The sequel to Journey To The Savage Planet is larger, higher, and funnier than the unique, as you get to discover a number of alien worlds with buddies.
2020’s Journey To The Savage Planet was the epitome of a cult hit – a recreation that was little identified earlier than its launch, but was nice to play and chock filled with character. In the interim, its developer has been on one thing of a rollercoaster journey, as demonstrated by the very fact it’s now referred to as Raccoon Logic somewhat than Typhoon Studios. But its return for a second chunk of savage planetary motion reveals little signal of that upheaval.
Like its predecessor, Revenge Of The Savage Planet is a Metroidvania disguised as a 3rd particular person motion journey. Structurally, visually and story-wise, it’s very a lot a sequel, progressing logically from the primary recreation and endowed with the identical cheery, hyper-colourful palette and endearingly goofy vibe. But it additionally feels far more polished and honed and significantly meatier, because of a welter of facet missions and hidden actions – addressing criticisms that the primary recreation was too brief.
If you’re within the temper for a recreation whose story is totally frivolous and tongue-in-cheek, with a leavening of light satire that pokes enjoyable on the likes of boneheaded influencers and extreme consumption, you’ll love Revenge of the Savage Planet. Once once more, you’re unceremoniously dispatched to an uninhabited planet, the place you should set up a base in anticipation of colonisation. But this time round, your deadbeat employer, Kindred Aerospace, has been acquired by the rapacious Alta Interglobal.
When you attain your base, you discover two messages from Alta, one welcoming you and the following informing you that you just’ve been fired. Most of your gear is scattered across the planet you land on and 4 neighbouring ones. Each world has a particular set of ecosystems, together with flora, fauna, and local weather.
You should discover to search out objects that can add new skills and improve your attributes, as you come back to beforehand inaccessible areas while you purchase issues like a whip, a grapple hook, an underwater scooter, and helmet-filter that means that you can breathe in poison gas-filled areas.
Everything in every surroundings may be scanned and the whip permits you to seize alien creatures (a few of which should first be shocked) Pokémon-style, which might then be researched by your habitat’s laptop, typically yielding essential upgrades.
There’s some different and creative puzzling to be accomplished – for instance, unlocking crates by spraying metallic goo to create connections between electrified mushrooms. Plus, there’s some fairly difficult platforming concerned, together with some memorable and difficult boss battles. Tinkerers can 3D print all method of furnishings and home equipment to brighten their bases, whereas the entire recreation is playable in two-player co-op, both in break up display screen or on-line.
One of Revenge Of The Savage Planet’s many strengths lies in its tactility. Hostile creatures explode in showers of vibrant goo, whereas others detonate after you’ve aimed a hefty kick at them. Different enemies require wildly totally different methods and tools; for instance, inexperienced balls of slime stuffed with eyes can solely be defeated by spraying with a water gun, which turns them progressively bluer till they soften.
Tiny spiky balls are impervious to your blaster however prone to your whip. Others have armour which should be whipped or ground-pounded earlier than they are going to take harm. As you progress, you purchase tanks of in a different way colored goo to fireside, which should be deployed each in opposition to particular enemies and in the reason for puzzle-solving.
In lesser palms, Revenge Of The Savage Planet’s welter of liquid-shooting weapons and devices may have ended up as a disjointed mess, however Raccoon Logic has built-in them right into a coherent and logical entire – it’s positively a kind of video games which is manner cleverer than it seems.
Whether coping with waves of various enemies, fixing puzzles which might typically be arcane however all the time appear to make a bizarre type of sense, or returning with a brand new gadget to a beforehand explored space and uncovering one thing new, its maps are filled with actions which are all very satisfying.
And whereas it’s longer than Journey To The Savage Planet, you need to nonetheless be capable of end it in 20 hours or so, so it isn’t a kind of video games that’s intimidatingly lengthy. Its least spectacular facets don’t significantly detract from the enjoyable however we did should endure a interval of grinding earlier than taking down one of many later bosses and typically discovered our drone assistant each a tad annoying and never as useful as they need to have been. The parody adverts piped to your habitat’s display screen additionally grate after some time, however not less than they are often switched off.
This is a well-constructed and cleverly designed recreation, that refuses to take itself in any respect significantly. It’s genuinely humorous, very distinctive when it comes to each seems and environment, and presents a satisfying quantity of various and satisfyingly gameplay. Metroidvanias could also be a favorite of indie builders however there’s nonetheless only a few 3D examples of the idea, and Revenge Of The Savage Planet actually makes you surprise why.
Revenge Of The Savage Planet evaluation abstract
Pros: Great devices and intelligent Metroidvania fashion puzzles and platforming. Genuinely humorous at time, with some properly distinctive visuals. Suite of two-player co-op choices are very welcome.
Cons: Some compelled stage grinding and a few of the wackier humour can grate after some time – particularly the annoyingly unhelpful drone.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC*
Price: TBA
Publisher: Raccoon Logic
Developer: Raccoon Logic
Release Date: eighth May 2025
Age Rating: 12
*out there on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one
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