“Planet Of Lana offers an emotional journey reminiscent of INSIDE and LIMBO, set in a visually stunning world inspired by Studio Ghibli."
HOW I PLAYED: I played Planet Of Lana on PC via Xbox GamePass PC. I was able to run at 165fps + with max settings at 1440p. My gaming PC has a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB DDR5 6000mhz RAM and an RTX 3080. I also used a DualSense controller.
STORY — 15/20
INTRO
This game starts off super cozy getting you introduced to the world and your main character. There is a quick sequence to teach your the general control of your character and how you traverse the game world. And you quickly setup the plot for the stories main driving element.
CUTSCENES
There are very few cutscenes in Planet Of Lana, which I don't mind. The ones you do get are very moving and fun. This game is very cinematic in its presentation but I did leave the game wishing there was just a little bit more interaction with some of the core characters.
WORLD BUILDING
Planet of Lana uses environmental storytelling as there is almost 0 dialogue in the game. This game uses and in game "language" that the characters speak which kind of just sounds like people calling "Marcoooo...Poooollloooooo". But it really excelled at the visual presentation and the use of body language to tell main story plot moments. I thought this approach worked exceptionally for this kind of game.
OVERALL STORY
The main plot is very straight forward and it has undertones of messages the game tries to give the player. Harmony with nature and technology etc etc. The studio Wishfully said they wanted to mix a game like INSIDE or LIMBO with Studio Ghibli art design, which I can totally see in Planet of Lana. I enjoyed the story, although a little predictable and linear at times, I think it was a great first attempt on the studios first release.
GRAPHICS — 12/15
CHARACTER MODELS
Going by Wishfully's inspiration (INSIDE, LIMBO) and Studio Ghibli. I can see what they are going for with the characters, but I felt they could have had a little more detail with the cell shaded art design. I know this was an artistic choice, and in some ways it works. But compared to how amazingly gorgeous the scenery and environments are... it really shines a light on how the character models don't really match up.
ENVIRONMENTS
The environments in Planet Of Lana are truly breathtaking. Every new area you traverse to is a graphical delight! This is where the art direction really shines in this game, and a lot of the scenery definitely reminded me of different Studio Ghibli movies (My Neighbour Totoro, Castle In The Sky). I LOVED the camera zoom out moments where you are running across a large plain and you can really absorb the games atmosphere and emotion.
SPECIAL FX
The are very few SFX in Planet Of Lana, as the game setting is relatively "grounded". But there are lots of seamless parallax and layer effects that really stepped up the games visual presentation. The latter half of the game has some really great visual fx but the game was mostly pretty modest.
AUDIO — 13/15
AMBIENCE
The ambience and choice of music in Planet Of Lana was emotionally impactful and really enhanced the emotions the game was trying to portray with its limited dialogue. You move from super cozy moments while jumping around in a beautiful green field without a care in the world. To high anxiety moments as you try your hardest to solve a puzzle that is going to save you and your companion from a giant enemy. There were a few moments like I mentioned previously where the camera stylishly pans out and you really take in the beauty of an environment and there is an AMAZING backing track playing that rockets the impactful atmosphere to an 11/10. Very smart use of music in a video game.
BOSS MUSIC
Planet Of Lana doesn't have any "traditional bosses", but there are moments that would be considered "boss encounters". And these moments do have more high intense sounds and music to companion them. I felt it worked for this type of game and there are some really great Finale tracks that hit the point hard.
SOUND DESIGN
There are a lot of ambient sounds and some environmental noises. I wasn't blown away by the sound design or mixing, but I found it appropriate and worked well for the game.
PERFORMANCE — 10/10
Frame Rate
I was able to easily run Planet Of Lana at my displays maximum refresh rate of 1440p 165hz. I think on consoles it runs at 60fps. But I bet it can do higher like 120fps. But 60fps is more than enough for a game like this.
Stability
Planet Of Lana has been out for a few months, but I ran into 0 bugs or cosmetic glitches during my playthrough. I was really impressed with how polished the game was. This is still nice to see in today's gaming era where many titles release with a ton of graphical issues or cosmetic glitches.
GAMEPLAY — 28/40
CONTROLS
The controls in Planet Of Lana were very basic and serviceable for this type of game. I did feel like there was a tiny bit of input delay, or like the controls did not react as quickly as I pushed the input. But this could be due to the Xbox PC app, so it is hard to say.
MECHANICS
The mechanics are very basic throughout a large chunk of the game. You use basic movement mechanics to traverse the games world. There are some puzzles that you need to solve to progress (I found them fairly easy and I am TERRIBLE at puzzles). You do start to unlock different abilities with your games companion that help you interact with certain world elements. But I felt the simplicity of the mechanics matched the tone of the game.
PACING
I felt the pacing was PERFECT in this game. No extra fluff, you are moving from plot moment to plot moment. There was no real moments of fatigue, the game does a great job of mixing it up between moments. Great work Wishfully!!
UI/UE
Very simplistic and minimal, There are no items or consumables in this game. This game is all about atmosphere and presentation so I thought the UI/UE worked really well. I also found the option menus very easy to navigate.
BOSS QUALITY
There aren't traditional bosses in Planet Of Lana, but there are "larger" obstacles that could be considered "bosses". Comparing this game to INSIDE or LIMBO, one thing those games did great is there was some kind of element always chasing the character player. So maybe that could be worked into a future release, but I understand that Wishfully were likely going for a more "cozy" vibe and didn't want to add an extra layer of anxiety to the player.
ENEMY VARIETY
This is where the game dipped for me, I get it there is only 2 real kinds of threats in the world of Planet Of Lana. But I did get a little tired of seeing the same robots or wild boars and kind of spider enemy.
GAMEPLAY VARIETY
I thought Planet Of Lana did a decent job of mixing up the core gameplay loops between platforming, puzzle solving and stealth. Not great, not terrible but serviceable for this kind of game.
REPLAYABILITY
There are "Secret Shrines" to be found in the game during your playthrough. I found NONE during my playthrough, and maybe if you are a completionist you will want to do multiple playthroughs to get all the shrines. There are also some trophies that reward No Deaths, and completion time. These types of challenges are not enough to warrant a second or third playthrough from me.
BONUS — 1/4
OVERALL — 79/100
Planet Of Lana Planet Of Lana offers an emotional journey reminiscent of INSIDE and LIMBO, set in a visually stunning world inspired by Studio Ghibli. As a fan of cozy puzzle platformers, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. Despite minor critiques (character design, enemy variety, replayability), Wishfully's debut release impresses and is a perfect gaming 'palette cleanser' between larger titles..
TLDR: 79/100 (GOOD) Planet Of Lana delivers an emotional, Studio Ghibli-inspired adventure reminiscent of INSIDE and LIMBO. With stunning environments, heartfelt storytelling, and engaging gameplay, it's a cozy and atmospheric puzzle platformer. While character designs and enemy variety could improve, and replayability is limited, the game's pacing and visual presentation shine. Perfect as a refreshing break between larger gaming experiences.
Planet Of Lana is available on the following platforms:
Xbox GamePass
PSN
Switch
Steam
EPIC
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