I’m going to level with you, readers. Probably something like 70% of my 2023 games time was spent on precisely two co-op shooters, neither of which I’ve written about much, nor were new enough to be eligible for the most recent Advent Calendar. I apparently have a type. I’m sorry.
Still, while the man’s rules prevent me from recommending Deep Rock Galactic or Darktide, I do have a few picks that fell short of full Advent Calendar glory. And they’re all... colourful, quite short indie platformers? Hmm, maybe I have two types.
]]>Planet of Lana has all the hallmarks of a story-rich platformer. Across its six-hour run time, you'll encounter a string of environmental puzzles, an evil plan concocted by a group of baddies, a rich orchestral soundtrack that swells at all the right moments, a cute animal companion, and a gorgeous world that needs saving.
On paper, it has everything you could possibly want from this kind of game, but in practice, it can also be Lana's undoing at times. It does everything well - admittedly some much better than others - but it feels like this sci-fi tale is missing something. That gut punch, that sigh of relief after a thrill, that unexpected surprise... You know, that extra edge to really make it sing. It’s still a very enjoyable adventure, but its lack of emotional highs means it doesn't linger long in the memory once you've seen the credits roll. Is that a roundabout way to say that Planet of Lana is a solid 7/10? Maybe, but we don't do that here.
]]>May marks the beginning of summer, the end of spring, and National Paper Airplane Day. Oh, and another fresh batch of Game Pass comings and goings. The rest of this month welcomes a few gems (Chicory: A Colorful Tale and FIFA), and bids farewell to others (Europa Universalis and FIFA).
]]>Wishfully’s scenic platformer Planet Of Lana has received a fast-approaching release date: May 23rd. Planet Of Lana has been on the RPS Hivemind’s radar since its announcement thanks to its hand-painted art, evocative soundtrack, and comparisons to Ori and Inside - two excellent platformers in their own right. The newest trailer (embedded below) is just an extra treat.
]]>Wishfully's upcoming cinematic platformer Planet Of Lana turned eyes and heads when it was first announced at E3 2021, and the comparison we instantly settled upon was "like Ori meets Inside". At a recent ID@Xbox showcase we attended last week, creative director and Wishfully co-founder Adam Stjärnljus acknowledged that Playdead connection, saying that both Limbo and Inside "had a huge impact on me". But he also said Studio Ghibli's animated film Spirited Away was another key influence, which, yep, that definitely tracks.
"I was very inspired by Studio Ghibli films, and especially the film Spirited Away," Stjärnljus told us. "That's been kind of like a guiding star from the beginning in terms of tonality with this serious, emotional story, but [also] still, like, a fun quirkiness to it, and really this sense of exploring another world, which we really want."
]]>Happy New Year, folks! Crikey, there are a lot of games coming out this year, aren't there? When I first asked the team to put together their most anticipated games for 2023, I was thinking we'd have a reasonably sensible number of things we were all looking forward to, you know, somewhere in the region of the 43 games we highlighted at the start of 2022. Very quickly, though, it became apparent that, actually, there are simply loads of games the RPS Treehouse is personally excited about this year, and cor, it would be rude not to include every last one of them. I'll be upfront: there are a fair number of TBA games on here that probably aren't going to come out in 2023, but as ever, we remain hopeful and optimistic all the same. So let's dive in.
]]>Sci-fi platformer Planet Of Lana seems like a sweet, scenic adventure with an alien monkey butler, and today’s Future Games Show had a little more gameplay to share. I mentioned Planet Of Lana earlier this week in my Day Of The Devs 2022 round-up, because it featured in that indie showcase too. Check out the trailer if you missed it on Thursday, it’s quite charming.
]]>Day Of The Devs is probably my favourite part of the summer games jamboree every year because it does wonders for the visibility of indie games and their developers. Slotting in snugly right after Geoff regaled us with the Summer Game Fest stream, this year’s Day Of The Devs showcase marked the tenth anniversary. Tim Schafer and friends revealed more about some stonking looking indies from places as far apart as the Netherlands, Japan and Argentina. It was lovely to see some solo devs featured too, such as Madison Karrh with Birth, a point-and-click puzzler about loneliness, and Billy Basso’s beautiful pixel-art Metroidvania Animal Well.
]]>2022 is finally here and that can only mean one thing. We've got another year of hip new video games to look forward to, and we've been busy rustling up the ones we're most excited about. In truth, there are tons of games on the horizon that could easily sit on this list, and some of them are so close to release we can practically already see the pixels on our screens morphing into their lush, polygonal landscapes. Games like Monster Hunter Rise, God Of War and Rainbow Six Extraction. You won't find them here, but trust us, you'll be seeing a lot of them over the coming weeks.
There are always more games coming out than we have fingers to write about them, but the 2022 games we've listed below are the ones the RPS team are personally most looking forward to playing. We've got games big and small here, and they're all listed in alphabetical order. After all, release dates are increasingly slippery beasts these days. Think we've missed something? Why not take to the comments below and tell us all about it. You might just convince us to put it on our radars. But enough from me. Here are our 43 most anticipated games of 2022.
]]>I know when a man like Geoff Keighley stands on a stage like the Summer Game Fest and talks about supporting indie developers, that he's about to introduce a cinematic platformer. There's a formula here, right: an emotional story, stunning artwork, stunning animation -- oh, wait. Planet Of Lana looks stunning.
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