Planet of Lana on PC
Hand-drawn animations have comparatively turn into a factor of the previous to include extra sensible options into the trendy gaming world. Yet, a number of builders attempt to maintain this artwork model alive, including a extra private contact to their storylines. Planet of Lana is a excellent instance of this feat, because it brings hand-painted scenes to life in an immersive sci-fi world.
It’s been a whereas since a platformer captured my consideration, however Planet of Lana instantly caught my eye with its picturesque surroundings. In a approach, it felt like I used to be controlling a character in an ever-altering portray that includes its personal units of challenges that enticed me to need to play extra. The epic journey additionally furthers the film-like really feel of all the narrative, taking you on an enthralling journey from begin to end.
At the story’s starting, you’ll be launched to 1 of the three most important ideas: nature, with the 2 others being machines and people. You’ll see how Lana, the principle protagonist, and people round her use the setting to determine a small settlement the place everybody works collectively to outlive. But, simply as she meets up together with her sibling within the wilderness, her sister will get taken away by a fearsome mechanic beast, alongside the villagers.
Lana manages to flee the machine’s clutches, leaving the younger lady alone in a large world full of lethal enemies. Fortunately, she encounters a cat-like creature, Mui, to assist her together with her quest to save lots of humanity. As far as companions go in video video games, Planet of Lana has one of one of the best I’ve seen, contemplating the animal’s wide selection of talents.
Players can direct the cat to work together with gadgets, go to sure areas, and even manipulate different critters to maneuver. Oh, and you’ll pet Mui anytime you need, as an lovely bonus. Nevertheless, future gamers ought to use the really helpful controller gameplay to make it simpler to regulate.
Together, Lana and Mui make for a wonderful staff, which turns out to be useful for the quite a few puzzles. While these challenges can generally be tedious in different video games, Planet of Lana’s puzzles someway all the time really feel completely different from the final. Whenever I felt assured in my fixing abilities, I used to be perplexed by the following riddle, however by no means sufficient to make me need to shut out the sport in frustration.
For instance, a number of puzzles showcase a collection of musical notes so that you can rearrange within the appropriate order, utilizing historical hieroglyphics as a coding system. Another conundrum gamers will come throughout is the problem of water, the place Mui, in true cat nature, will refuse to go throughout this kind of setting. Therefore, not solely will it’s a must to discover a solution to make it to level A to B with Lana, however you’ll additionally want to make sure that your companion can safely journey alongside you.
If you might be a cozy gamer, Planet of Lana will probably be proper up your alley, on condition that there isn’t essentially any fight. Aside from the platformer and puzzle facet, it’s a stealth sport, permitting you to cover in tall blades of grass each time a machine is close by. The finest strategy I discovered is to attend and comply with the enemy’s sample, then devise a plan to keep away from their detection.
Although Planet of Lana is primarily a stress-free sport, you may count on a few horror-like parts, particularly when the musical rating has a blood-curdling eerie sound. But then, it turns into much more terrifying when the machines chase you at a great pace, fastening the tempo of the cinematic soundtrack.
When issues calm down, the piano’s peaceable melody will put you comfy to associate with the varied biomes you’ll discover. I appreciated the completely different landscapes of every stage, from a sea of darkness in caves to the sandy storms of the deserts to the greenery of forests; it makes you are feeling as in case you are traversing a complete planet. Even extra so, these areas introduce new challenges to finish by means of their terrain, wherein you should transcend your earlier methods.
While touring to those many locations, gamers will proceed progressing by means of the mysterious storyline to find the connection between nature, machines, and people. It can even generally be heartbreaking to observe Lana undergo the journey alone at such a younger age, primarily when she shouts out for her sister in a number of scenes.
Apart from the sad moments, you may nonetheless see a sense of naivety from Lana as she continues to seek out pleasure within the little issues. Specifically, when she laughs with Mui and learns to have enjoyable all through her expeditions, regardless of her lonely circumstances. There are a few delicate occurrences I admired as effectively, like when Lana begins whispering throughout sneaky missions or Mui meowing in disappointment each time I fell to my demise.
Even if there aren’t many phrases exchanged within the sport, it someway says a lot by means of the character interactions and mesmerizing setting. By the tip, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the person versus machine ideology, with a satisfying conclusion that can make all of it value it.
So, should you’ve been on the lookout for one other platformer like Limbo, I extremely suggest choosing up this gem and getting misplaced in its enchanting world for a few hours. Alternatively, those that love the brand new Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom could take pleasure in its puzzle and exploration gameplay, that are extremely related as compared.
Studio Ghibli followers can even relish within the paintings and storyline of Planet of Lana, on condition that Wishfully co-founder took inspiration from the critically-acclaimed Spirited Away, amongst different movies. At its core, it actually does really feel like you might be in a fascinating film, solely this time, you’re the most important character.
Reviewer: Kristina Ebanez | Award: Editor’s Choice | Copy offered by Publisher.
Pros
- Beautiful scenary
- Gripping storyline
- Entertaining puzzles
- Excellent staff-based mostly mechanics with a useful companion
Cons
- Occassional bugs right here and there
- No trace system for puzzle newbies
Release Date
May 23, 2023
Developer
Wishfully
Publisher
Thunderful Publishing
Consoles
PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
About the writer
Discussion about this post