Planet of Lana Review
Planet of Lana Review
The word epic gets thrown around loosely these days, but very few uses of the term actually earn it. Planet of Lana, from Wishfully Studios creates a larger than life cinematic odyssey on a planet far off in the galaxy with breathtaking, hand painted visuals that stopped me in my tracks on numerous occasions with images worthy of framing in one of the best puzzle platformers I have ever played
The grand scale of this odyssey is accented by an amazing orchestral score that has a 90’s John Williams feel to it with a hint of synth. The score was recorded with an orchestra of over 90 people and when combined with the amazing hand painted visuals, create some unforgettable moments during your journey across Novo.
Planet of Lana goes above and beyond what most would expect from a puzzle platfomer in terms length and complexity. The game takes roughly about 6 hours, which is longer than the average title in the genre, but it never feels like it is overstaying its welcome as the story has time to breathe, the puzzles are constantly evolving and the environments are constantly changing to things you can’t even imagine.
The majority of your time is spent moving from one puzzle to the next in order to progress the plot that is told through a combination of environmental storytelling and a bespoke alien language. With the amount of puzzles in the game, it would have been easy for the game to become repetitive, but the puzzles use a core set of mechanics that evolve throughout your journey. This progression constantly keeps the player engaged as you feel challenged by complex puzzles, yet capable.
One of the most original aspects of Planet of Lana is your companion Mui, who is some type of furry alien cat who you obviously form a strong connection with early on. Mui’s purpose in Planet of Lana is much more than just aesthcial as you control the action of the extra terrestrial feline. Puzzles that would be impossible with Lana alone, create challenging scenarios as you need to incorporate Mui constantly by luring robots away from Lana, cutting ropes, pushing buttons among other things.
Getting Mui safely through these puzzles is important as well, which the game doesn’t do for you and in a game with controls that were anything less than perfect would have become a large impedance in the journey. It’s almost effortless to get Mui to jump to a certain area, push a button, hide in the grass, and anything else you need him to do.
Planet of Lana bleeds inspiration from some of the greatest sci fi epics of all time from War of The Worlds with the giant alien technology, to vista’s that feel reminiscent of Tatooine from Start Wars: A New Hope, all the way to The Matrix. Although these are vastly different from one another, nothing in Planet of Lana feels forced. Following in the footsteps of the other games that dabble into games as art territory, the meaning of the story can be interpreted in a variety of ways and would likely be rewarded by multiple plays.
I tried to find faults in Planet of Lana, but there is quality across all aspects of the game that shouldn’t be present in a debut title from a studio, let alone a very small indie team, composed of slightly over a dozen artists. Over the past decade or so, only a few indie studios have made such an impact with their debut titles.
It’s easy to draw parallels to something like Moon Studios with Ori and The Blind Forest, or playdead with Limbo or Team Cherry with Hollow Knight. Wishfully Studios have now established themselves in that echelon with their debut title.