There’s nothing quite like an epic journey on a lifeless rock to make you appreciate the finer things in life, considering that you’re also 15 billion lightyears from planet earth. Lifeless Planet follows the journey of a lone astronaut as he crash lands on the surface of a newly discovered planet that seems vacant of all life. Or is it? Can this game provide an experience resembling that of the great pc adventure games of the 90’s with a visually stimulating narrative, or will this be a lifeless encounter that should be taken far away from earth?
The overall concept of Lifeless Planet is fascinating, and one that would allow for an experience that’s infrequently seen on major consoles. It game allows players to dive into a surreal and bleak journey and truly venture into the unknown. One major problem I have with Lifeless Planet, however, was that the game gives too much away within the first act, destroying the huge sense of mystery the game was trying to produce. The suspenseful reveal’s delivered within a few moments after your travels begin, and you are left with nothing more to do than follow a long trail through a dead planet (literally you have to follow a green trail for a majority of the game).
This also links to another major problem: A huge portion of the game is so dull, because there is a lack of conflict or raising stakes, and the absence of an engaging narrative. The first and last acts of the narrative are the most appealing and provide the more entertaining elements of gameplay, with an ending that leaves many questions to be answered. Sadly, the majority of act two just ends up being a game of “follow the highlighted trail” and has little to no real intrigue.
Gameplay breaks down to exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving. The exploration works rather well in the huge landscapes, while platforming also benefits from the larger open world segments. Jumping from pillar to pillar in a vast canyon is a thrilling exercise of energetic gameplay, and is one of the more memorable parts of the game. Exploring the open world can also reveal a few secrets, even if much of it is empty. Sadly a majority of the puzzles are too simple and a little repetitive.
It’s not until the third act where the puzzles become grander in scale, and actually require more thought to solve them. Most of the time it’s using a robotic arm to place a stone into an opening or push a series of buttons in the right order.
I mentioned before that the game lacked, conflict even with an enemy placed in the game world. These “Root Monsters” (sounds silly I know) don’t pose a major threat, as they’re mostly stationary and easily avoided. Even when they evolve into the shape of human beings to lure you into a trap, they still manage to ruin the intensity and provide no real element of conflict. Even the mini twisters that show up here and there pose no real danger unless you’re completely hopeless at out-walking it. Most of the game ends up being a walking simulator, and the most dangerous thing in the game are the controls and a high cliff you can fall off of. Dying is so rare that the game actually gives you achievements for it. It’s that bad.
Lifeless Planet also seems too long and could have been massively cut down, or condensed to create a more thought-provoking journey that was both surreal and strange, like Interstellar or 2001. With all of that said, the game does create an immersive atmosphere with the open world and its design, along with some set pieces that deliver the more stronger segments of the narrative, and introduce a form of interactive storytelling.
Most of the game is thankfully visually stimulating and wondrous to look at, apart from the moments the game decides to bathe everything in darkness and you can’t see jack all. One major component that helps create a strong atmosphere and brings the game to a higher standard of interactive media is the soundtrack. The collection of electronic scores sound beautiful and perfect for this adventure, giving the sense of wonder, dread and sorrow with simple key notes that sound similar to any classic 80’s sci-fi movies.
What can ruin the exploration factor are the controls; the walking is fine, but the jumping can be an annoying issue. Jumping forward has a tendency to either stop mid motion, or go too far and overjump the distance by a few feet. There were some graphical glitches in the game and a moment or two where my character was suddenly thrown out of the game world altogether. However, these issues were infrequent, and not a game breaking issue.
What can I say? Lifeless Planet tries well enough to produce a thought provoking game and in many respects, it does. But halfway through the developer decided to force in more mindless puzzle elements, and a non-threatening enemy type that could have been taken out completely. Still, the first and last act were enjoyable and gave the best moments of the game, with better puzzle, story, and gameplay elements towards the end to help end the game on a better note than the second act.
Lifeless Planet
$19.99/£10.35
Pros
- Visually impressive
- Great soundtrack
- Some of the platforming segments are fun
Cons
- The Lack of conflict or danger
- Majority of the game's a dull platformer
- A mostly uninspiring narrative
- Clunky controls
