Review: Planet of Lana (PS5) – A Gorgeous, Serene Platform Puzzler

If you’re looking for a quick and gorgeous game, one you can polish off in a couple of relaxed afternoons, Planet of Lana fits the bill. Previously an Xbox console exclusive, it’s come to PlayStation now, and will speak to anyone who enjoyed the likes of Limbo or Inside.

It’s in the same vein, with a small and powerless protagonist whom you must guide through a robot invasion of her serene home world. Teaming up with a cute local critter, you’ll sneak past robots and other nasties in the hopes of saving your friends and family.

With a beautiful painterly art style, the main strengths of Planet of Lana are in the visual and soundtrack departments, which both excel. Its vistas are stunning at points, although its occasionally ponderous insta-kill stealth mechanics cannot quite match that level. The game also relies surprisingly heavily on its slightly pedestrian platforming, with a movement set that favours animation fidelity over fluidity to occasionally have you missing jumps that you really think you got right.

There are frequent puzzles to provide the real meat of the gameplay, though, as you direct your little companion to distract foes and give you openings to move before figuring out new paths — the classic overlap between stealth and puzzle-solving is evident here. So, while its puzzles are prosaic enough and its stealth pretty simplistic, given it only lasts for a few hours, neither spoils the party.

It’s the landscapes, outsized encounters, and a couple of lovely background melodies that will stay with you, though. Planet of Lana takes you through breezy mountain meadows to arid deserts, with dank caves and metallic constructions, too, each with its own colour palette and soundscape. These help it to feel like a really substantial journey, for all that its runtime is modest (although there are some decently-buried secrets to find for the keener fans).

It might not end up matching the influence of Limbo or the perfectly-judged arc of Inside, but Planet of Lana is a welcome addition to the side-scroller genre on PlayStation regardless. It looks amazing, sounds great, and tells a nice succinct story.