No
Planet Laika isn't a game for everyone, but it's a truly one of a kind experience; there is honestly speaking, nothing like it. It's a psychedelic deep dive into child abuse, suicide, the ugliness of humanity and so much more.
I cannot claim to understand what a good half of this story was about. I will have questions about this game for the rest of my life, and I will likely never get answers to them. Maybe, at the end of the day, there are none. Maybe the answers are exactly what you want them to be.
What I do believe -- firmly -- is that this game was someone writing about their pain in the only way they knew how. And I thank them for that, because their pain resonated with me in turn.
I cannot claim to understand what a good half of this story was about. I will have questions about this game for the rest of my life, and I will likely never get answers to them. Maybe, at the end of the day, there are none. Maybe the answers are exactly what you want them to be.
What I do believe -- firmly -- is that this game was someone writing about their pain in the only way they knew how. And I thank them for that, because their pain resonated with me in turn.
This one was extremely bizarre and I'm not sure it had a coherent point to make but the battle mode was very enjoyable and unlike anything I've experienced in any other game.
Planet Laika has inspired lofty trains of thought this past week regarding the transient nature of daily life, the miraculous circumstances that lead to a pair of people meeting each other, and how easily trauma can take away everything from you. while the vehicle it chooses is as fantastical as "dog people in space", between the nonsensical eccentricities of Mars' colony dwellers are heart-stopping moments of clarity through which Laika communicates its core ethos.
while there is no regaining lost time, you are not a slave to the events which brought you here today. while there might exist a darkness in you that cannot be illuminated, living alongside it and accepting it is possible. you are not leaves that fall at autumn's beckon. you must will yourself to fall.
look, it's snowing. merry christmas.
while there is no regaining lost time, you are not a slave to the events which brought you here today. while there might exist a darkness in you that cannot be illuminated, living alongside it and accepting it is possible. you are not leaves that fall at autumn's beckon. you must will yourself to fall.
look, it's snowing. merry christmas.
Playing this on my new anbernic handheld, which is very enjoyable. Obviously this is a very special game, and the art style is very appealing to me. It's unexpectedly very heady and emotional, and I'll probably keep picking it up slowly for a while.
i wish i was playing this at christmastime
Abuso, suicídio, infanticídio e assassinato são temas que esse jogo aborda, alguns de maneira mais direta e/ou polida que outras, mas resumindo: esse é um jogo sobre culpa e traumas.
Planet Laika não tem medo de ser confuso, bizarro e grotesco quando quer, e ainda bem, pois ele é incrível assim. Não sei nem mais o que falar, e talvez seja melhor assim, porque o melhor é ir atrás e jogar, para se perder, conhecer os personagens e suas falhas, e presenciar eventos bizarros, mas que tem significado e passam a sensação necessária para entender, ao menos em partes, o que os temas abordados são.
Planet Laika não tem medo de ser confuso, bizarro e grotesco quando quer, e ainda bem, pois ele é incrível assim. Não sei nem mais o que falar, e talvez seja melhor assim, porque o melhor é ir atrás e jogar, para se perder, conhecer os personagens e suas falhas, e presenciar eventos bizarros, mas que tem significado e passam a sensação necessária para entender, ao menos em partes, o que os temas abordados são.
The game made me feel like my eyeballs were going to burst out of my body at all times. Partially from it being hilarious, partially from confused and amazed at the same time, partially because I miraculously understood what was happening while also screaming internally "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING".
I want to write a book on how I feel about this game. For now, I'll say you NEED to play it. There is literally nothing like this game and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Actually the most underrated game of all time seriously for real.
I want to write a book on how I feel about this game. For now, I'll say you NEED to play it. There is literally nothing like this game and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Actually the most underrated game of all time seriously for real.
The game was blatantly not what it was supposed to be and many thing are just there but this game was very special either way. I don't know what to make of this game either but I won't forget it anytime soon.
weirdest shit ive played
i'll say outright that planet laika is a game i love in spite of itself. it's a game that's pretty regularly occupied my thoughts since i played it a few months ago in a single sick-day off work, both for the extremely profound moments of originality, thematic depth, and oddball enthusiasm, and also lamenting some of its clearly underbaked attributes that keep it pretty safely outside of 'masterpiece' territory. planet laika is a game i love more than my score may reflect; on a note of personal favoritism, it probably lands somewhere in my top 30 or so video games, but it's an obtuse mess that speeds down the tracks so passionately and so hard that by the time you're booted off the ride you're left wondering if this was a full game or a 10-hour proof of concept for an unmitigated masterpiece.
on paper, this game is tailored to my tastes in art pretty perfectly. you've got quintet's fingerprints pretty noticably all over sections of this game, you've got jung and freud pollock-ed all across the manuscript, the likes of andrei tarkovsky nearly shot-for-shot layed over the imagery and plot on such an undeniable level i couldn't help but return to 'solaris' and 'mirror' (my personal favorite of his) shortly after my playthrough, and of COURSE you've got all the judaic lorebuilding i could ask for this side of xenogears, with hints of majora's mask, mother 64, and moon all over the work at large. so WHY is this thing not a damn masterpiece? that's what i wanted to know too!
laika's issues boil down to two pretty major faults: it's far too short to stick the landings its passionate plot and themes demand, and the gameplay and plot progression is far, far too obtuse for its own good. granted, i played this with a fan translation - though if i'd really wanted to, i suppose my novice japanese would've resulted in at least equal amounts of confusion - and actually spoke to the translator about some of my problems with the game. from what i can tell from both japanese and english form-goers that arhcived their playthroughs of the japanese title over the years, this isn't the translation's fault. the game emphasizes communication with all of its colorful cast, but sometimes the strings between one plot point or character beat to the next boil down to lucky guesses. i'd mark this up as a similar situation to moon; a game that demands supplementary reading material, though in laika's place this doesn't yet exist, that might help prod lost players in the right direction.
as far as the rushed elements of the story, i'd like to keep things relatively spoiler-free, so i'll keep this brief. many uses of religious or philosophical imagery or concepts are SUPER creative and clearly there out of a passion for the topics, but many of these ideas don't feel supplemented or necessary or really even earned in some cases. i think if this game had another 5 to 10 hours, maybe around the length of a first chrono trigger playthrough, to iron this out, we'd have the masterpiece i so wanted this game to be. as it stands, i think terranigma remains the quintet game that delivers on the things it wants to say with these similar ideas the strongest.
as it stands, planet laika is a game i'd recommend any arthouse enthusiast, any curious party with a love for this era of gaming; i think it's a hair short of a masterpiece, but it remains a deeply unnerving, wildly creative, and harrowing experience you're not likely to wipe the psychedelic trail of slime it leaves on your brain away any time soon.
on paper, this game is tailored to my tastes in art pretty perfectly. you've got quintet's fingerprints pretty noticably all over sections of this game, you've got jung and freud pollock-ed all across the manuscript, the likes of andrei tarkovsky nearly shot-for-shot layed over the imagery and plot on such an undeniable level i couldn't help but return to 'solaris' and 'mirror' (my personal favorite of his) shortly after my playthrough, and of COURSE you've got all the judaic lorebuilding i could ask for this side of xenogears, with hints of majora's mask, mother 64, and moon all over the work at large. so WHY is this thing not a damn masterpiece? that's what i wanted to know too!
laika's issues boil down to two pretty major faults: it's far too short to stick the landings its passionate plot and themes demand, and the gameplay and plot progression is far, far too obtuse for its own good. granted, i played this with a fan translation - though if i'd really wanted to, i suppose my novice japanese would've resulted in at least equal amounts of confusion - and actually spoke to the translator about some of my problems with the game. from what i can tell from both japanese and english form-goers that arhcived their playthroughs of the japanese title over the years, this isn't the translation's fault. the game emphasizes communication with all of its colorful cast, but sometimes the strings between one plot point or character beat to the next boil down to lucky guesses. i'd mark this up as a similar situation to moon; a game that demands supplementary reading material, though in laika's place this doesn't yet exist, that might help prod lost players in the right direction.
as far as the rushed elements of the story, i'd like to keep things relatively spoiler-free, so i'll keep this brief. many uses of religious or philosophical imagery or concepts are SUPER creative and clearly there out of a passion for the topics, but many of these ideas don't feel supplemented or necessary or really even earned in some cases. i think if this game had another 5 to 10 hours, maybe around the length of a first chrono trigger playthrough, to iron this out, we'd have the masterpiece i so wanted this game to be. as it stands, i think terranigma remains the quintet game that delivers on the things it wants to say with these similar ideas the strongest.
as it stands, planet laika is a game i'd recommend any arthouse enthusiast, any curious party with a love for this era of gaming; i think it's a hair short of a masterpiece, but it remains a deeply unnerving, wildly creative, and harrowing experience you're not likely to wipe the psychedelic trail of slime it leaves on your brain away any time soon.
not really sure what to say about planet laika yet. maybe it's best to say nothing other than that you really should play this if you're into weird rpgs. the story is obtuse, but pretty intense, in the same way movies like eraserhead or stalker are. atmosphere is on point, the music is amazing, everything just falls into place for this game.
i don't think i've ever played a game as unique and wild as this one. again, if you're into psychological stuff, like lynch's or tarkovsky's work for example, or just love late 90's prerendered graphics, this one is for you.
huge thanks to the fan translation team btw. i wouldn't have even known this game existed without them.
i don't think i've ever played a game as unique and wild as this one. again, if you're into psychological stuff, like lynch's or tarkovsky's work for example, or just love late 90's prerendered graphics, this one is for you.
huge thanks to the fan translation team btw. i wouldn't have even known this game existed without them.
Planet laika, fue un titulo exclusivo de japon desarollado por Quintet, conocidos mayormente con títulos como Actraiser y la saga Heaven and the earth(soul blazer,illusion of gaia y terranigma),en conjunto con zeque, otra desarrolladora conocidos mayormente por kowloon's gate,un juego de psx que tampoco salió de Japón pero se gano un estatus de culto y eventualmente esta traducido al ingles en la PSVR, la verdad desearía saber mas sobre el desarrollo o como llegaron a la conclusión para que este juego saliera y tocara temas que pueden ser polémicos y para nada explícitos (y mas aun implicando que muchos otros títulos de estos años que intentan alcanzar dichos temas alardean que tienen un equipo profesional sobre el tema) ,yendo directo al grano
vayamos por lo mas básico, la PREMISA.
Luego de que un equipo de exploración ,comandados por Galil, fueran al planeta que una vez fue colonizado, Marte, cual dicho planeta fue abandonado a su suerte con algunos de sus refugiados debido a los altos niveles de radiación que empezaron a emanar en el planeta. Volviendo con el equipo, tenían como objetivo investigar dicho problema, pero eventualmente se pierde todo contacto con ellos y luego de varios años mas tarde ,llega un mensaje de Galil con las siguiente palabras ´´YO SOY LA LUZ Y JUSTICIA HACIA LA VERDAD´´ y luego corta. Ahora se nos ha dado la misión de búsqueda y rescate a Galil , con nuestro equipo ,el capitán Tatler, el guía Noon, y la científica April, mientras que nosotros llevamos el apodo de Laika, aunque también nos dan la opción ponernos un nombre propio, pero obligatoriamente se le agregara al final el ´´-nov´´ siendo el primer indicio de donde vinimos; volviendo con el equipo, solo quieren acabar con el trabajo rápido y sin demora mencionando que le tienen un asco al planeta rojo por las razones ya mencionadas pero ni bien entremos a la atmosfera de marte comenzara el CAOS que nos llevara a conocer mas a fondo a la tripulación y el peso que carga cada uno.
Iré directo al grano, todo lo que suceda en el transcurso del juego después del aterrizaje hay que agarrarlos con muchas pinzas y no ser tomado de manera literal por que mas allá de que las conversaciones parezcan que no tienen sentido incluso, el juego te lo deja muy a la interpretación la si realmente esta pasando esto o es solo un sueño compartido, etc.
el mayor tema central manejado en este juego es el quiebre que sufren cada personaje, pueden ser presentados como la obsesión, el abuso, sentir por encima del mas débil , la absoluta belleza, etc. teniendo en su mayoría un pasado que los arrastro a a dicha situación y creando a la larga nuevas identidades para ocultar lo roto que están y sentirse menos rotos a los ojos del mundo siendo como consecuencia de que alguna de estas personalidades se vuelven mas fuerte que el ser original
la verdad no quiero hablar de la historia ,porque es algo que uno debe experimentar por su cuenta, tanto los giros de trama y como los mismos se siente bien relacionados y expanden el mensaje que trasmite a uno mucho mas profundo de lo que llegue a pensar a antes de mitad de juego
En cuanto a GAMEPLAY , tiene una estructura tirando mas a aventura grafica a algunos toques de ´´acción´´ por así decirlo, ya que estaremos yendo por varias zonas hablando con la diferentes npcs para que pueda avanzar la trama, algo mas, es que en el inicio se nos da acceso a 3 personalidades ,ya que nuestro MC sufre de una enfermedad , aunque cada personalidad a excepción de uno de ellos, lo puedes utilizar para conseguir objetos clavados en paredes, mientras que los otros 2 son muy situacionales ,o son para que avance la trama o para encontrar algunas escenas extras de los mismos, la forma en que se activan dichas personalidades es dependiendo con que tipo de npcs PERTENECIENTE a marte hables ,ya que los mismos se encuentran con tanta radiación, tendrán un efecto en ti presentado en los colores amarillo, rojo y azul, pero cuidado que si te excedes lleva a una escena donde te hacen una pregunta ambigua(cambia dependiendo de la personalidad con la que te excediste) y un game over...... otro punto que sucederá cuando activemos unas de las personalidades fuera de la colonia, es que empezaran a aparecer enemigos ,llamados como Phases, y tendremos que luchar con ellos y el combate es .................curioso, como un ping pong por así decirlo, tendremos una barrera del tamaño de un punto, que representa nuestra mente , estará subiendo y bajando repetidamente, nosotros podremos mover la barrera hacia el enemigo con una velocidad moderada o poner la barrera en la posición inicial al instante , el enemigo lanzara varias esferas contra nosotros y cuando la barrera las choque, causara un efecto rebote y se dirigirá hacia el enemigo pero se tiene que tener en cuenta el tamaño de las esferas, mientras mas grandes ,mas esferas soportara en camino al enemigo.
y esto nos lleva a la MUSICA , yo poco hablo de la música en si porque la mayoría de ellas o son buenas que entran bien en el ambiente o son enérgicas y llenas de vida, etc todo siguiendo un patrón fácil de ver ,lo cual no es malo en absoluto ; pero el soundtrack de planet laika se aleja de todo eso ,con excepción de la Colonia y un par de temas mas ,donde su ost deriva mas a Jazz grave dándonos a entender que esa zona esta en su punto mas bajo, todo lo demás solo causara incomodidad, se utilizan cosas como la acapella ,sonidos secos, midis llanos, llantos ,ecos, tarareos sin un ritmo, etc todo con el propósito de demostrarnos en que el lugar que estamos va mas allá de solo lo desconocido ,yendo de lleno a lo retorcido ,lo enfermizo ,un lugar donde no debemos estar, que solo queremos que acabe, eso me trasmitió su OST en general.
Planet laika no tiene pelos en la lengua en lanzar todo lo mórbido y repugnante que puede llegar a ser ,mostrándonos tanto textualmente como por escenas in game como cgi, mas aun que su duracion es de solo 10 horas, no esperes que el juego tenga sentido por la información que suelta, si no como tu percibes dicha información y sacas tu propia interpretación de la misma, que tanto puede diferir al pasar el tiempo, como dicho por el propio narrador de la historia ´´esta seguro que sos vos que aun tienes el control sobre ti mismo y tus pensamientos?´´ ´´esa es una pregunta tan simple que la humanidad jamás llegara a entender´´
Quintet hizo mi juego fav donde luchar por la vida y ver el planeta crecer lo puede valer ,incluso si la misma es fácil de corromper con facilidad por las nuevas eras. incluso si la muerte es el precio que debemos pagar para ello pero al menos dejaremos un legado que vivirá en el futuro ; en planet laika, su mensaje deriva mas a la redención sobre todos nuestros pecados tanto en vida como en el lecho de muerte, dé como aun como aun nos queda tiempo para detenernos y empezar de 0 ,lamentablemente en planet laika nos destaca mas las consecuencias cuando ya es demasiado tarde
vayamos por lo mas básico, la PREMISA.
Luego de que un equipo de exploración ,comandados por Galil, fueran al planeta que una vez fue colonizado, Marte, cual dicho planeta fue abandonado a su suerte con algunos de sus refugiados debido a los altos niveles de radiación que empezaron a emanar en el planeta. Volviendo con el equipo, tenían como objetivo investigar dicho problema, pero eventualmente se pierde todo contacto con ellos y luego de varios años mas tarde ,llega un mensaje de Galil con las siguiente palabras ´´YO SOY LA LUZ Y JUSTICIA HACIA LA VERDAD´´ y luego corta. Ahora se nos ha dado la misión de búsqueda y rescate a Galil , con nuestro equipo ,el capitán Tatler, el guía Noon, y la científica April, mientras que nosotros llevamos el apodo de Laika, aunque también nos dan la opción ponernos un nombre propio, pero obligatoriamente se le agregara al final el ´´-nov´´ siendo el primer indicio de donde vinimos; volviendo con el equipo, solo quieren acabar con el trabajo rápido y sin demora mencionando que le tienen un asco al planeta rojo por las razones ya mencionadas pero ni bien entremos a la atmosfera de marte comenzara el CAOS que nos llevara a conocer mas a fondo a la tripulación y el peso que carga cada uno.
Iré directo al grano, todo lo que suceda en el transcurso del juego después del aterrizaje hay que agarrarlos con muchas pinzas y no ser tomado de manera literal por que mas allá de que las conversaciones parezcan que no tienen sentido incluso, el juego te lo deja muy a la interpretación la si realmente esta pasando esto o es solo un sueño compartido, etc.
el mayor tema central manejado en este juego es el quiebre que sufren cada personaje, pueden ser presentados como la obsesión, el abuso, sentir por encima del mas débil , la absoluta belleza, etc. teniendo en su mayoría un pasado que los arrastro a a dicha situación y creando a la larga nuevas identidades para ocultar lo roto que están y sentirse menos rotos a los ojos del mundo siendo como consecuencia de que alguna de estas personalidades se vuelven mas fuerte que el ser original
la verdad no quiero hablar de la historia ,porque es algo que uno debe experimentar por su cuenta, tanto los giros de trama y como los mismos se siente bien relacionados y expanden el mensaje que trasmite a uno mucho mas profundo de lo que llegue a pensar a antes de mitad de juego
En cuanto a GAMEPLAY , tiene una estructura tirando mas a aventura grafica a algunos toques de ´´acción´´ por así decirlo, ya que estaremos yendo por varias zonas hablando con la diferentes npcs para que pueda avanzar la trama, algo mas, es que en el inicio se nos da acceso a 3 personalidades ,ya que nuestro MC sufre de una enfermedad , aunque cada personalidad a excepción de uno de ellos, lo puedes utilizar para conseguir objetos clavados en paredes, mientras que los otros 2 son muy situacionales ,o son para que avance la trama o para encontrar algunas escenas extras de los mismos, la forma en que se activan dichas personalidades es dependiendo con que tipo de npcs PERTENECIENTE a marte hables ,ya que los mismos se encuentran con tanta radiación, tendrán un efecto en ti presentado en los colores amarillo, rojo y azul, pero cuidado que si te excedes lleva a una escena donde te hacen una pregunta ambigua(cambia dependiendo de la personalidad con la que te excediste) y un game over...... otro punto que sucederá cuando activemos unas de las personalidades fuera de la colonia, es que empezaran a aparecer enemigos ,llamados como Phases, y tendremos que luchar con ellos y el combate es .................curioso, como un ping pong por así decirlo, tendremos una barrera del tamaño de un punto, que representa nuestra mente , estará subiendo y bajando repetidamente, nosotros podremos mover la barrera hacia el enemigo con una velocidad moderada o poner la barrera en la posición inicial al instante , el enemigo lanzara varias esferas contra nosotros y cuando la barrera las choque, causara un efecto rebote y se dirigirá hacia el enemigo pero se tiene que tener en cuenta el tamaño de las esferas, mientras mas grandes ,mas esferas soportara en camino al enemigo.
y esto nos lleva a la MUSICA , yo poco hablo de la música en si porque la mayoría de ellas o son buenas que entran bien en el ambiente o son enérgicas y llenas de vida, etc todo siguiendo un patrón fácil de ver ,lo cual no es malo en absoluto ; pero el soundtrack de planet laika se aleja de todo eso ,con excepción de la Colonia y un par de temas mas ,donde su ost deriva mas a Jazz grave dándonos a entender que esa zona esta en su punto mas bajo, todo lo demás solo causara incomodidad, se utilizan cosas como la acapella ,sonidos secos, midis llanos, llantos ,ecos, tarareos sin un ritmo, etc todo con el propósito de demostrarnos en que el lugar que estamos va mas allá de solo lo desconocido ,yendo de lleno a lo retorcido ,lo enfermizo ,un lugar donde no debemos estar, que solo queremos que acabe, eso me trasmitió su OST en general.
Planet laika no tiene pelos en la lengua en lanzar todo lo mórbido y repugnante que puede llegar a ser ,mostrándonos tanto textualmente como por escenas in game como cgi, mas aun que su duracion es de solo 10 horas, no esperes que el juego tenga sentido por la información que suelta, si no como tu percibes dicha información y sacas tu propia interpretación de la misma, que tanto puede diferir al pasar el tiempo, como dicho por el propio narrador de la historia ´´esta seguro que sos vos que aun tienes el control sobre ti mismo y tus pensamientos?´´ ´´esa es una pregunta tan simple que la humanidad jamás llegara a entender´´
Quintet hizo mi juego fav donde luchar por la vida y ver el planeta crecer lo puede valer ,incluso si la misma es fácil de corromper con facilidad por las nuevas eras. incluso si la muerte es el precio que debemos pagar para ello pero al menos dejaremos un legado que vivirá en el futuro ; en planet laika, su mensaje deriva mas a la redención sobre todos nuestros pecados tanto en vida como en el lecho de muerte, dé como aun como aun nos queda tiempo para detenernos y empezar de 0 ,lamentablemente en planet laika nos destaca mas las consecuencias cuando ya es demasiado tarde
Freud + Lynch + ficção científica russa
i will do untold amounts of crime to get this game a translation patch, it looks SO GROSS and CREEPY i want to love it so bad
Update: SOON... shoutouts to Cargodin and EsperKnight for making me not have to learn japanese
Update: https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6451/ gooped off my gourd with happiness. it real :)
Update: SOON... shoutouts to Cargodin and EsperKnight for making me not have to learn japanese
Update: https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6451/ gooped off my gourd with happiness. it real :)
like, admittedly there is a lot to desire in terms of gameplay, even as much of an art-hoe story > fun kind of guy i am and that DOES drag it down at points but god through its writing and tackling all the themes it does the way it does and maintaining that charmingly tacky psychedelic aesthetic all the way through its just so good. one of those titles that feels like a must-play even though you know for a fact it isnt. planet kino methinks.
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage
A Dove house filld with Doves & Pigeons
Shudders Hell thr' all its regions
A dog starvd at his Masters Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State
A Horse misusd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear
A Skylark wounded in the wing
A Cherubim does cease to sing
The Game Cock clipd & armd for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright
Every Wolfs & Lions howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul
The wild deer, wandring here & there
Keeps the Human Soul from Care
The Lamb misusd breeds Public Strife
And yet forgives the Butchers knife
The Bat that flits at close of Eve
Has left the Brain that wont Believe
The Owl that calls upon the Night
Speaks the Unbelievers fright
He who shall hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belovd by Men
He who the Ox to wrath has movd
Shall never be by Woman lovd
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spiders enmity
He who torments the Chafers Sprite
Weaves a Bower in endless Night
The Catterpiller on the Leaf
Repeats to thee thy Mothers grief
Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly
For the Last Judgment draweth nigh
He who shall train the Horse to War
Shall never pass the Polar Bar
The Beggars Dog & Widows Cat
Feed them & thou wilt grow fat
The Gnat that sings his Summers Song
Poison gets from Slanders tongue
The poison of the Snake & Newt
Is the sweat of Envys Foot
The poison of the Honey Bee
Is the Artists Jealousy
The Princes Robes & Beggars Rags
Are Toadstools on the Misers Bags
A Truth thats told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent
It is right it should be so
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A Clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine
The Babe is more than swadling Bands
Throughout all these Human Lands
Tools were made & Born were hands
Every Farmer Understands
Every Tear from Every Eye
Becomes a Babe in Eternity
This is caught by Females bright
And returnd to its own delight
The Bleat the Bark Bellow & Roar
Are Waves that Beat on Heavens Shore
The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath
Writes Revenge in realms of Death
The Beggars Rags fluttering in Air
Does to Rags the Heavens tear
The Soldier armd with Sword & Gun
Palsied strikes the Summers Sun
The poor Mans Farthing is worth more
Than all the Gold on Africs Shore
One Mite wrung from the Labrers hands
Shall buy & sell the Misers Lands
Or if protected from on high
Does that whole Nation sell & buy
He who mocks the Infants Faith
Shall be mockd in Age & Death
He who shall teach the Child to Doubt
The rotting Grave shall neer get out
He who respects the Infants faith
Triumphs over Hell & Death
The Childs Toys & the Old Mans Reasons
Are the Fruits of the Two seasons
The Questioner who sits so sly
Shall never know how to Reply
He who replies to words of Doubt
Doth put the Light of Knowledge out
The Strongest Poison ever known
Came from Caesars Laurel Crown
Nought can Deform the Human Race
Like to the Armours iron brace
When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow
To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow
A Riddle or the Crickets Cry
Is to Doubt a fit Reply
The Emmets Inch & Eagles Mile
Make Lame Philosophy to smile
He who Doubts from what he sees
Will neer Believe do what you Please
If the Sun & Moon should Doubt
Theyd immediately Go out
To be in a Passion you Good may Do
But no Good if a Passion is in you
The Whore & Gambler by the State
Licencd build that Nations Fate
The Harlots cry from Street to Street
Shall weave Old Englands winding Sheet
The Winners Shout the Losers Curse
Dance before dead Englands Hearse
Every Night & every Morn
Some to Misery are Born
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to Endless Night
We are led to Believe a Lie
When we see not Thro the Eye
Which was Born in a Night to perish in a Night
When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light
God Appears & God is Light
To those poor Souls who dwell in Night
But does a Human Form Display
To those who Dwell in Realms of day
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage
A Dove house filld with Doves & Pigeons
Shudders Hell thr' all its regions
A dog starvd at his Masters Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State
A Horse misusd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear
A Skylark wounded in the wing
A Cherubim does cease to sing
The Game Cock clipd & armd for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright
Every Wolfs & Lions howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul
The wild deer, wandring here & there
Keeps the Human Soul from Care
The Lamb misusd breeds Public Strife
And yet forgives the Butchers knife
The Bat that flits at close of Eve
Has left the Brain that wont Believe
The Owl that calls upon the Night
Speaks the Unbelievers fright
He who shall hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belovd by Men
He who the Ox to wrath has movd
Shall never be by Woman lovd
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spiders enmity
He who torments the Chafers Sprite
Weaves a Bower in endless Night
The Catterpiller on the Leaf
Repeats to thee thy Mothers grief
Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly
For the Last Judgment draweth nigh
He who shall train the Horse to War
Shall never pass the Polar Bar
The Beggars Dog & Widows Cat
Feed them & thou wilt grow fat
The Gnat that sings his Summers Song
Poison gets from Slanders tongue
The poison of the Snake & Newt
Is the sweat of Envys Foot
The poison of the Honey Bee
Is the Artists Jealousy
The Princes Robes & Beggars Rags
Are Toadstools on the Misers Bags
A Truth thats told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent
It is right it should be so
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A Clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine
The Babe is more than swadling Bands
Throughout all these Human Lands
Tools were made & Born were hands
Every Farmer Understands
Every Tear from Every Eye
Becomes a Babe in Eternity
This is caught by Females bright
And returnd to its own delight
The Bleat the Bark Bellow & Roar
Are Waves that Beat on Heavens Shore
The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath
Writes Revenge in realms of Death
The Beggars Rags fluttering in Air
Does to Rags the Heavens tear
The Soldier armd with Sword & Gun
Palsied strikes the Summers Sun
The poor Mans Farthing is worth more
Than all the Gold on Africs Shore
One Mite wrung from the Labrers hands
Shall buy & sell the Misers Lands
Or if protected from on high
Does that whole Nation sell & buy
He who mocks the Infants Faith
Shall be mockd in Age & Death
He who shall teach the Child to Doubt
The rotting Grave shall neer get out
He who respects the Infants faith
Triumphs over Hell & Death
The Childs Toys & the Old Mans Reasons
Are the Fruits of the Two seasons
The Questioner who sits so sly
Shall never know how to Reply
He who replies to words of Doubt
Doth put the Light of Knowledge out
The Strongest Poison ever known
Came from Caesars Laurel Crown
Nought can Deform the Human Race
Like to the Armours iron brace
When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow
To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow
A Riddle or the Crickets Cry
Is to Doubt a fit Reply
The Emmets Inch & Eagles Mile
Make Lame Philosophy to smile
He who Doubts from what he sees
Will neer Believe do what you Please
If the Sun & Moon should Doubt
Theyd immediately Go out
To be in a Passion you Good may Do
But no Good if a Passion is in you
The Whore & Gambler by the State
Licencd build that Nations Fate
The Harlots cry from Street to Street
Shall weave Old Englands winding Sheet
The Winners Shout the Losers Curse
Dance before dead Englands Hearse
Every Night & every Morn
Some to Misery are Born
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to Endless Night
We are led to Believe a Lie
When we see not Thro the Eye
Which was Born in a Night to perish in a Night
When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light
God Appears & God is Light
To those poor Souls who dwell in Night
But does a Human Form Display
To those who Dwell in Realms of day
Planet Laika is a late PS1-era game by Zeque, the people who worked on Kowloon's Gate, which I have not played, and Quintet, developers of ActRaiser, Terranigma and more, which I am quite the fan of, although they mostly handled the more technical aspects. Still, alongside the general style intriguing me, I threw it on the backlog and told myself I'd play it someday. That day ended up, quite fortuitously, being the day before Christmas. It turns out this game's very very Christmas-themed so that was a very fun coincidence.
Anyhow, what is this game, what's all the fuss about? Good question. Gameplay-wise, it's as simple as it gets. You run around and you talk to people, and that's really it, no real puzzles besides figuring out where the next plot beat lies. The world is small but dense with things, and that's a good thing because you'll have to backtrack a lot. As a fair warning there is no guide and the game may seem kind of obtuse, but as long as you run around and speak to everyone you'll figure out what to do without much of an issue. You'll need to pay attention, but considering the sheer thickness and complexity of the plot, as well as generally the fact that most of the dialogue is quite interesting, that's probably a good thing (If you're like me and easily forget names, I'd definitely put aside some special effort to committing them to memory, even what may seem like minor NPCs all get arcs of some sort throughout the story and you will definitely want to keep up with them).
There's also combat, some weird pong-like minigame that very much fits the game's alien nature, and while I struggle to call it a highlight it generally never gets in the way of the fun thanks to its rarity. Something that might, however, is the fact that all screen transitions take some 3-4 seconds, which means backtracking will be a lot of staring at black screens. Not a deal breaker by any means but it will definitely have you holding your finger over the fast-forward button sooner or later.
One of Laika's most defining characteristics is their ability to shift between their normal state and their three alternate identities. While story-wise this is absolutely essential and very very interesting, I do feel this is a bit underbaked in terms of actual progression- most of the game is spent as the mute Laika rather than the chattier and more interesting identities, with Ernest, the big strong one, barely getting any dialogue before the endgame. That's not a deal-breaker at all either, though, because from start to finish this is a really damn cool game.
Let's set aside all the actual story, Planet Laika could be talking about literally fuck-all and it'd still be a fun time just because of its sheer style. Every single screen has some cool visuals, every single character has some interesting things to say, and every single cutscene has some really damn effective stylistic flair. The soundtrack is full of these ethereal synths and ambiance that really gets you into this surreal world that seems to abide by no logic at all. It's some pro stuff, and I think just the visuals alone will dwell in my memories a lot more than any other aspect of Planet Laika- or of most other games, for that matter.
I do think that the game does fall a bit regarding the actual story though. Don't get me wrong, it's good, it deals with some tough themes and does this well, but as others have pointed out it does come off as very rushed. The game's about 10 hours long and almost all of them are dedicated to rapid-fire plot reveals, to the point that it's very hard to follow. This may be on purpose but I do feel like it takes away from the result just a bit.
Anyhow, what is this game, what's all the fuss about? Good question. Gameplay-wise, it's as simple as it gets. You run around and you talk to people, and that's really it, no real puzzles besides figuring out where the next plot beat lies. The world is small but dense with things, and that's a good thing because you'll have to backtrack a lot. As a fair warning there is no guide and the game may seem kind of obtuse, but as long as you run around and speak to everyone you'll figure out what to do without much of an issue. You'll need to pay attention, but considering the sheer thickness and complexity of the plot, as well as generally the fact that most of the dialogue is quite interesting, that's probably a good thing (If you're like me and easily forget names, I'd definitely put aside some special effort to committing them to memory, even what may seem like minor NPCs all get arcs of some sort throughout the story and you will definitely want to keep up with them).
There's also combat, some weird pong-like minigame that very much fits the game's alien nature, and while I struggle to call it a highlight it generally never gets in the way of the fun thanks to its rarity. Something that might, however, is the fact that all screen transitions take some 3-4 seconds, which means backtracking will be a lot of staring at black screens. Not a deal breaker by any means but it will definitely have you holding your finger over the fast-forward button sooner or later.
One of Laika's most defining characteristics is their ability to shift between their normal state and their three alternate identities. While story-wise this is absolutely essential and very very interesting, I do feel this is a bit underbaked in terms of actual progression- most of the game is spent as the mute Laika rather than the chattier and more interesting identities, with Ernest, the big strong one, barely getting any dialogue before the endgame. That's not a deal-breaker at all either, though, because from start to finish this is a really damn cool game.
Let's set aside all the actual story, Planet Laika could be talking about literally fuck-all and it'd still be a fun time just because of its sheer style. Every single screen has some cool visuals, every single character has some interesting things to say, and every single cutscene has some really damn effective stylistic flair. The soundtrack is full of these ethereal synths and ambiance that really gets you into this surreal world that seems to abide by no logic at all. It's some pro stuff, and I think just the visuals alone will dwell in my memories a lot more than any other aspect of Planet Laika- or of most other games, for that matter.
I do think that the game does fall a bit regarding the actual story though. Don't get me wrong, it's good, it deals with some tough themes and does this well, but as others have pointed out it does come off as very rushed. The game's about 10 hours long and almost all of them are dedicated to rapid-fire plot reveals, to the point that it's very hard to follow. This may be on purpose but I do feel like it takes away from the result just a bit.
Still thinking about this game even after finishing it ages ago. God.
I'd go more in-depth as usual but its been a while since I played the game so I don't really wanna get any details wrong. But I will say the experience felt quite special. It's one of the few games that's always constantly in the back of my mind, cropping up to the front more often than most other games or even other media I've experienced.
The game isn't without its faults, but combined with its aesthetics and wacky presentations, Planet Laika showed me a story that I still think about from time to time. The many different things it tries to tell, the themes it was trying to convey, the struggles of all the different characters and how they handled them, whether the game handles them excellently or underbaked they'd leave an incredible impact on me.
It's just such a wildly creative yet often intense and unnerving game, I'm finding it difficult to describe why I feel so strongly about it. I just, vibe with it a lot. I totally recommend this game, if at least for a trippy experience, with the hopes for enjoying a really creative, wild, but passionate and often profound game.
I'd go more in-depth as usual but its been a while since I played the game so I don't really wanna get any details wrong. But I will say the experience felt quite special. It's one of the few games that's always constantly in the back of my mind, cropping up to the front more often than most other games or even other media I've experienced.
The game isn't without its faults, but combined with its aesthetics and wacky presentations, Planet Laika showed me a story that I still think about from time to time. The many different things it tries to tell, the themes it was trying to convey, the struggles of all the different characters and how they handled them, whether the game handles them excellently or underbaked they'd leave an incredible impact on me.
It's just such a wildly creative yet often intense and unnerving game, I'm finding it difficult to describe why I feel so strongly about it. I just, vibe with it a lot. I totally recommend this game, if at least for a trippy experience, with the hopes for enjoying a really creative, wild, but passionate and often profound game.
If we're talking about vibes alone, Planet Laika fucking nails it. the art direction, sound design, music, models, cutscenes & the amount of truly shocking and surreal story beats they throw at you is unbelievable. It makes you feel like you're losing your mind in space along with the cast here in this melting pot of overwritten sci-fi, body horror and beautiful primary colors.
Problem is, this is all brought to you by way of a pretty bad adventure game with occasional Pong-like(?) combat. You don't get lost that often, but you do have to do the rounds through the same 10-12 screens many, many times, talking to everyone and clicking on everything until you trigger the next piece of the game. The story is also super complex to a fault and becomes borderline incomprehensible after the halfway mark.
BUT like I was saying, I'd still recommend it to people who are into weirdo shit like this, because it really doesn't hold back. It boldly takes on some of the darkest themes and scenarios I've ever seen in a video game, but also never feels (that) exploitative. The surrealism here is so unhinged and, as someone who's typically not that shaken by "weird and trippy" media, this does really well at making the player feel shocked and uncomfortable in the best way.
The translation also feels really good! I'm not sure how faithful it is, or if some of the story makes more sense in the original Japanese version, but the English patch's writing here is super solid. Even though I think it's far from a perfect game, it's so incredibly unique, and it's so cool that it's now accessible to a lot more people more than 20 years after its initial release.
Problem is, this is all brought to you by way of a pretty bad adventure game with occasional Pong-like(?) combat. You don't get lost that often, but you do have to do the rounds through the same 10-12 screens many, many times, talking to everyone and clicking on everything until you trigger the next piece of the game. The story is also super complex to a fault and becomes borderline incomprehensible after the halfway mark.
BUT like I was saying, I'd still recommend it to people who are into weirdo shit like this, because it really doesn't hold back. It boldly takes on some of the darkest themes and scenarios I've ever seen in a video game, but also never feels (that) exploitative. The surrealism here is so unhinged and, as someone who's typically not that shaken by "weird and trippy" media, this does really well at making the player feel shocked and uncomfortable in the best way.
The translation also feels really good! I'm not sure how faithful it is, or if some of the story makes more sense in the original Japanese version, but the English patch's writing here is super solid. Even though I think it's far from a perfect game, it's so incredibly unique, and it's so cool that it's now accessible to a lot more people more than 20 years after its initial release.
I played this over a year ago but it lives so rent free in my head I just kind of assumed I logged it already? God, I love the aesthetics of this game. If we're purely talking about that, this game might be my favorite looking and feeling piece of art ever. The ost is so mindbogglingly experimental, especially the tracks with vocals. the prerendered cutscenes and chunky sprites add so much to the designs. many of its plot points are super interesting even if I didn't exactly understand why anything was happening at a certain point. its so weird going to japanese ps1 games and seeing such dark subject matter after being so used to a select few localized ones my whole life. damn. god damn. I don't understand shit but I already missed these characters when the credits started to roll.
Planet Laika is a weird experimental game that tackles several themes at once and sadly doesn't really do any of them particularly well. But I still forgive it because it tried.
It's very interesting and 70% of the game are surprisingly engaging, despite the gameplay being mostly running around and talking to weird people that say cryptic things, until you can transform into one of your other personalities and... play pong with energy balls. Those "battles" are ridiculously easy, you can just hold to go forward and win every time without thinking outside of the final one.
I don't think there's a way to do the "story" justice in a review without just spoiling the entire thing, so I'll just say it's... good. It's not a "secret hidden masterpiece" like people pretend it is just because it's a niche PS1 game that got a translation, but it's also not bad. I just don't like the execution of the final act.
The last 30% of the game consist of running up and down the same street for several hours to trigger 1-3 lines of dialogue, then doing that again and again and again. That's the only reason I took off two stars.
I don't mind the plot, and I appreciate the story they tried to tell. I had to take a few days to think on it and really take in all the pieces of the puzzle before writing this, and I'm fairly satisfied with what the game gave me. I just wish the last act wasn't so boring, because the ideas are good and the themes are good. It's just not good to waste three hours of my time on the same two screens because the game was determined to add more hours to its gametime.
I think the ending could've been done a bit better as well, or at least those final cutscenes, but oh well. They're still good enough.
I'd say this is definitely worth playing if you're in the mood for a weird, creepy, quirky game, but beware the last 3-5 hours of game time which will be spent running up and down the same street with not much happening at all.
It's very interesting and 70% of the game are surprisingly engaging, despite the gameplay being mostly running around and talking to weird people that say cryptic things, until you can transform into one of your other personalities and... play pong with energy balls. Those "battles" are ridiculously easy, you can just hold to go forward and win every time without thinking outside of the final one.
I don't think there's a way to do the "story" justice in a review without just spoiling the entire thing, so I'll just say it's... good. It's not a "secret hidden masterpiece" like people pretend it is just because it's a niche PS1 game that got a translation, but it's also not bad. I just don't like the execution of the final act.
The last 30% of the game consist of running up and down the same street for several hours to trigger 1-3 lines of dialogue, then doing that again and again and again. That's the only reason I took off two stars.
I don't mind the plot, and I appreciate the story they tried to tell. I had to take a few days to think on it and really take in all the pieces of the puzzle before writing this, and I'm fairly satisfied with what the game gave me. I just wish the last act wasn't so boring, because the ideas are good and the themes are good. It's just not good to waste three hours of my time on the same two screens because the game was determined to add more hours to its gametime.
I think the ending could've been done a bit better as well, or at least those final cutscenes, but oh well. They're still good enough.
I'd say this is definitely worth playing if you're in the mood for a weird, creepy, quirky game, but beware the last 3-5 hours of game time which will be spent running up and down the same street with not much happening at all.
Best christmas game ever.
it just hits the spot for Uncanny Valley atmosphere and weirdness on the PSX era
Probably one of the weirdest games i've ever played, just loved it
Probably one of the weirdest games i've ever played, just loved it
Who are you? What does it mean to be you? Is it your body, your mind, your soul? Is it your memories? Your desires? Is it your trauma? Everyone’s got shit going on. So many people do so many horrible things. There’s so much pain. Merry fucking Christmas.
Masterpiece
Do you like David Lynch and Tarkovsky movies? Also are you a fan of clasic sci-fiction? If it's a yes this game is mandatory for you, an unique experience.
them white bois had me on crystal meth
Planet Laika is beautiful. I've spent years of my life wondering what secrets Laika held, I've considered learning Japanese to play it at times and I really can't overstate my gratitude towards the fan translation team - they did an INCREDIBLE job. It's hard to talk about Planet Laika without using words like "strange, scary, gross, creepy, weird" because it is very much all of those things. I mean, look at it. I don't think you could really show this to someone without them getting uncomfortable, it's just that sort of art. Off-putting, abrasive, and full of character. Beautiful, if you've got the eyes for it.
Planet Laika is an incredible game, one I'm gonna be thinking about for the rest of my life and one I want to dedicate a larger piece to. I really urge you to play it, its story is unique and its world is fascinating. It's like if a furry convention took place in the Black Lodge and everyone there was horrifically traumatized in their childhood. I've got a lot of thoughts n feelings about it and I want other people to play it so I can see theirs. I've never played anything like it and I'm really, really happy that I could finally play it.
Planet Laika is an incredible game, one I'm gonna be thinking about for the rest of my life and one I want to dedicate a larger piece to. I really urge you to play it, its story is unique and its world is fascinating. It's like if a furry convention took place in the Black Lodge and everyone there was horrifically traumatized in their childhood. I've got a lot of thoughts n feelings about it and I want other people to play it so I can see theirs. I've never played anything like it and I'm really, really happy that I could finally play it.
there will likely NEVER be an official or even fan translation of this game and that makes me want to learn Japanese immensely. I need to experience this furry psychological horror version of Solaris PLEASE!!!!!!