PLANET ALPHA

The game is a platformer that gives the player the expected set of actions: run, jump, climb certain walls, push/drag specific objects. Additionally you can control the planet's day/night cycle. There are no separate levels. Instead the action is smoothly transitioning between different environments, without any loading times. The gameplay constantly alternates between slow-paced sections where you jump and climb platforms, solve mini puzzles or sneak past enemies and frantic sequences where you're running from enemies or the ground crumbling underneath your feet. There are plenty of checkpoints so even if you die (and you'll die a lot!) you'll only have to redo 2-3 screens at the most. The majority of the puzzles are easy enough to figure out as to not stop you in your tracks for too long. They may require you to move around rocks in order to reach higher places, hide behind objects to sneak past or lure out wildlife to deal with enemies (you can't kill them directly) and so on. Not very deep, but for the most part logical and adding some variety. Btw there's no text in the game. Background story unfolds through the things happening around you and the environment. The only puzzle clues you get are little visual things like lights or symbols. The graphics, despite the low-poly look, are nice and colorful. Some of the scenery is simply breathtaking and beautiful with distant mountains, plateaus, dense jungle, waterfalls, huge dinosaur-like creatures feeding on trees, etc. There are a few negatives. The camera is a bit too close at times and the view gets obstructed by foreground stuff. Enemies can move in all directions while player movement is restricted to two-dimensional plane. Some puzzles are a bit cryptic. Overall, the gameplay reminded me of Another World. It's rather linear with a string of small situations you have to figure out. If branching paths and extensive exploration are your thing, this game probably isn't for you. Otherwise I'd say give it a try.

I don't want to put spoilers here. so I can't tell much about the new concept of the game. I'm in chapter 6(8 total) around 2-3 hours of play. this is basically a semi difficulty platformer with very much graphic novel to it, although no words are spoken. its a mystery of the planet. its the bizarre creatures and life like plants and vegetations, its the fear from the unknown coming at you full speed. at first it had a slow start, but later on I would say it can contend with the difficulty levels of games like giana sisters(the new of course). the experience is wonderful always, because even if you die, or get stuck in a puzzle like problems you have no idea how to progress- the graphics and the atmosphere really back you up. I'm a sucker for such alien planets sci fi thing also. so if you are like me, love platformers, love bizarre sci fi plants and vegetations, flying whales, shootings, lasers, mystery of origins, you are gonna like this game. terrific and original. I don't want to even begin to imagine how much work to put all this detail to life. such hard work and such great results. amazing. thank you team 17, I still remember you back on the amiga days.

Looks: awesome. Story: meh, although I did enjoy the whales wrecking havoc on the robot ships at some point. In general, a rather nice chill experience with really good looks, some interesting mechanics (d/n control) and almost non-existent story. It definitely could've been great it they'd put more work into it. At this point, I can only recommend it when it's discounted tho - paying more than $6 for this game is an overkill.

When I bought this game, I thought it was going to be a mildly interesting, 3rd person, story game. I didn't read the exact details on the page so that's my fault. On playing the game, I could tell that he developers were inspired by games like Inside, Limbo, and other game like that. There are puzzles set pieces, escape set pieces, and very mild horror set pieces. Any encounter in this game ranges from zero challenge to a slight challenge. The gimmick of the game is that your character has control over the lunar and solar bodies in the sky. The game inplies that you are controlling time, but most entities in the universe are totally uneffected by your ability. You mostly only have control over terrain and plant life. This gimmick is very shallow. It is very similar to the aspects of the set pieces. That would be fine normally because this is a story game. The set pieces are just there to keep you engaged. The gimmick isn't where the focus is. The story involves robots coming down to a world and destroying all life for reasons. Their motives are never explained. The character's motives and backstory are never explained either. After playing through the entirety of the game, I have no clue if, we as the character, are from the planet or not. The game has a message, but it is very vague. I would guess it is a "save the planet" motif, but we don't really get that from the character's actions. The player really only tries to stay alive. We only help creatures to further meet our goals. There is a twist at the end that tries to be compeling, but it just doesn't land with me. I got this game discounted, and I still regret my purchase. It was a shallow experiance that left me feeling the same.