Journey To The Savage Planet

🎮 Game Information

• Developer: Typhoon Studios
• Publisher: 505 Games (Original Release) / Raccoon Logic Studios Inc. (Current Publisher)
• Release Date: January 28, 2020
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch (Cloud), Amazon Luna
• Genre: Action-Adventure / Exploration / First-Person Platformer
• Mode: Single-player, Online Co-op

🪐 Introduction

I wasn't expecting much from Journey to the Savage Planet. I thought it would be a simple sci-fi game with some jokes and a bit of exploring. But after I finished the main story and went back to find hidden areas and upgrades, I realized it's actually one of the most likable exploration games I've ever played.

Instead of making you fight all the time, the game really pushes you to be curious. Every weird creature, glowing plant, hidden cave, and strange landmark makes you want to try things out. The bright visuals and funny, sarcastic humor make it fun the whole way through. Plus, you keep getting new gadgets that let you access areas you couldn't get to before.

By the time the game ended, I felt like I had really explored an alien world, not just gone through a checklist on a map.

🕹️ Gameplay – 8.9/10

Journey to the Savage Planet is all about exploring. You start on the alien planet AR-Y 26 with hardly any gear. Almost everything you do depends on learning new ways to move around. You get double jumps, grapple hooks, better thrusters, ways to explore underwater, and tools to handle the environment. These slowly change how you travel through the world.

This way of progressing, similar to Metroidvania games, works really well. Places that felt impossible at first become easy to reach after you upgrade your gear. This makes going back to old areas feel useful instead of boring. Finding hidden caves, alien spots, and things to collect always feels worth it because you usually find something good.

Fighting aliens is fun, but it's not the main part of the game. Each alien acts differently, so you have to scan them and figure out how to beat them. Some enemies need you to use the environment or your upgraded gear cleverly, not just shoot them.

Making new gear and upgrading what you have is simple. You use resources you find while exploring. It's never too complicated, so you can focus on discovering things instead of managing your inventory.

If there's one downside, it's that fighting can get a bit old in the second half of the game. The boss fights are entertaining, but not very tough. Even so, exploring is so consistently good that these issues don't really harm the overall experience.

🎨 Visuals & Art Style – 9.2/10

This game really pops with personality when you look at it. Each area is packed with bright colors, strange creatures, plants that glow, islands floating in the air, caves full of poison, and huge alien buildings. All of this makes you want to explore.

The creature designs are incredibly creative. Some look cute until they go on the attack, while others seem scary even though they won't hurt you. You can scan almost anything you find, which really makes it feel like you're on a real scientific trip.

Even though the game is set on just one planet, the places you visit are very different. You'll find thick jungles, caves with volcanoes, icy mountains, swamps filled with poison, and rocks that float. Each one feels distinct, so exploring never gets boring.

The way the characters move is pretty basic, but the world looks so charming that it hardly makes a difference.

🔊 Sound & Music – 8.4/10

The music in the game is pretty quiet for most of it, so you hear the sounds of the environment more. You’ll constantly hear weird alien noises, buzzing bugs, water falling, and faraway creature sounds, which really make you feel like you're in a totally new place.

The commercials from the game's fake company are also really great. Your employer sends you funny live-action ads during the game that make fun of corporate greed. These commercials, along with the regular mission updates, are some of the funniest parts of the game.

The sound effects are also really good, especially when you upgrade your gadgets or interact with creatures. Each new tool sounds distinct and feels powerful because of its audio design.

📖 Story & Atmosphere – 8.5/10

Even though the story doesn't aim for heavy emotions, its smart humor and satire make it work well.

You're part of Kindred Aerospace, a comically broke company that calls itself the "fourth best interstellar exploration company." Your job seems straightforward: figure out if a planet can be colonized by humans. Of course, things get much weirder the more you explore.

The story is told through things you find in the environment, alien tech, audio logs, and funny company messages. The main mystery isn't exactly new, but the writing keeps things engaging.

The atmosphere is where this game really stands out. Even with its bright graphics, the planet feels mysterious. You never know if the next cave will have useful stuff, a dangerous creature, or another strange piece of alien history waiting for you.

🐞 Bugs & Technical Performance – 8/10

The game ran well during my time playing it. Loading was quick, and on current systems, the frame rate was usually smooth.

However, there were a few things that came up:

• Sometimes creatures had weird physics bugs.
• There were a few instances of clipping when I was jumping around.
• Minor animation stutters happened now and then.
• In co-op mode, the synchronization wasn't always perfect.

But thankfully, none of these problems really got in the way of playing or enjoying the game.

🔁 Replayability – 8/10

You'll find plenty of reasons to play again after you finish the main story.

If you like to find everything, there are dozens of extra hours of gameplay. This includes getting all the upgrades, scanning every creature, collecting all the alien resources, finishing the research goals, and exploring 100% of the map.

Playing with a friend in co-op also makes the game feel quite different. Exploring the planet together leads to a lot of fun moments and makes trying new things even more enjoyable.

Even though the main story is the same, people who want to complete everything and those who love exploring will have good reasons to come back to AR-Y 26.

🔚 Final Verdict – 8.8/10

Journey to the Savage Planet is a fantastic exploration-focused adventure that perfectly captures the excitement of discovering an unknown world. Its colorful environments, clever humor, rewarding progression, and constant sense of curiosity make every hour enjoyable.

While the combat isn't particularly deep and the story remains fairly straightforward, neither issue overshadows what the game does best: making exploration genuinely fun. Every upgrade opens new possibilities, every strange creature invites investigation, and every hidden corner rewards curiosity.

If you enjoy exploration-heavy adventures, Metroidvania progression, and lighthearted sci-fi worlds filled with personality, Journey to the Savage Planet is absolutely worth the trip.