Planet of Lana Reviews
While those puzzles may not have been immensely challenging and quick time events will always make me sigh, there’s so much that Wishfully Studios gets right with Planet of Lana that it’s an easy game to recommend. The amount of artistry that was poured into the game’s stellar animation, hand-painted environments, detailed sound design, and sweeping music is worth the price of admission alone. It’s all made even more impressive by the fact that this is the studio’s debut release, and it means that their next title is definitely one that I’ll be eagerly anticipating.
Planet of Lana intelligently combines elements of classic cinematic platformers to make something distinctive and characterful. For a tight five hours or so, it keeps up the pace, with very few taxing puzzles or tricky action segments to slow progress. Leaning into easier gameplay in favour of visual and auditory spectacle, it looks the part and runs consistently well. It's a treat for the long-suffering cinematic platforming fan – perhaps even destined to join that short list of classics.
With its gorgeous looks, intriguing universe and well executed companion mechanic, Planet of Lana easily charms the player into partaking in its adventure.
Planet of Lana takes us on a journey through a mesmerizing world. Content varies between exploration, puzzle solving, and stealth, with some thrilling moments here and there. If not for a few shortcomings, it would've been put there with masterpieces like Inside.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Although it doesn't do anything revolutionary gameplay-wise, Planet of Lana is a lovely puzzle platformer with one gorgeous world.
Planet of Lana is a lovely puzzle platformer with a lot of heart. The lead characters, Lana and Mui are meaningfully integrated into each puzzle, and their journey across different regions of a beautiful world is equally touching and compelling. The puzzles lack the creative punch you'd see in similar titles and don't fully leverage the setting, but the strong presentation depicting the resilience of nature rejecting an alien invasion is breathtaking.
Planet of Lana is the rare combination of potential and quality. With a soundtrack that will surely win awards, an unforgettable cinematic style that constantly impresses, mechanics and gameplay that evolve smartly, giving you just the right amount of challenge, and a friendship that warms the cockles of the heart. This is a wonderful adventure that, bar a few minor misgivings, has a bit of everything and will stick with you long after the credits roll.
The team behind Planet of Lana, Wishfully, should really be proud. The game is truly a fun experience, and it is always nice to see smaller teams pull off something that looks this nice. It uses art to tell a story, and while it isn’t an Earth-breaking type of story, it is fun. If anything the game feels like it was a passionate project instead of something specifically targeted towards an audience. It is a reminder of what video games should be, those unique experiences that hold the player through until the end, instead of the more common triple-A experiences. Planet of Lana will be something to remember going forward, and hopefully, more game development teams will look at Planet of Lana and change things up a bit going forward.
Step into Planet of Lana and have a beautiful, low-stress time. Its puzzle are enough to get you thinking but simple enough to keep the game relaxing and perfectly-paced.
Planet of Lana offered a short adventure that excelled in its art direction and strong animation to have the player feeling like he is literally wandering around an art piece, in addition to fun puzzles, its problem was its repetitiveness and that it was unchallenging.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Planet of Lana is a visually captivating side-scrolling platformer with a narrative delivered through environment and character actions. Despite minor control issues and simple puzzles, the game's stunning art style and compelling story make it a worthwhile experience.
Overall, Planet of Lana is a side view, semi-3D platformer at its best. Give this game a little of your time and it will give you back a wealth of entertainment from its puzzles to the rich story told with very few words. The game has tons of character which shines through in its characters, picturesque landscapes, and wholesome narrative. Definitely give this game a try. I award Planet of Lana the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
There is so much to love in Planet of Lana. The visuals, the audio design, and the gameplay combine to create something that feels like you just slot into it. This is a game that everyone was born to play. It’s not overly complicated, except for one puzzle, and it doesn’t try to cram lots of high-sci-fi concepts down your throat. It just exists and welcomes you to play in a way that feels natural and you never truly want to leave behind.
Ultimately, this title is a great relaxing game for a quiet evening with a glass of wine. Of course, even the non-alcoholic one. It took us about 5 hours to finish it, and we hope we will see the second part in time because we will remember this experience for a long time.
Review in Czech | Read full review
With a wonderful art style and some fresh puzzle design thanks to an adorable sidekick, this is more than just a Limbo knock-off and has its own worth.
Planet of Lana is a captivating adventure with a wonderful art direction. The first half of the game works way better than the latter, when some of the ideas in its level design feels a little redundant, but the game as a whole is a touching and pleasant journey that you may hold dear for quite sometime.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While I would have liked gameplay to have more bite and variety, Planet of Lana is still an enjoyable and beautiful romp. The art direction and main jingle are likely the only things that will stick with me in the long run, but Lana and Mui’s journey is a competent rescue mission that doesn’t always soar as high as the machines pursuing them.
Planet of Lana is a vibrant and vivid dreamscape. From luscious greens to bright blues, it's very clear how important art is in a game like this. Some issues hold the title back, such as a lack of checkpoints leading to frustration in puzzles. Though the environmental storytelling is strong, the puzzle elements largely work with the use of "companion-based gameplay", and the stealth sections, while basic, make for a fun time. All in all, Planet of Lana is an engaging and unique game, and a world worth experiencing.
Planet of Lana is a beautiful game with simple mechanics and great characters, including bobcat. But repetitive gameplay, easy puzzles and bad controls in sections with drones and electric labyrinths destroyed our hopes of getting a true gem.
Review in Russian | Read full review