review: Monster Catching Goodness | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: Steam (Steam Deck and PC)

Also on: Nintendo Switch 1/2

Price: $24.99

I didn’t grow up playing Pokemon. I was more into JRPGs, and when Pokemon made its debut in the U.S., I was in college and deep into Final Fantasy VII. I’ve since grown to love Pokemon, and it’s something I bond over with my son. But one thing I always felt was missing from Pokemon was the party element of a traditional RPG. Yes, I had a stable of Pokemon, but I could only battle with one at a time, which brought its own challenges for sure.

When LumenTale: Memories of Trey was announced, I was intrigued. I assumed it was going to be just another monster-collecting game, but it surprised me. Its DNA is much closer to the RPGs I grew up loving. The story, humor, crafting, and gameplay all lean heavily into classic JRPG design. Add in the monster-collecting element, and it’s one of the reasons this has become one of my favorite recent releases.

One of the key features in LumenTale is its narrative, which resembles many of the JRPGs I grew up loving. After a brief introduction to the history of Talea, the story opens with a series of flashback scenes that don’t make much sense at first. That’s okay, though, as it quickly becomes clear that Trey, the protagonist, has lost their memory.

Trey is discovered in the woods by Ales, whose uncle, Kapan, is some sort of inventor. The next scene caught me completely off guard. Initially, I thought my Steam Deck, which is where I played most of the game, had crashed. A reboot sequence starts, followed by a series of personality questions. It turns out Trey is a cyborg, and Kapan is fascinated by the technology that makes Trey tick.

The game unfolds much like I’d expect a JRPG to. I join the Lumen, the guardians and wielders of Amicon, the monsters of Talea. I meet the CEO of a powerful corporation and immediately start questioning their motives (I’ve seen this one play out before). I take on rebels fighting against that same corporate entity (I’ve seen this one play out before too). There’s plenty of comedy sprinkled throughout as well. And that’s why I love LumenTale. It unapologetically leans into the JRPG storytelling beats that I enjoy.

There are a few things the gameplay incorporates that make LumenTale feel different from Pokemon, too. First off, there’s crafting, and it’s a surprisingly important part of the game. I ran out of bilia, the game’s version of Poke Balls, rather quickly, but collecting the ingredients needed to craft more is always an option. The game encourages me to explore and gather resources, and exploration is an essential part of LumenTale. Besides finding ingredients for crafting, I can also discover additional bilia and other useful items scattered throughout the world.

LumenTale offers two different ways to catch Amicon. The traditional method, which most Pokemon players will be familiar with, involves battling the creatures, lowering their health, and then throwing a bilia. The other method, and arguably the more challenging one, is to catch them directly in the overworld by throwing my Holoken, a yo-yo-like Amicon-catching device, at the monsters.

Doing so triggers a quick-time event, and if I fail to enter the correct sequence, not only do I miss the catch, but I lose a bilia as well. Personally, I found myself relying on the traditional battle method most of the time, but there are also side quests that require me to catch a certain number of the same Amicon. Since their levels were often much lower than my team's, one hit would wipe them out. That meant I was forced to use the Holoken and catch them through the quick-time event instead.

Once I catch an Amicon, I can either add it to my team or keep it in the Anispace, a place where I can store and train these creatures.

The battles are much closer to a traditional JRPG as well. Instead of having just one creature out at a time, I can field a party of up to four Amicon in turn-based combat. The game introduces a clever mechanic here: the entire party shares a pool of action points. Every ability consumes action points, some more than others, and if I’m not careful, I can easily run out before everyone has a chance to act.

I’m also encouraged to scan opposing Amicon, as it reveals their weaknesses, but it comes at the cost of a valuable turn. However, hitting an enemy with an ability they’re weak against earns me a star, and collecting four stars lets me perform an action for free. It’s a neat risk/reward system, and I found myself using the scan feature more often than I do in most RPGs because the chance to earn an extra attack was too good to pass up.

One thing I didn’t expect was how difficult the boss battles would be. The second boss I faced absolutely slaughtered my entire party of Amicon, and I had to grind some levels before I could handle the amount of damage it was dishing out. I never got that from Pokemon games, so it was a rude awakening, but a welcome one, when I realized this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.

Final Grade: A-

LumenTale: Memories of Trey is a perfect game for players who love Pokemon but are looking for more traditional JRPG elements in their games. The game is challenging, but not overly so. It strikes the right balance between difficulty and fun. If you're looking for a monster-collecting game with a deep story, LumenTale: Memories of Trey should be part of your library.

Review code provided by Team17 and Press Engine