From IGN: "Planet of Lana began as a single picture. Creator Adam Stjärnljus drew a girl and a doglike alien creature staring up at a multi-legged robot, and placed them in front of a watercolor-hued pastoral backdrop. It became the genesis of everything I play in a 10 minute Gamescom demo, from look, to gameplay, to feel.
What’s emerged is a smooth, intuitive narrative platformer, which will feel familiar to those who’ve tried Playdead’s Limbo and Inside - but it swaps the morbid, overtly hostile atmosphere of those games for a gorgeous, naturalistic, and crucially hopeful viewpoint."
VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "What makes Planet of Lana among the better success stories is how it emulates without forgetting to incorporate its own personality. It's a "Playdead platformer meets Studio Ghibli" without stopping there. What on its surface is a determined rescue mission blossoms into a planet-wide expedition succinctly tying a foreign world's history and Lana's heroic journey to interrogate our own presently discordant relationship with nature. Although – sadly – better strengths in presentation and theme aren't as evident within its game design, at least there are some quality nuances to the formula. Those half-measures do reveal Wishfully too often retreating to safety, but the collected successes elsewhere still make for an impressive debut that's easily worth playing."
Planet of Lana is a wonderful-looking adventure with enjoyable puzzles, plenty of platforming and a beautiful soundtrack.
The PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch versions of Planet of Lana will launch on April 16, publisher Thunderful Games and developer Wishfully announced.
