Written by Thomas G.J. Sharpe
This short, but well-formed, adventure starts in the titular
Lana’s village. A coastal accretion of shacks and huts, with a population
living out quiet lives. You learn the controls following your sister around and
discover a sad family history. Then, in timely fashion, robo-aliens start
piling through the atmosphere and do a kidnap job on everyone, which the nimble
Lana is able to evade. These charmingly designed robots leave Lana alone, save
for a small black cat-like creature called Mui. This is Limbo and Abe’s
Oddysee for fans of Journey in a Wind-Waker colour palette. I
dunno, the comparisons are still slightly non-functional. I was reminded of Brothers,
obliquely, with the twin dynamics of tragic-adventure and co-operative puzzles.
Lana and Mui work together to traverse the landscape, tame wildlife, and trash
robot invader plans.
Some shots are just for show. The camera pulls out as you
chase Mui down, wider and wider, until there’s a boulder crammed in a leafy
canyon. There’s a tree sticking out of the top. It’s just for effect, played
slow and careful. Lana trudges across a desert, despondent and defeated,
everything lost (but a set up for an exhilarating reversal before the climax).
Wishfully Studios have crafted something that has less vicious edge than its
most obvious ancestors, Limbo and Inside. There was a longing, or
hope against hope, that came to me from the sublime Spiritfarer. Lana is
just capable enough, but there is a lonely and dangerous quality to the
game. In this is my only real gripe, that many of the puzzles were a
frustratingly tightly timed series of actions. If you failed to pull it off,
there was a little long to get back into it, and often some setting up or
pre-positioning that became real old, real fast if you’re stuck. This is
certainly a personal problem, as I have such low patience, and such I am not
docking too many points off Planet of Lana. Most puzzle or platform
players will find this fine to accommodate.
Of particular note is the music. The score is so deftly
handled that there is a real built sense from the small, yet bustling village,
the peace of a forest gravesite, and quiet childhood games, to the soaring
chase scenes, tense stealth sections, and eventual sci-fi battle grandeur. The
compositions are linked with recurring motifs and themes, perfectly placed.
There’s horns and bleeps and pads and all sorts. Just a real joy to experience.
Planet of Lana lasts around three to four hours (I
was closer to four, but after looking playtime up, most did it around three, so
I just suck) and is a taut experience that blends the best of this genre
together. Between its presentation and its gameplay, there is huge value in a
small package. Its core strength is this brevity, as the formula would not, in
this reviewer’s opinion, have lasted to five hours. The push-me-pull-you,
stelf-jump-stelf pattern is deployed for the right amount of time to engage us
in a well-crafted adventure story, and no more. Knowing when to stop is a real
virtue in games. Wishfully have made something special, intimate, yet grand,
that seems to fit in your pocket.
Overall 8/10
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