What do sequels exist for? Many developers carry an aspiration to create something that’s worthy of a sequel and will often lay the groundwork for it with reckless abandon. Of course this gambit has the potential to not pay off and instead leave behind what’s essentially and unfinished experience that will never be able to achieve its goals. The flip side isn’t all positives either though as well balanced, self contained experiences find success are now in the awkward position of trying to figure out where they go to now. Such is how I felt playing Planet of Lana II which, on the surface, is very much the kind of sequel you’d expect, but given just how well the original wrapped everything up (and how badly this one fails at the same task) I can’t help but feel that Wishfully learnt the wrong lessons from the first game’s success.
SPOILERS FOR Planet of Lana BELOW
The robots that sought to enslave humanity have instead now become its saviors, bringing with them the kinds of progress that only technology can. Humans are still slaves to the nature however and with the opportunity to drive great progress comes with it the desire to be the one who controls it. Whilst there are many who welcome technological progress at seemingly any cost there are still many of those who wish to continue their lives as they once were, forcing the change to adapt to them rather than the other way around. This tension has begun to boil over and there’s now war brewing, threatening the peace that Lana brought to this world.
Planet of Lana II’s visuals is exactly what you’d expect from a sequel: more and better. The amount of detail in the environment has been increased, lighting effects are better and more liberally used, the colours more vibrant and just generally better overall. The sense of scale is still there too with the camera expertly pulling back and pushing in at the right times to cement that feeling of you just being a small part of a much larger world. Again the music is a highlight which you’d expect coming from the BAFTA-nominated composer Takeshi Furukawa who was also responsible for the amazing sound track of The Last Guardian.
The core game play of Planet of Lana II is largely unchanged, keeping to it’s simple puzzle platformer roots. Most of your time will be spent moving across the screen from left to right, admiring the scenery as it goes by before you’re dumped into a platforming/puzzle section that you have to make your way through. There’s some additional meta-game elements included in the form of the journal and the collectibles but for the most part they aren’t really aren’t a part of the core game loop. There are some additional puzzle elements that are thrown in here and there but they’re just usually for that section. It might not be the most innovative sequel but it at least recognises the core of what made the original great.
Just like the original there’s nothing in any of the puzzles or platforming sections that will challenge most players. Whilst there are a few sections that will require a bit of trial and error you’re not going to be spending 10+ minutes on a single puzzle just trying to figure out what the solution needs to be. The additional section specific mechanics are introduced well, making sure you understand what it does before introducing you to a novel application of the concept. Probably the biggest new mechanic, and calling it new is somewhat generous, is the addition of another controllable NPC character in some sections with new abilities. Not particularly novel, but it does make for some additional puzzle variety that the original didn’t have.
There’s a few rough edges on some of the game’s main mechanics which usually shows up in some of the edge case interactions. It’s not game breaking, but there were a few untimely deaths or fails on a puzzle because something glitched out. At the same time I spent far longer on some puzzles because I thought I had a solution but couldn’t make it work because Mui or another interaction wouldn’t trigger until I reloaded. Annoying, and definitely frustrating when you’re not sure if you’re barking up the right tree, but once you know that can happen you can at least compensate for it.
PLOT SPOILERS BELOW
The real fault I’m finding with Planet of Lana II though is the narrative itself. Whilst I always applaud those who choose to tell a narrative in a non-traditional sense that doesn’t give you a pass for a badly constructed story. The game’s opening moments setup for a conflict that Lana is then immediately side-lined from, sending you on a long set of fetch quests that doesn’t really help to build out the core narrative at all. To be sure, some of the other sections do build the narrative out, but Lana’s journey for the most part is entirely secondary to what feels like the main storyline that’s going on outside of where you are.
Then there’s the ending which, if I’m honest, was a complete slap in the face when the previous game managed to wrap everything up so well. I get it, you had success with the original and now feel emboldened to chase a much grander vision but to spend an entire game on simply setting up for the next one feels indulgent at best and disrespectful to the player at worst. Will I play the inevitable Planet of Lana III, sure, but narratively this game feels like a complete, unforced misstep from a developer who showed they could craft a solid, well contained narrative.
PLOT SPOILERS OVER
More of the same isn’t necessarily a bad thing and, for Planet of Lana II, it gets almost everything right. The visuals have been uplifted, the music is still great and the casual puzzle-platforming is just as accessible as ever. Where it falls short is in the execution of its narrative, making the mistake of sacrificing this game for the potential of a sequel. I’m hopeful that we’ll see it and get the payoff that a good trilogy deliver but after seeing Wishfully deliver a great, self contained game leaving everything on a cliffhanger just feels like a giant mistake.
Rating: 7.0/10
Planet of Lana II is available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X, Nintendo Switch 1/2 and PC right now for $29.50. Game was played on the PC with a total of 5.5 hours total playtime and 80% of the achievements unlocked. Game is also available on Xbox Gamepass.
