With SF6 just days away (I just preordered this morning) I didn’t really want to start Lost Odyssey, a big ol JRPG from 2008. I listened to a gaming podcast that was talking about Planet of Lana, they mainly said it was a nice looking game and not terribly long, “like Limbo and Inside”. It was also on Game Pass, so I didn’t have to worry about buying the game.
Planet of Lana has you play a young girl named Lana, after a seemingly normal say in her village there is a robotic invasion that snatches up her entire community, including her sister, Elo. With no one else left she pursues the flying cage that has captured her sister. She saves a cat-like creature that quickly becomes her companion, it is named Mui. Together they venture the desolate planet, having to deal with aggressive robots, ravenous creatures, and environmental puzzles.
The gameplay isn’t anything revolutionary, it’s a 2.5D adventure platformer. Mui helps you solve puzzles by taking commands to push buttons, knock down ropes that Lana can climb, and distract enemies. Eventually Lana gets a few power-ups to aide in solving the latter puzzles, though this doesn’t necessarily allow puzzles to be solved in multiple ways. Lana and Mui are not combat experts, so sneaking around enemies is a must; the beasts and bots you encounter will return to their patrol routes after they lose sight of you, so it’s not quite a failure if you can escape.
The music is lovely as well. None of the limited dialogue spoken is from a real language from what I can tell, so the music is relied on to tell you what Lana is feeling and experiencing. It is tense and foreboding when you’re sneaking or when the robots are around, inquisitive as you discover more of the game’s lore, and adventurous with a tinge of melancholy when Lana and Mui are traversing the various locations they arrive at. All the tracks lend themselves greatly to a coming of age story. ‘Horizons’ is definitely the stand out track.
The art direction is fantastic, the entire game is filled with beautiful locations that would make for a killer wallpaper. The sleek and angular metal designs of the robots greatly juxtaposes the natural environments they patrol. One monster in particular has a silhouette so grotesque that I’m glad this game isn’t photorealistic, just looking at it as a black mass is enough for me.
Planet of Lana is priced at $20 and available on Game Pass. I beat the game in just over 4.5 hours, other than a short list of 10 collectables, there isn’t a whole lot that’ll incentivize multiple replays. I believe if an indie game can deliver a compelling experience once, it justifies its price. I always buy Game Pass games I enjoyed playing when I have the funds to do so, I’ll definitely be buying this title to own.
Planet of Lana gets 30ft vertical leap/10