Planet of Lana, the review of a sci-fi cinematic adventure in a wonderful alien world

It’s been six years since Adam Starlight he drew in Photoshop the image of a girl and an alien animal silhouetted against a lush natural landscape, intent on staring at a robot with an aesthetic similar to that of the spiders found in many houses – black in colour, the large body, thin legs. The astonishing fact is that Planet of Lana has remained completely consistent with that initial concept, so strong and powerful that it has guided Stjärnljus towards the foundation of Wishfully Studios and the development of the adventure starring Lana and Mui.

It’s a streamlined video game, Planet of Lana, with no abstruse collectibles, optional locations to explore, or loads of weapons. Lana is a helpless girl, but thanks to the collaboration with little Mui she manages to overcome every challenge present on Novo, a world kissed by a splendid sun on which abundant vegetation grows. There is no shortage of tributes to classic experiences in the genre of cinematic adventures – among them Another World – but Planet of Lana manages to distinguish itself and stand out thanks to the incredible care lavished by the team in the design of every aspect of the game.

We talk about it in detail in ours review by Planet of Lana.

An unexpected meeting

The path of the young Lana begins in a bustling human settlement on the mysterious planet of Novo. The girl chases her older sister, How much, and so we learn the rudiments of movement: running, jumping, crouching. Leaving the village built on the edge of the water, the two see mysterious spaceships falling from space: one of these kidnaps Elo and other human beings, and Lana, desperate, begins the pursuit of the robot that has captured her sister.

The premises and development of the plot of Planet of Lana are far from original in the world of science fiction (videogames and otherwise), but the storytelling modalities keep the player’s interest lively for the entire duration of the adventure, equal to about five hours. There is only one type of collectible, of particular interest for those who want to delve into the history of the origins of the planet of Novo; moreover, soon the entrance of a particular character will bring the story and gameplay in unexpected directions. We are talking about Mui, a small animal similar to a black kitten who, initially imprisoned by robots and then freed by Lana, will prove to be an incomparable ally in chasing down the robots who have kidnapped Elo, revealing the mysteries of the planet and surviving his pitfalls.

Traversing the wastes of Novo, with no descriptions of objects or long lines of dialogue, players are able to intuit many things about the planet, the purpose of robots and the role of humans. We greatly appreciated the final crescendoexciting and capable of enhancing both protagonists of Planet of Lana, with their skills and peculiarities.

The language of collaboration

The gameplay of Planet of Lana is based on the dialogue between Lana’s human abilities – climbing, running, jumping, hiding – and Mui’s animal ones. Their communication takes place through verbal orders from Lana; in this regard, the developers of Wishfully have created a language for this, simple and intuitively understandable. However, it is rather strange to see Mui get along perfectly on his own in the first bars following his release by Lana, to then become a sort of puppet who does nothing but follow the orders of the protagonist: the choice is understandable in view of providing a total agency to the player, called upon to solve puzzles that require the careful management of both Lana and Mui’s movements, but which, in practice, is dissonant with the way in which the brave and perfectly capable pet only, it is presented in the initial stages.

Beyond these considerations, Planet of Lana presents a very successful alternation of puzzles based on logic, time management, observation skills and movement in space. Only on a couple of occasions did we find ourselves stuck for a few minutes, but for the rest of the adventure we were amazed by Wishfully’s ability to kindly provide clues to players, without ever taking them directly. It helps the choice of inserting gods checkpoint at the beginning of each puzzle and in the intermediate stages of the most complex puzzles, in such a way as to remove any possible sense of frustration and encourage experimentation. Over the hours, Lana and Mui gain new skills, such as to allow different interactions with the environment and with the animals that inhabit planet Novo and to continuously renew an experience with a perfect duration, expertly proportioned in its various components.

Like any self-respecting cinematic adventure, Planet of Lana is aalternation of full and emptyof excited gameplay sequences and walks capable of making us guess the past and present of a verdant and stupendous world, in which the human being seems more like a parenthesis than a constant presence, and with an invasion à la War of the Worlds to act as a backdrop to the continuous march of Lana and Mui.

Under an alien sun

We said at the beginning that Planet of Lana has developed in a completely consistent way with respect to its initial idea, admirably condensed into an artwork that can still be used today to “break down” the distinctive elements of the adventure, both from a visual and of gameplay. The relationship between Lana and Mui is constantly at the center of the scene, even in the phases in which the two are forced to be separated; planet Novo is aesthetically unforgettable, somewhere between the essential beauty of Another World and the exuberance of a Studio Ghibli film. The elements of the various levels of the scenario are never intrusive for the visibility of what is happening on the screen, and indeed help to focus attention on the components useful for solving puzzles and understanding the events of the story, never illustrated in words, but always entrusted to what setting and interaction with the inhabitants (and invaders) of the planet are able to express in a non-verbal way.

That doesn’t mean that words aren’t important, quite the contrary. The maniacal study made by the Lead Sound Designer Francesco Ameglio and by the audio team, capable of giving centrality to the communication between Lana and Mui in any situation: if a robot is nearby, the girl’s commands will be a simple whisper, broken by sobs in some moments of particular excitement; if, on the other hand, there are no dangers in sight, Lana’s voice will be ringing, and Mui’s sweet verses will resound without fear in the spaces crossed by the two. Whether they are plains, caves or more markedly man-made environments, the scenarios outlined by Wishfully are always capable of astonishing for their beauty and coherence in the artistic direction, also thanks to the accompaniment provided by the magnificent music by Takeshi Furukawa (former composer of the soundtrack of The Last Guardian).

This picture of excellence is completed by a technical sector practically free of hiccups or imperfections, with one enviable cleanliness in the rendering of the movements of the characters and their interactions with the elements present in the environment. There is one translation into Italian, naturally limited only to the command prompts (being absent, as mentioned, a translation of the very few dialogues present). We point out the absence, at the moment, of accessibility options and reconfiguration of the controls: the developers have communicated that everything will be added at a later time.