‘Planet of Lana’ is a 2D, narrative-driven puzzle platformer that reminded me heavily of Playdead’s most famous game, ‘Inside’. The core of the title is running (mostly) right, solving puzzles, evading enemies and learning about the world through environmental storytelling. The main difference, other than lack of oppressive atmosphere and inclusion of a more pleasant color palette, is that in Wishfully Studios’ debut game you are able to give commands to a tiny cat-like creature, Mui. This adds some flavor to the puzzles, although unfortunately most of them are much too easy to force you to rack your brain or to stay in your memory after you’ve solved them. The mechanic of ordering your animal companion around is underutilized, same with controlling hostile robots. I feel like there was potential for more complex and memorable puzzles, but as I’m writing this review - roughly a week after finishing the game - I struggle to remember any particular moments or set pieces other than the wind turbine section, mostly because that was the only place where I died several times.
The visual style is on the minimalist side, but that’s perfectly fine in a game of this type and scope. I liked the lively colors of the forest and the final chapter introduces some surprising backgrounds, although they could’ve used more variety and at least a little bit more detail to make each particular level more visually interesting. Storywise, the game only gives clues as to the nature of the events unfolding before our eyes, but it is told competently and welcomes various interpretations. Also, I liked the simple yet effective way the devs build the relationship between the titular character and her ‘pet’, Mui.
The controls feel a little sluggish, which also reminded me of some more famous narrative platformers. There aren’t too many places where it bothered me, though, as only in a few instances the game forces you to be perfect with your timing, although I did struggle with the flying sections as the controls were definitely too floaty and caused me to bump into obstacles and die a number of times.
Reading the previous paragraphs I feel like I’m complaining a lot, but I want to emphasize that the game isn’t bad by any means. It simply felt like it was a little too plain, perhaps too safe (understandable given this is the studio’s first game), but I definitely see potential and hope that future games by Wishfully Studios will take some more risks to differentiate themselves from other representatives of the genre. And drop the QTEs!
The visual style is on the minimalist side, but that’s perfectly fine in a game of this type and scope. I liked the lively colors of the forest and the final chapter introduces some surprising backgrounds, although they could’ve used more variety and at least a little bit more detail to make each particular level more visually interesting. Storywise, the game only gives clues as to the nature of the events unfolding before our eyes, but it is told competently and welcomes various interpretations. Also, I liked the simple yet effective way the devs build the relationship between the titular character and her ‘pet’, Mui.
The controls feel a little sluggish, which also reminded me of some more famous narrative platformers. There aren’t too many places where it bothered me, though, as only in a few instances the game forces you to be perfect with your timing, although I did struggle with the flying sections as the controls were definitely too floaty and caused me to bump into obstacles and die a number of times.
Reading the previous paragraphs I feel like I’m complaining a lot, but I want to emphasize that the game isn’t bad by any means. It simply felt like it was a little too plain, perhaps too safe (understandable given this is the studio’s first game), but I definitely see potential and hope that future games by Wishfully Studios will take some more risks to differentiate themselves from other representatives of the genre. And drop the QTEs!