In Planet of Lana, you’re taken off Earth and transported to a planet that is somewhat similar to our own. Desert planes and forest biomes galore. Except, not everything is as it seems. You play as Lana, a child who is trying to rescue her friends and family after they were all abducted by alien machines. It’s up to her, and her animal companion, to travel the wasteland and find the people she’s searching for. But will she destroy the enslavers, or try to understand them? Wishfully Studios is a Swedish-based developer, with Planet of Lana being their debut game. And it’s a banger of a debut too, with an art style you can’t help but fall in love with. Does Planet of Lana have you thinking in different ways, or does it make you feel like a robot?

Something in the sky, waiting there for me

When you begin playing, Lana is chasing after a loved one, and this is where we get introduced to the mechanics of the game. As she chases after her, you learn to jump on bundles of sticks, and duck under enclosed spaces, with Lana finally meeting up with her friend. As this happens we notice that there are multiple things trailing across the sky leaving trails of smoke. One of the trails leads to this large robotic alien with a cage underneath it that captures Lana’s friend, putting Lana back into pursuit. Lana runs past her town, finding it destroyed and the inhabitants captured. Running as fast as she can, she tires out eventually and falls asleep. It’s a massive introduction to the game, and can really capture your attention. While you don’t have time to get to know Lana’s friend, you do understand that she’s an important figure in Lana’s life.

After waking up, Lana meets this cat-like creature, who you manage to save, and who in turn saves you. Their name is Mui and I’m happy to report you can pat them! Mui is your companion throughout the game, who helps you with the puzzles around you. You control them in a way, with Lana instructing Mui to sit or to follow. This is where the “companion-based gameplay” comes in. Commanding Mui will help you in solving puzzles or getting to locations you couldn’t get to on your own. It’s pretty useful, and I quite enjoyed the companionship, especially when you’re in such a unique world.

A beam of light comes shining down on you

One of the more noticeable things in Planet of Lana is the unfamiliar language the characters speak. We don’t get told how Lana feels, or what her thoughts are, we instead see it by her body language. And this also comes with fantastic environmental storytelling. We don’t get told how humans found themselves here, we see it by looking at cave walls. We uncover it through… art.

We climbed aboard their starship

Out comes a man from Mars

There is a stealth/puzzle section in the desert that unfortunately broke immersion and caused confusion. Most puzzles require you to have Mui with you to continue forward, this is because sometimes you literally cannot exit the area without them as their powers are needed. This specific area seemingly had no way for Mui to pass safely, and after continuous deaths, I simply ran to the end, unsure of what else to do. With Mui left behind I eventually hit a cutscene which brought the lovable critter straight back to Lana all of a sudden. I don’t know if it was a glitch or a less-than-perfect way to complete a section of game, but it certainly broke the immersion for me because of it.

A lot of the game’s puzzles are hard to understand but make perfect sense when you figure them out. However, there was one puzzle in Planet of Lana that I found more frustrating than clever. The problem with this specific section of gameplay is that it had you piloting a flying robot-like creature, however, the controls here aren’t as fluid as you’d want them to be. Combine this with some fairly unforgiving checkpointing and you have the recipe for a decently frustrating time at the hands of easy and somewhat cheap deaths.

Take me on board their beautiful ship

There’s a simplicity to the gameplay that is really enjoyable, and yet this 2D sidescroller also finds a way to contain a lot of depth. Basic interactions and animations feel great and the game continues to find satisfying ways to tell its story in a way only possible in the video game medium.  Quick-time events do pop up, though thankfully you’re able to shut them off if they’re not your jam or you need to for accessibility reasons. I turned them off and found the experience still worked pretty seamlessly.

One of the big standouts of the game is its visual style. The robotic aliens allude to War of the Worlds (1898), specifically the large mechanical spider-like aliens. Considering that H. G. Wells was inspired by England’s colonialism, it’s no doubt that these themes also inspired Planet of Lana. Similarities can also be drawn to the Reapers from the Mass Effect series, which offers a similar analytical study as the machines from War of the Worlds. The art itself is just to die for. It has similar vibrant greens and blues as in Studio Ghibli films. But it’s also mixed with this paint-on-a-canvas feel and the aesthetics of Simon Stålenhag. Especially with the use of large hulking machines in urban and landscape environments.

The art style is something that kept me wanting more, to see more areas, to see these characters react to the environment. The art is so rich and is such a selling point of this game. The sound design also ties in with the art style and the themes. You get a real sense of where you’re stepping. Grass crunching against Lana’s foot, or the thocky sound of stone after landing a jump. The musical score behind the game likens to scores of sci-fi classics, like the Star Wars series, specifically the score of A New Hope (1977). The jaunty windpipes feel so familiar in a world that is anything but.