A wildly entertaining co-op action adventure bursting with vibrant colors, but it may tire you out before reaching the truly enjoyable moments.
In the realm of Metroidvanias, I often find myself ensnared in a frustrating loop. The premise is straightforward: gradually bestow powerful tools and abilities upon players so that what was once daunting becomes manageable. For instance, earn the ability to fly and unlock previously unreachable areas. However, this design tends to impact the overall enjoyment. By withholding essential features for so long, the game risks stifling the fun that should arise from exploration.
Continuing from the 2020 title *Journey to the Savage Planet*, *Revenge of the Savage Planet* maintains the same whimsical, brightly colored aesthetic and tongue-in-cheek tone. You play as a misfit employee of a shady space corporation who finds themselves stranded on an alien world where survival means navigating vibrant, chaotic landscapes, taking down goo-filled extraterrestrial creatures, and using high-tech gadgets to scan and upgrade your gear.
One of the most significant changes in this installment is the shift in perspective: it’s now a third-person experience, moving away from the first-person view of its predecessor, and there’s no option to revert. The game also puts a heavier focus on co-op play, introducing split-screen and online modes, though it’s perfectly enjoyable solo.
Your journey begins with limited abilities. After crash-landing on a strange beach, your chatty drone companion, EKO (whose level of chatter can be dialed back), guides you through the basics while you equip some rudimentary gear. Note that this is not a survival game; you won’t be chopping wood or crafting food. Yet it has a similar feel—resource gathering requires mining rocks, which shatter instantly with a button press, enabling you to upgrade your existing gadgets. Fortunately, I rarely found myself short on resources, minimizing grind time.
There’s a delightful assortment of gadgets at your disposal. Your jump can evolve into a triple-jump, an energy whip becomes a grappling hook, and you can glide, crash down like a meteor, and zip along energy rails to scale heights. You even wield a magnetic device to hurl metallic rocks. However, progress in upgrades follows a more structured route tied to quests and an in-game journal, which may limit explorative freedom. While quests offer a sense of direction through the sandbox environment, they can feel restrictive.
Progression often feels like a dance: every forward step is met with a sideways shuffle. Upgrades for pivotal abilities—like your jump and weapon power—require you to tackle quirky challenges. Can you reflect projectiles back at enemies? Or execute a takedown on three foes at once? Some tasks can be entertaining but others feel tedious. One particularly frustrating challenge—electrocuting five enemies simultaneously—demanded specific conditions and took considerable time to complete. I almost quit in frustration, driven only by the need for essential upgrades. Main quests, while generally more enjoyable, also have a habit of making you zigzag rather than advance smoothly, often stretching the gameplay unnecessarily. Why must I teleport back to base to initiate research? And why is there a timer on said research?
This lack of detail and responsiveness can lead to a disconnect during core gameplay, reinforcing the idea that *Revenge of the Savage Planet* holds back essential upgrades needed to fully engage. The initial portions feel sluggish, which is compounded by noticeable frame drops on PlayStation 5, particularly in fog-laden and swampy areas.
Exploring worlds adorned with cliffs, ravines, rivers, and floating islands should spark joy, providing players with the adrenaline rush that comes from navigating through them with style and agility. Although *Revenge of the Savage Planet* captures some of this exhilaration as the game progresses, the long wait diminishes the excitement to some degree.
While I don’t intend to sound overly critical, there’s a lot to appreciate in *Revenge of the Savage Planet*. Its whimsical nature can certainly resonate with a younger demographic or parents sharing the experience with their kids. Players can earn in-game currency to acquire machines for base customization—not for gameplay advantages, but simply for the enjoyment of it. Some of these machines can give high-fives or hugs, causing genuine chuckles. The game successfully elicited a few laughs, handling satire regarding corporate culture and game design with a light-hearted touch.
The alien landscapes are undeniably wacky, populated by quirky, cartoonish creatures, and their chaotic charm shines through. The world is delightfully colorful—especially when gliding along an energy rail and scaling an oral archipelago—creating moments of sheer visual delight.
The game showcases commendable creativity, such as using different types of goo to solve puzzles, Zelda-like environmental hints, and even revealing platforms by watering plants. You can sense the thought, creativity, and joy infused into the game. When it all comes together, the game radiates charm, though discussions around its execution can leave room for improvement.
Unfortunately, the fun can feel stilted at times. Moments when you’re led to dive into a lake yet find you can’t swim without obtaining an upgrade—a submersible scooter, no less—summarize my experience. You can be in the water but must complete a quest before being allowed to swim, which encapsulates the limitations present in *Revenge of the Savage Planet*: it isn’t as carefree as it aspires to be.
A copy of the game was provided for review by Raccoon Logic.
