Planet of Lana

A short journey to an unknown world, stunning in its audiovisual design. It tells a story full of emotion about a girl searching for a lost sister and about her animal companion, together alone in a world full of robots and danger. There are some missteps regarding the tempo of the game, but otherwise there’s nothing to criticize.

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.

An beautiful game, which does not forget to make the player feel a wide range of emotions. Clearly, we were hoping for a certain level of quality, but did not expect Planet of Lana rub shoulders with the masters of the genre.

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.

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.

It's a sensitively told story that's brought in to land with a thunderous final chapter, delivering suspense, spectacle, and a deeply moving resolution. [Issue#385, p.112]

Planet of Lana is sure to capture players'attention with its visuals and music, which are on par with those of modern big studio animation movies. The game’s world is shrouded in mystery and players will have to work to find all the shrines to get a full picture of what’s happening. At times, finding a kidnapped friend seems too flimsy a motivation for Lana to continue her adventure. But gameplay is good enough, with limited reasons for frustration and some very clever puzzles, to keep players engaged. Planet of Lana has heart and engaging gameplay sequences, although these could have used extra variety.

The overall design of Planet of Lana is something to marvel at. The game loves to throw you into a tense situation and then give you a stretch of peaceful land to run through and reflect on the experience. Further, these moments are used to give an update on the state of the invasion and changing of scenery.

Artistically delightful and with a soundtrack signed by Takeshi Furukawa, Planet of Lana confirms itself as a narrative-driven adventure of excellent quality. The symbiotic relationship between little Lana and the tender Mui represents the fulcrum around which the authors of Wishfully build gameplay with puzzle and stealth elements. The result is a splendid journey of about six hours, which with a little more creativity could have reached even higher peaks.

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

Planet of Lana is ostensibly the result of a work of synthesis and subtraction: far from being an overabundant product in its various elements, it points to the essence, to the utmost care of the elements that allow a narrative adventure to aim for excellence. Exceptionally directed from the point of view of aesthetics and sound design, Wishfully’s video game is responsive, precise and interesting in the construction of its puzzles. The story is certainly not among the most original of the genre, but it is told in an impeccable way, also thanks to the timely management of the elements present in the scenarios and particularly successful framing choices.

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.

Planet of Lana is exceptionally beautiful and atmospherically dense. The side-scroller offers classic platform puzzling, which gains in complexity through Lana's companion, Mui. Mui is a brave little guy - and one of the cuddliest representatives of his guild.

Planet of Lana brings a magically crafted world with an immersive story. Granted, if you're not skilled at platform jumping, you'll find some passages worse than the puzzles, but don't let that discourage you. [Issue#328]

Planet of Lana is a rare game. It's a clean, tight experience, that manages to tell a charming, if simple, story in its short runtime. The hand-drawn illustrations are truly works of great talent, bringing a gorgeous, nearly surreal ambiance to the design. Its puzzles and platforming may not be a lot to write home about, but there are a few diamonds in the rough that make the gameplay worthwhile. If anyone has even a passing interest in the puzzle-platform genre or simply wants to appreciate some art, they should play this game. Plus, since Planet of Lana is available on Game Pass, there's little reason not to check it out.

A beautifully crafted side-scroller with a restless puzzle imagination.

Experienced platformer and puzzle game players will have seen Planet of Lana’s mechanics before, maybe executed with more style or depth. What they won’t have seen is art quite as affecting or heard music that’s so in sync with the visuals. Planet of Lana is only around six hours long. More than that, and the lack of combat or missing originality in the puzzles might be an issue. Planet of Lana is an artistic, beautiful game with just enough satisfying gameplay to keep the player moving from one lovely scene to the next.

As I look at my (now slightly disappointing) real-life dog, I know I’d do anything to save him from being abducted by robots or eaten by a giant slug. I also know that, faced with such a precarious situation, he’d screw it up, immediately. Thank goodness Mui is more competent.

Planet of Lana strikes a nice balance between its different aspects. Exploring the game's world is never dull with its appealing art style. Puzzles are varied and fun, with some thrilling encounters along the way.

Developer Wishfully clearly has an eye for the cinematic, charting a planetary voyage that's both suspenseful and heartfelt. Planet of Lana is about the bond between a young girl and her loyal companion, and also our own relationship with nature and our planet. It falters at times, miring through occasional tedium, but the strong connection it cultivates between its characters carries it forward as you delve into a variety of engaging puzzles and a gorgeous art style that breathes its strange but familiar world to life. Planet of Lana might not be the very best game released this year, but it will persevere as one of the most memorable.

Some mechanical nitpicks aside, the 4 to 5 hours it takes to travel through Planet of Lana are punctuated by striking moments of remarkable beauty and a strengthening bond with your cuddly companion. With so many massive games releasing this spring and summer, it’s worth taking a night off to embark on an adventure that still feels like you’re visiting a rich, full world, but in a more succinct package.

This is a beautiful platforming adventure with very clear inspirations. It starts better than it finishes, but overall, it manages to become a memorable experience.

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.

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.

Planet of Lana is an enjoyable change from large games, a relaxing experience with a couple of poignant moments. It’s not in the same league as Ori and the Blind Forest or Limbo, and its puzzles could’ve been more creative, but in my opinion it’s still a strong debut by Wishfully and I’m curious what the future holds for the studio.

Planet of Lana breaks no new ground, but it’s a beautiful and frequently captivating sci-fi puzzle-platforming experience.

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 does not surprise.

Planet of Lana was a game that promised a lot because of its visuals, but I couldn't get what I wanted in terms of gameplay and story.

Planet of Lana does many things right, and there are certainly parts you’ll remember, it just doesn’t do too much different. It needed something more to subvert your expectations, but when the inspiration already did this, it’s harder to take it further. Still if you haven’t played these three games, you’ll definitely enjoy your time, or even be wowed by what you find.

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.

Planet of Lana has a great visual style that should help it stand out in a universe full of 2D puzzle platformers, even as its gameplay and story are easily forgotten.

On one hand it has an excellent appearance and overall ambience, but then lacks narrative development and compelling gameplay.

Far from the scale of odyssey its tagline implies, what it lacks in some emotional gut-punch or satisfying narrative depth, Planet of Lana eventually wins over through the raw power of artistic direction. A direction that if nothing else, ensures such a brief trek across an alien world, remains an eye-catching one.

Planet of Lana is downright gorgeous but worrisomely shallow. When it comes to play, the game’s puzzles and basic stealth can feel a bit antiquated and probably won’t challenge your cognitive skills. That said, younger players might appreciate the Ghibli-esque visuals.

There's a lot to like about this pretty, wordless puzzle platformer, but you'll complete many of its repetition-prone puzzles on autopilot. It's heartfelt, but nowhere near as impactful as Limbo or Inside.