Item: Lunarium
Rating: 4.5
Author: Gamohol

Lunarium grabbed me before I even touched a controller. The hand-drawn art carries a wistful, faded-kingdom melancholy that sets the tone immediately, and following Ave and Lune through the wreckage of their dying world gives that atmosphere somewhere to live rather than just sitting in the background.

Lunarium Combat Review: Parrying, Poise, and Punishing Encounters

This is where the game earns its stripes. Every enemy has a poise meter, and landing well-timed parries or poise-breaking hits eventually staggers them wide open. The telegraphing on enemy attacks is consistently clear, which made even brutal encounters feel like puzzles I could actually solve rather than reflex checks I’d fail into oblivion.

The parry window is tighter than some Souls-inspired games allow, so I couldn’t just mash my way through it. I had to commit to a read and live with the consequences, and dashing offered a safer but less rewarding alternative when I wasn’t confident in the timing. Boss fights hit hard without ever feeling like the difficulty was inflated for its own sake.

Lunarium Gameplay: Exploration, Progression, and Build Variety

The isometric view opened the world up nicely, letting me scope out fights before committing to them, and running from a fight I wasn’t ready for felt like a legitimate strategy rather than a failure state. Exploration constantly rewarded curiosity, with hidden paths and environmental puzzles woven into areas that already looked stunning on their own.

The Cloak and Embroidery systems gave me real room to shape how Ave fought, and I found myself tweaking loadouts far more than I expected to going in.

Lunarium Review: Story and Technical Issues

The story leans on familiar beats and never quite escapes them, though the bond between Ave and Lune carried enough weight to keep me invested regardless.

My bigger issue was technical. I ran into UI hiccups, some unfinished-feeling text, and a handful of bugs that occasionally pulled me out of otherwise tense moments. None of it was severe enough to stop me from finishing, but it was noticeable often enough that it’s worth setting expectations going in, especially if you’re picking this up close to launch rather than after a few patches.

Lunarium Final Verdict: A Strong Debut With Some Rough Edges

Lunarium is a genuinely impressive debut wrapped around a few rough edges that keep it from fully closing the gap with its inspirations. The combat system alone is worth the price of admission, and the world design rewards the kind of exploration that makes an ARPG worth sinking real hours into. I’d recommend it without hesitation to anyone who doesn’t mind a little jank standing between them and a great time.

STREAMER SCORE

Performance
Streamability
Audience Engagement
Replayability

4.5

Summary

Lunarium is a striking Souls-inspired ARPG with precise parry-focused combat, rewarding exploration, and flexible character customization. Its familiar story and technical rough edges hold it back slightly, but the strength of its combat and world design make this an impressive debut.