I’ll have solely performed the opening couple of hours of Planet of Lana 2, however I misplaced rely of the variety of methods it jogged my memory of Star Wars. From only a single look at one among its many attractive landscapes, you may see within the geography and structure what appear to be Studio Ghibli interpretations of Ralph McQuarrie’s authentic sketches for Lucasfilm’s immortal sci-fi sequence. Peek inside that body and also you’ll see rickety sci-fi autos and clunking robots that wouldn’t be misplaced on the streets of Mos Eisley. Lend your ear to that scene, and the whirring sounds of those self same droids and digitised radio chatter of enemy guards may simply be coming from R2-D2 and Stormtroopers, respectively. All of those points add as much as one thing that’s way over referential, although, as a substitute shaping a assured, expansive puzzle platformer sequel of its personal authentic design.
One of many first issues that hits you when booting up Planet of Lana 2 is the music. Once more, the hovering of its strings and the twinkle of its brass conjure up robust photos of a galaxy far, far-off. However, this time, it shouldn’t come as a shock — the sequel’s rating is as soon as once more composed by Star Wars: The Clone Wars orchestrator, Takeshi Furukawa. By the way, he’s additionally behind the music of The Final Guardian, a recreation that tremendously impressed Wishfully, the small Swedish developer behind Planet of Lana 2. It carries on that very same “baby on a harmful, but wondrous journey with a fantasy animal companion” legacy, this time with a darker tone as shades of Limbo and Inside come to the fore.
The two.5D stealth-puzzle-platforming takes place on an even bigger canvas in comparison with its 2023 predecessor. Two years after the occasions of that recreation, protagonist Lana has settled again into household life on the planet of Novo, although clearly thriller and intrigue nonetheless stay, each on its floor and effervescent under it. After a brief tutorial part investigating the corpse of the hulking spaceship that introduced her individuals to this new land, Lana’s sister is taken in poor health, and also you’re promptly despatched on a mission to search out uncommon components for a treatment. This journey takes Lana to new areas of the world, which provides Wishfully’s artwork crew new scope to stretch their artistic muscle mass, but additionally presents welcome new concepts in the case of puzzle design.
A now older, extra assured Lana is extra agile than earlier than, capable of slide underneath low-hanging metallic for fast escapes and even dive into the ocean to unravel no matter conundrums its depths are hiding. Lighter on her ft this time round, she’s virtually a backflip and a handstand away from transferring extra like a Lara than a Lana. Whether or not clambering by caverns or broaching darkened mine shafts, platforming is extra about endurance and precision than pace and reflexes. The sequel’s expanded imaginative and prescient additionally extends to the framing of its puzzles, with bigger areas demanding additional exploration of the scene – you should search for useful gadgets in areas excessive above and additional off-screen than you may anticipate.
That mentioned, lots of the challenges I confronted by this two-hour demonstration had been largely the form of combat-avoidant stealth sequences that reward endurance – as in, you should stay immobile whereas ready for obstacles to morph into the required form, or for enemies to show the opposite manner, making a secure passage by. I might by no means say this turns into tedious, however for individuals who desire a bit extra zip and thrust to their motion, here is a heads up that I wouldn’t essentially anticipate that right here. To those that didn’t play the unique Planet of Lana, it’s a lot nearer to a Little Nightmares than it’s to a Metroid in its degree design and enemy encounters. However much like Samus’ area adventures, there’s an excellent sense of tactility to each heavy lever pull, as heavy equipment and hulking robots lurch and creak inside a mountain facility, dwarfing Lana and her even smaller, spherical companion, Mui.
This little ball of attraction gives a furry edge to a lot of Planet of Lana 2’s puzzles, with their newly elevated capability set including welcome additional selection to the combination alongside their present skillset. I significantly loved additional explorations of Mui’s considerably telepathic capability to manage creatures all over the world of Novo. For instance, fish may be despatched to zip round and deploy clouds of ink that masks the imaginative and prescient of larger-finned foes, and sticky balls of blob can create trails of sludge that remodel into paths of fireplace to take away flammable obstructions. These fuse-like puzzles, which job you with analyzing the extent geography as you hint its edges to achieve your objective, had been a few of my favourites on this preview demo.
Though I’ve solely seen round a 3rd of the sport, even at this early stage, I’m cautious that some mechanics are already on the sting of getting used one too many instances, threatening to show some brainteasers into busywork. However, largely on the entire, the puzzles have confirmed enjoyable and honest, compelling me to pause and assume, however by no means to the detriment of the momentum of the story. It matches the urgency of the story being advised, with many mysteries lurking within the background. It is this intrigue that drove me by these early hours on the trail to discovery, in addition to the distinct sense of journey as you hop round this completely alien planet, painted with lovely artwork and soundtracked by a sensational rating.
Very like Star Wars does with its flashy lightsaber duels and thrilling area battles, Planet of Lana by no means forgets to place character entrance and centre, even in its puzzles. Reassuring nods and moments of murmur in an alien tongue assist solidify the bond between Lana and her furry buddy, all whereas protecting the story of their journey foremost in thoughts. And, identical to The Empire Strikes Again, Planet of Lana 2 teases in these early hours that it’s actually not afraid to enter darker territory on a grander scale, while leaving loads of time for these smaller moments. It’s all very promising, and a reassuring signal that the center of its quick and candy predecessor is being carried over into this expanded, extra bold sequel on March fifth.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can primarily be discovered skulking round open world video games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing on the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Observe him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
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