Planet Alpha Review

Sep 14, 2018  Planet Alpha review If there is one thing games like Limbo and Inside have taught us, it’s that side-scrolling platform adventures have the potential for greatness. Without dialogue, cinematic.

Sometimes, less is more. Old school gamers have long known the thrill of games with minimal dialogue and little in the way of tutorial. Many indie games have attempted to recapture that feeling, but for multiple reasons, it doesn’t always feel as natural as it should. Planet Alpha is certainly an exception. The game focuses on an astronaut marooned on a strange planet besieged by robotic invaders, and the setup works very well for this sort of approach. And that’s just one of many things the game does right.

In Planet Alpha, players must traverse the titular planet as a nameless astronaut. Developer Team 17’s latest is primarily a 2D platforming game, but it also borrows a number of elements from both the puzzle and stealth genres. The game’s astronaut doesn’t have much in the way of abilities: he can climb, crouch, push certain objects and alter the planet’s day/night cycle. There are some areas where the planet influences the astronaut’s abilities as well, such as areas with lower gravity, or plants that afford a temporary speed boost. The game does offer some very basic button directions early on, but otherwise there isn’t anything else given as far as directions go; it’s up to the player to figure things out. While the game does have a story, it can also be vague at times, leaving much up to the player’s imagination.

At times, the lack of direction can get a little overwhelming. There were multiple instances where I thought I knew what I was supposed to do, only to realize it was something completely different after dying a few times. Fortunately, respawns come quickly and the game autosaves very frequently, so you won’t have to replay tough segments you’ve cleared. Planet Alpha does a good job of making you feel a sense of accomplishment for figuring out these puzzles; while some are as basic as moving a particular rock into place, there are others that are truly clever, and I couldn’t help but smile after clearing them.

In many ways, Planet Alpha feels reminiscent of a 2D Metroid game. It doesn’t fit into the classic Metroidvania mold, as there is little to no backtracking, but the isolated setting and lack of dialogue couldn’t help but remind me of the adventures of Samus. Another major difference between Planet Alpha and most Metroidvania titles, however, is that the astronaut has no offensive abilities. As a result, you’ll have to use cunning to escape the planet’s many dangers. Changing the time from day to night when a particular flower blooms can provide cover from a trigger-happy robot, while jumping on top of a gigantic, dinosaur-like creature’s tail can elicit an opponent-damaging wag. Sometimes, creatures in the background are used to solve puzzles, while other times their presence is simply eye candy meant to make the planet feel more alive.

The creatures you’ll encounter are just one element of the visually striking scenery in Planet Alpha. Stills really don’t do the game justice as the planet is brimming with life and atmosphere. It’s clear that the developer put a lot of thought into the mechanics of the world, and it really shows. Bolstered by phenomenal lightning and mesmerizing colors, the game is truly gorgeous, with the best visuals coming at night. The music equally adds to the atmosphere, with simple, mellow tracks.

One of the bigger issues I had with Planet Alpha boiled down to overall visibility, which becomes problematic in a handful of ways. First off is the size of the protagonist. This has become a common problem in a lot of platforming games over the last few years, though it does makes sense here given the game’s scale. Still, it can make things hard to see at times, particularly on the go. Planet Alpha is also the kind of Switch game that can be very difficult to play portably, perhaps more so than any Switch game I’ve yet encountered. While things are mostly fine during segments that take place during the day, when the planet shifts to night, or when playing in a subterranean area of the planet, the slightest bit of glare on the screen can make it nearly impossible to see. Finally, it can sometimes be tough to make out items that are in the foreground versus the background. Sometimes you’ll try to jump to a ledge only to discover it’s actually inaccessible. Further complicating matters, the game takes place entirely on a two-dimensional plane, but only for the player. Enemies have less restriction, and they can move along paths the player does not have access to. As a result, sometimes you’ll think you’re well hidden from an enemy only to find them turning a corner you don’t have access to.

Planet Alpha is a truly special title. It’s gorgeous to look at, the puzzles are clever, and the challenges will give gamers a strong sense of reward. While the lack of direction and visibility difficulties will grate on the nerves of some players, it’s an impressive experience on Switch. Many developers try to replicate the old school charm of titles like Metroid, but few manage to capture that charm while also making something that feels unique. Planet Alpha is very much an experience all its own, and gamers would be hard pressed to find a more unique and vibrant platformer on eShop.

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard criteria.

Planet Alpha (Switch) Review

by John Rairdin - September 4, 2018, 9:25 am PDT
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Like Heart of Darkness but with less darkness and more heart.

Fight night round 2 characters. The version contains the SNES classic hit as a bonus game. EA SPORTS TRAXX: featuring music by (who appears in the video game), and.

Project Eden is a 2001 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive.It was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2.The planned Dreamcast version was cancelled. The plot involves a squad of four law enforcement agents investigating the disappearances of people by working their way downwards through layers of a towering mega-city. Everreach: project eden review. Project Eden is a 3D shooter with an emphasis on puzzle-solving. You'll lead a squad consisting of four UPA agents: Carter Dorlan, Andre Herderman, Minoko Molensky, and Amber Torrelson. Each operative has his or her own special ability that you'll need to master in order to progress.

Planet Alpha is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer in the vein of classics like Heart of Darkness, or more recent titles such as Little Nightmares, Limbo, or Inside. Like those aforementioned titles, it sets out to tell a story through dynamic, artistically satisfying environments. What sets it apart is its flagrant disregard for what has become the genre’s obligatory dark aethstetic, replaced instead by a vibrant, living world that stretches far into the horizon.

After a brief opening in which you slowly trudge across a barren planet, you awaken in a dark cave with no real context for your journey. As you emerge from the cave you’re greeted with a beautiful flourishing vista. Apatosaurus-like creatures dot the landscape, and giant flying whales loom overhead. To be honest the whales kinda creeped me out (where my fellow megalohydrothalassophobiacs at?), but the vista is otherwise idyllic. But where there is Eden, there is a race of super robots hell bent on messing it up.

Planet Alpha’s gameplay is built around explorative platforming along a linear path. Occasional hidden areas, stealth segments, and puzzle solving are sprinkled throughout the adventure to add variety. At its core the gameplay is extremely simple, amounting to little more than running, jumping, and sliding blocks. A little ways in you’ll also gain the ability to manipulate the day/night cycle, which can affect the terrain around you. Despite the simplicity, Planet Alpha leverages these mechanics in constantly changing ways. Rarely is any one mechanic overused, with perhaps the exception of stealth. These segments in which you had to hide in tall grass or make yourself otherwise obscured in order to sneak past enemies was by far my least favorite part of the journey. I had trouble determining when the enemies could see me and how far they could see. This resulted in many of these encounters coming down to trial and error. I won’t go into specifics, but multiple playthroughs are encouraged in order to find everything. These stealth segments are the only portions of the experience that I was never excited to revisit.

On the visual front, Planet Alpha is an odd beast. While artistically it is absolutely astounding, the Switch’s capacity to present that art is somewhat underwhelming. Whether playing docked or undocked, the game runs at a pretty low resolution. Granted it is a bit better playing on the TV but not by much. In an effort to mitigate the issue, an aggressive pass of temporal anti-aliasing in is place. While it does smooth out the edges, what results is a somewhat goopy looking image akin to some of the worst moments of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Wolfenstein 2. It also leads to some of the worst ghosting artifacts I’ve seen yet on a Switch title. It doesn’t really hinder gameplay, but it did leave me curious to play the game on more powerful hardware, where the art could be given its due glory. However, in the grand scheme of things this sacrifice makes sense. The payoff is a reasonably steady frame rate despite remarkably lush environment. The atmospheric synth-heavy soundtrack only adds to the presentation and makes for some truly awesome moments.

Planet Alpha shines some much needed light on a very dark genre. It stands in stark presentational contrast with its contemporaries in the best way possible. Stealth segments do drag down the experience somewhat but are the exception not the rule in otherwise compelling gameplay. From a technical standpoint, the Switch may not be the best way to play, but the core experience shines through. Planet Alpha was the refreshing breath of air that I never realized the genre needed.

Summary

Pros

• Amazing art
• Compelling story
• Great soundtrack
• Varied use of core mechanics

Cons

• Poor image quality
• Stealth segments got frustrating

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