tl; dr if quality storytelling and terrific worldbuilding is your thing, then "Planet of Lana" is highly recommended for a quiet afternoon. For the asking price I just finished the game after buying it at launch and it was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. It's similar to games such as "Limbo" or "Inside", but with a clearly defined story and adventurous spirit. Beautiful art, amazing soundtrack, and quality sound design elevate this puzzle platformer. Players looking to spend an afternoon of their time with a 4-5 hour game would be hard pressed to find something better. Sure, the puzzles are not that challenging, nor particularly varied. The small, furry companion named "Mui" is adorable and adds some variety to the gameplay. But the journey is well worth it -
tl; dr: if you like old samurai movies starring Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai or even the newer movies by Takashi Miike, buy this game! It's worth full price. On sale, it's a no-brainer if you are interested in artistic, indie games. Please consider supporting such projects which try something interesting and unique! I bought this game on launch with a small discount (10%), but after having finished the first four chapters of the story I would say this is definitely worth full price! This game has an impressive attention to detail (foregrounds and backgrounds are filled with awesome details, which make the settlements featured in the game feel lived-in and the desolate landscapes...well, desolate), a gorgeous sense of picture framing, and solid Japanese language voice acting. The combat with some finisher moves is satisfying, if a bit clunky. It's basically a parry-based, sword-fighting game with some minor weapon diversity (bo-shuriken, bow, musket) thrown in. The issue is the small number of animation frames during the parries, which make it difficult at first to understand the combat. So don't go into this game expecting Sekiro-level animations. (Hence the four stars) The story is basic, but lovingly told. The devs were really passionate about this world and characters and it shows! This passion coupled with art design and voice acting is what elevates the game to four stars imho.
I just had to buy this! Started playing this a long time ago, after a friend lent me his CD-ROM copy (bought secondhand from a fleamarket in Austria, of all places), but didn't finish it. It's simply an amazing game in terms of production design and value. It's basically a classic Spielberg SF movie in the vein of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in the raw sense of wonder and mystery that it emanates. For the price that GOG has (basically a pack of cigarettes), you must give it a try.
