No one wants to be fired, especially when you’re tens of thousands of lightyears away from home on a deserted planet. That said, the situation is surely more fun with a friend in tow. For my first taste of Revenge of the Savage Planet, I played alongside game design director Steven Masters to check out everything new in the third-person co-op sequel to Journey to the Savage Planet.
I’ve landed on a colorful yet deadly alien planet, my employer has fired me mid-flight, and I’m now left to fend for myself. Within seconds, it’s clear that developer Racoon Logic is doubling down on the silly, chaotic action that won its predecessor so many fans. Revenge of the Savage Planet‘s world, which is made up of four distinct planets and one additional ‘secret’ planet, is crammed with things to see and do.
Cute bug-eyed ferret creatures run around your feet, less cute goo monsters attack you on sight, and you can go anywhere you can see. With a couple of limitations, you can scale most cliffs, rocks, or ledges, though you might first need to unlock the right tools or abilities. While it’s a silly third-person shooter at face value, it’s a tightly designed Metroidvania at heart.
You’ll return to earlier worlds to open up new areas using your ever-growing assortment of tools. There’s a lava gun to burn down obstacles, a water gun to make plants grow, a goo gun to create slippery surfaces, and more. Secrets and branching paths are hidden almost everywhere you look, and you’re handsomely rewarded for exploring.
From the moment your character is fired, your job is to find resources and craft the tools you need to survive and escape. It’s a simple premise, but the two worlds I saw were well worth exploring, with scarily deep lakes, a gorgeous forest grove area, and even a talking tree. It’s easy to let the beautiful landscapes and general assault of silliness draw you in.
Your new tools also double as weapons. There are fire, water, conductive, and poison goop guns, as well as a whip, a powerful kick, and more. With access to such a broad arsenal, combat soon descends into a mess of color.
You can kill goop monsters by filling them with water until they explode, while the furry creatures are best left alone entirely. You can also use elemental combos and the environment to get the upper hand, triggering explosions to take out groups or spraying slippery goop on the floor to stop enemies from nipping at your shins. I’m excited to see the full potential of Revenge of the Savage Planet’s combat.
The action is dialed up even more with another player in the mix. Only the host retains any progress made, with the second player simply tagging along for the ride. Oddly, there’s no difficulty scaling in co-op, making the game a lot easier. However, Masters tells me he dies more often in co-op than he does when playing alone due to the sheer chaos.
When you both have so many tools at your disposal, and those tools can cause a range of environmental reactions, it feels like anything can happen. I don’t imagine most people will commit to a full co-op playthrough due to those irritating progression restrictions, but it’s well worth trying in small doses.
Revenge of the Savage Planet offers more depth than you might think, whether you’re playing solo or with a friend, and the Metroidvania structure keeps progression tight and satisfying. There’ll be lots of secrets to find and surprising tools to craft as you explore the space game‘s worlds, and I just hope the full experience lives up to the considerable promise of its opening hours.
Revenge of the Savage Planet arrives May 8 on Steam.
