Endless Ocean Luminous Metacritic Score Revealed for New Nintendo Switch Exclusive

This week, Endless Ocean Luminous will release on Nintendo Switch. The game marks the first new entry in the series since 2009, so it’s been quite a while since fans have had something to celebrate. Unfortunately, early reviews for the game have come out, and it seems the latest from Arika leaves something to be desired. As of this writing, Endless Ocean Luminous has a Metacritic score of 64. That’s not terrible; in fact, Metacritic ranks that as “Mixed or Average.” However, it’s considerably lower than a lot of other Nintendo published games, and that could be a dealbreaker for some Switch owners. 

Some of the reviewers for Endless Ocean Luminous seemed to enjoy their time with the game a lot more than others. On the higher end of the spectrum, God is a Geek awarded the game a score of 8 out of 10, calling it “a gorgeous adventure that offers a huge amount of exploratory time underwater.” However, IGN gave the game a 4 out of 10, calling it “endlessly frustrating.” Clearly, the game is not going to be for everyone, and it will be interesting to see how players react when the game is made available to the public. 

The original Endless Ocean was released in 2007 on the Nintendo Wii. It’s worth noting that the first game wasn’t exactly well-received either, with outlets like Eurogamer awarding it a 6 out of 10, and GamePro went even lower with a dismal score of 1.25 out of 5. That didn’t stop the game from garnering a following, or launching a series for Nintendo.

Endless Ocean Luminous Release Date

Ocean enthusiasts won’t have to wait long to judge the game for themselves, as Endless Ocean Luminous will be released on May 2nd. The game is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and is developed by Arika, the same studio responsible for the first two series entries. While Nintendo owns the Endless Ocean series, Arika is an independent studio, and has worked alongside several major Japanese publishers, including Konami and Square Enix. On Switch, Arika is responsible for some of Nintendo Switch Online’s free-to-play battle royale games, including Tetris 99, and the now delisted Super Mario Bros. 35. 

Nintendo Exclusives After Endless Ocean Luminous 

If these reviews for Endless Ocean Luminous are a dealbreaker for you, there are some other exciting exclusives coming to Nintendo Switch over the next three months. May will also see the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; reviews aren’t out yet, but readers can find our hands-on impressions of the game right here. June will see Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD from Nintendo, while Sega will be releasing Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble exclusively on Switch. Then in July, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate will be launching as a timed console exclusive. The Apple Arcade version of Splintered Fate was very well-received, so fans of the TMNT might want to keep an eye on that one! 

Are you excited to check out Endless Ocean Luminous? Will these reviews stop you from trying the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!