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Planet of Lana - an artistically delightful cinematic sci-fi puzzle/adventure game, update: PlayStation/Switch release announced for Spring 2024


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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (2022) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox)
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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (2022) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox) - Official Trailer
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Launch pushed to Spring 2023, confirmed as Day 1 for PC/Xbox Game Pass

 

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NEWS.XBOX.COM

It’s official – Planet of Lana will be playable for the first time at gamescom 2022! Myself and the team at Wishfully Studios have been super busy preparing this playable demo for the show. With that in mind, I wanted to give Xbox fans a little taste of what’s to come and highlight some of […]

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (Spring 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox), update: launch pushed to Spring 2023, Day 1 release for PC/Xbox Game Pass confirmed
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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (Spring 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: Gamescom Xbox Booth Game Overview video
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (Spring 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: 18 minutes of gameplay video
  • 2 weeks later...
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WWW.THESIXTHAXIS.COM

A simply gorgeous side-scrolling adventure, Planet of Lana is one of a number of indie games to watch out for in 2023.

 

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Planet of Lana is a simply delightful game, from its gorgeous hand-painted art style, to the adorable Mui, and the perilous situations that you’ll have to navigate. I’m sure there will be plenty of games to distract you while waiting for its delayed launch in 2023, but as soon as it’s ready to be played, I’ll be diving right back in to explore more of this game.

 

The game follows the titular Lana as she embarks on a dangerous mission to try and save her sister from an invading robot army. What could immediately stand out here is that, while the surroundings are Earth-like, there’s certain touches that make this place rather alien as well. It’s rendered in a gorgeous style that uses next to no post-processing for the game’s parallax-like rendering. Instead it’s the hand-crafted artwork that pulls off the painterly style, with finer detail found on items closer to the screen, while the sublime backgrounds filled with epic-looking clouds use broader, thicker brush strokes, as opposed to leaning on things like depth of field.

 

Early in her adventure, she meets a small inky-black creature called Mui, just one of a pantheon of similarly shadowy indigenous species of this planet. Peril brings them together and the two form an almost instant bond, so while Mui might sound like an alien cat sound – After all, Ancient Egyptian word for cat was ‘Mau’ – and it has a certain agility to its movements, Mui might be more like a dog in how Lana can interact with it, talking to it in the wholly original language that Wishfully Studios created – amusingly, they discovered that the word ‘Ema’ that they created to mean stop actually already means that in Zulu.

 

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (Spring 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: Steam Next Fest demo now available
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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (23 May 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: Release Date Reveal Trailer
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Game Information

Game Title: Planet of Lana

 

Platforms:

  • Xbox Series X/S (May 23, 2023)
  • Xbox One (May 23, 2023)
  • PC (May 23, 2023)


Developer: Wishfully

Publisher: Thunderful Publishing

 

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 81 average - 84% recommended

 

Critic Reviews

The Games Machine - Italian - 9.6 / 10

Planet of Lana is a moving and intense videogame, capable of telling a story through images and delicates situations. Strengthened by a fluid and well-amalgamated gameplay, it offers always different and well-balanced puzzles. Must have absolutely.


GameLuster - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is an exciting adventure with well built puzzles, breathtaking set pieces, a stunning art style, and a score that underlines it all perfectly.


GamesRadar+ - 4.5 / 5

"There's an undercurrent of mystery to the planet that I find myself wanting to bring to the surface"


GamingBolt - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is an incredible journey. It's a down-to-earth traipse through a unique but endearing off-world setting, with tight pacing and excellent presentation underscoring a tale of camaraderie and familial devotion. Whether it's the incredible visuals or the stellar gameplay, it's worth your time.


God is a Geek - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is a wonderful puzzler with visuals that will leave you in awe, along with a stunning soundtrack and plenty of challenges.


Kakuchopurei - 90 / 100

Planet Of Lana is one of the best indie titles so far in 2023. It's epic, cinematic, responsive and can be completed in less than five hours, though this can be a con as well.


MondoXbox - Italian - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is a side-scrolling adventure of rare beauty, superbly blending simple but never predictable gameplay with highly inspired design and a soundtrack of the highest quality. A title that every video game lover should play.


PushStartPlay - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is one of the most charming, wonderful and endearing games that you’re going to play this year. It’s a game that most certainly is on your to-do list for 2023 and better still, it’s on Xbox Game Pass. So, go and pick it up already.


SECTOR.sk - Slovak - 9 / 10

If you're looking for an unusual platform game, you've come to the right place. Planet of Lana is a successful harmony of unique gameplay, emotions, graphics and melody. The only shame is that it is so short.


Use a Potion - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is simply mesmerising, with the stunning world and engrossing puzzling ensuring it truly shines as a puzzle-platforming spectacle. Sure, it might not be the most original experience when it comes to the gameplay and it’s rarely challenging, but the variety and creativity it showcases ensures it still feels captivating to play – just don’t expect to see too many ideas that you wouldn’t have seen before.



It didn’t stop Planet of Lana from being a wonderful experience though, and it’ll always stands out to me as one of the most beautiful games that I’ve ever played.


Worth Playing - 9 / 10

Planet of Lana is a pleasant surprise. It tells a compelling story with some unexpected twists, and it does so without the need to utter a word in a language we understand. The puzzles aren't obtuse enough to be frustrating, while the platforming never feels imprecise. To top it off, the presentation both looks and sounds amazing. Unless you dislike the entire genre, Planet of Lana is easily a contender for any "best of" lists this year.


XboxEra - 9 / 10

Planet Of Lana is a truly cinematic puzzle adventure as advertised. 



The package as a whole is delivered perfectly and leaves you wanting more upon completion.  With out-of-this-world visuals, music, sound and puzzle variety this really is an ‘Off-Earth Odyssey’ that you cannot afford to miss. 

Developers Wishfully just delivered an indie masterpiece.


Everyeye.it - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Artistically delightful and with a soundtrack signed by Takeshi Furukawa, Planet of Lana confirms itself as a narrative adventure of excellent quality.


Press Start - 8.5 / 10

Planet of Lana is a profoundly moving title that couples its clever, companion-driven puzzle-solving with an irresistibly gorgeous presentation to create what is, so far, the year's prettiest, heartrending indie.


WellPlayed - 8.5 / 10

Gorgeous visuals and a spectacular score elevate an already entertaining puzzle platformer to the same level as some of the genre greats.


Easy Allies - 8 / 10

Planet of Lana portrays a rich world, full of puzzles, companionship, and beautiful scenery.


Expansive - 4 / 5

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.


GBAtemp - 8 / 10

With its gorgeous looks, intriguing universe and well executed companion mechanic, Planet of Lana easily charms the player into partaking in its adventure.


IGN Italy - Italian - 8 / 10

Despite a few superfluous sections and a very simplified platforming component, Planet of Lana offers engrossing and complex puzzles and a truly noteworthy mix of atmosphere and art direction.


TheSixthAxis - 8 / 10

Planet of Lana looks and sounds as wonderful as its original reveal promised. While it doesn't redefine the adventure platformer, the adorable partnership between Lana and Mui, the gorgeous art direction and sweeping soundtrack make this well worth experiencing.


WhatIfGaming - 8 / 10

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.


Spaziogames - Italian - 7.8 / 10

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.


Game Informer - 7.8 / 10

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.


Checkpoint Gaming - 7.5 / 10

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.


Digital Trends - 3.5 / 5

Planet of Lana makes up for some repetitive 2D puzzling with a gorgeous art style and a good-natured tone.


Hardcore Gamer - 3.5 / 5

Far from the most inventive or unique take on the puzzle-platformer formula, Planet of Lana mitigates its relatively-safe gameplay with a striking visual style and a surprisingly compelling use of music alongside.


TheGamer - 3.5 / 5

Planet of Lana is a delightful puzzle platformer that hits that sweet spot in more ways than one. It’s not too challenging nor too simple, and though it could have delivered endless levels of similar ideas, it only takes enough time as it needs to tell the perfect story of friendship and survival.


Metro GameCentral - 6 / 10

A disappointing attempt to ape the magic of Inside and Limbo, which despite some of the best visuals of the year suffers from unimaginative puzzle design and storytelling.


Console Creatures - Recommended

Planet of Lana tells a touching tale of loss, discovery, and adventure. It happens on a scale far greater than expected, delivering it in a great puzzle-solving package.


LadiesGamers.com - Loved

In conclusion, Planet of Lana is one of the best games I’ve played recently. It is clear that for Thunderful Publishing, it was a labour of love, from the premise to animation, world lore, music, and sounds. Even more impressive, the whole game studio was created around this project, and this game is their first. Based on PoL, they have a bright future ahead of them.


One More Game - Buy

Planet of Lana is a game of resounding balance between light and dark, gameplay and story, beauty and simplicity. It is an organically unified piece that uses the sum of its parts to fully synergize an experience to elicit a myriad of emotions from the player as they traverse the planet with a variety of landscapes, encounters, and ultimately, a simple story of reunion and friendship.


Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Unscored

Planet Of Lana is an action-packed, story-rich adventure across a wonderful sci-fi landscape filled with dangerous machines, but a mediocre middle act just stops it short of achieving true greatness.

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (23 May 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: reviews from OpenCritic posted
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana (23 May 2023) - an artistically delightful cinematic sci-fi puzzle/adventure game (PC/Xbox/GamePass), update: reviews from OpenCritic posted

Finished it. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something short you can just kinda breeze through and vibe with. It’s pretty easy as both a puzzle game and a platformer, although there are some hidden collectibles and I only got 20% of them. 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana - an artistically delightful cinematic sci-fi puzzle/adventure game, update: reviews from OpenCritic posted
WWW.GEMATSU.COM

Publisher Thunderful and developer Wishfully will release Planet of Lana for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch in spring 2024, the companies announced.

 

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Publisher Thunderful and developer Wishfully will release Planet of Lana for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch in spring 2024, the companies announced.

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Planet of Lana - an artistically delightful cinematic sci-fi puzzle/adventure game, update: PlayStation/Switch release announced for Spring 2024

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