Revenge of the Savage Planet Review

A Galactic Goo-ride

Satire can be a difficult balance in video games. While humour is a great narrative tool, gameplay must always be fresh and varied to avoid being the butt of the joke. Revenge of the Savage Planet uses familiar sci-fi, open world tropes to effectively cast a reflection onto many of the biggest games and films in history. But this is more than just a prod to all those that came before. The art style, gameplay options, exploration and mysterious story work together to create a 10-15 hour trip through a goo-filled galaxy begging to be explored high and low. Playing like a combination of Palworld, No Man’s Sky and Splatoon, Revenge sees your character land on a colourful planet after being hired and fired by the space colonisation company Alta Interglobal. Abandoned on a hostile planet with little in tow beyond a talking robot in your ear, the goal is to find a way back to Earth for revenge on Alta. The story is often told through real-life cut-scenes that are equal parts disturbing and informative thanks to videos in your HUB. While this expands to more mysterious happenings and absurd conclusions, the focus of gameplay is to upgrade gear and weapons to tackle the challenges across these hostile planets for a return home. 

While the story is there as a grounding device for progression rather than simply navigating the diverse planets in a collect-a-thon, the constant acquiring of new gear to access areas is the true propeller. Starting out, your space explorer can do little more than jump and shoot. Enemies can seem challenging due to the limited array of tools, but these tools quickly open up to expand gameplay. Double-jumps, parries, a whip capable of capturing creatures like a Pokeball, an assortment of goo types and multi-planet navigation are spread within half-an-hour intervals, which constantly makes gameplay fun and experimental. Often, this enters Metroidvania territory as that ledge you couldn’t reach before is now accessible through the new grapple. It’s a format used in most games, but here it really urges you forward to explore more of the world to unlock such useful tools that are essential for survival. 

Enemies start off with flies and furballs that are present to test your shooting and dodging skills. This expands to more dangerous foes that are fast and can deplete your health quickly if teaming up (don’t get me started on that grasshopper thing). Most have a weak spot that can be aimed for to knock them unconscious, such as the rear or one of many legs, making it easier to capture them as pets or erase them completely. Captured creatures are transported to a facility where they can roam, be researched or simply allow for some relaxing petting. Seeing the stronger foes subjected to this environment is quite funny and adds a ‘capture them all’ component that can either be ignored or followed. Bosses are bigger, stronger and more layered. The giant worm on the second planet included multiple phases in different locations, working as both a test for new mechanics (parry and goo) and demonstration of the game’s commitment to scale. Overall, the designs are wacky and fit well with the theme of the game. Combat continually felt fresh, especially when being able to change goo types and experiment with their elements. Little touches such as covering a creature in bait and seeing another creature devour them followed the line of humour well, but also became a great way to crowd control. Nothing ever feels repetitive, which is a testament to the game design here.

The range of planets available are full of colour, life and interesting areas to explore. I couldn’t help but feel the nostalgia of Tatooine when landing on the sand planet (even the mission on that planet is Star Wars themed). Seeing the worms pop out of the ground also reminded me of Dune, demonstrating the depth of sci-fi influences available here. There are fast travel points across each map to uncover – these are essential, as any death means you’re starting back at the HUB on the first world. Loot is everywhere, resources are needed to upgrade your guns and movement options, and king-of-the-hill type sequences can really put skills to the test. In one section, when faced with a screen full of enemies and needing to remain in the circle for the timer to click down, I kept leading the pesky crab-like creatures through a puddle of red goo (lava) and watched them ignite instantly. Later on, I spread goo near an electric plant and filled the screen with a bug zapper. The game always gives you options in disposal, aware that finding creative solutions will generally be the most rewarding.

Graphically, the game opts for a style not dissimilar to a Fortnite, Palworld type model. The colour pops and is really the hero here. I had minor stutters in areas with larger enemies or greater movement requirements, but overall the issues were minimal and any videos with real actors were seamless. Humour is instilled here, though even the way your character runs is satirical. The soundtrack has some catchy beats during navigation and battle, but the real drawcard here is the way the game presents as a package. Hearing the squash of a bug beneath your feet or the explosion of a bulbous enemy after a few shots all sounds as it should – over-the-top, loud and gooey. The game offers co-op mode, though in my playthrough I completed everything solo. Revenge is well built to have multiple players navigating these interactive worlds and I look forward to testing the multiplayer at a later time. I can imagine the strategy of a shooting player and a melee-focused player working well to combat the foes, with two players both shortening the campaign length and extending play due to the creativity that is offered.

I really enjoyed my time with Revenge of the Savage Planet and hope there are additional planets added in the near future. The game never asks too much of the player to ensure that laughs, creative gameplay and constant progression reward every session. While having more feels like the natural request of a 10-15 hour game, Revenge avoids overstaying its welcome in a year full of games that push your limits. There is difficulty and challenge for those thinking that this is a stroll across lush environments, but in general your time will be spent checking every cave and corner for the next game-changing upgrade. 

Pros

• Creative gameplay
• Hilarious in all areas
• Good variety to functions

Cons

• Some functions are not utilised to full potential
• Many may find the package too short