Journey to the Savage Planet was always one of those games that I would have loved to have tried out, but I just never found the time to do so. Its quirky take on survival games sounded like it would be right up my alley if only because I'm not too keen on those hardcore survival games where you always start out punching trees with your fist as you slowly die from thirst and hunger. Fast-forward a couple of years and its sequel, Revenge of the Savage Planet just happened to release at a time where I had a bit of free time and a co-op partner willing and able to join in on what we both hoped would be some fun adventures on alien worlds.
Revenge of the Savage Planet offers a similar experience to the original, featuring vibrant and colorful explorable environments. The lighthearted and playful writing style persists, maintaining an unserious mood throughout. The survival elements remain minimal, with survival game staples like thirst and hunger being completely absent in this game. The primary dangers are the alien creatures, plants, and surroundings, though death carries little consequence due to the quick respawn and easy retrieval of lost materials.
Revenge sets itself from Journey by switching from a first-person perspective to a third-person one. If nothing else, this change provides players some additional comic relief as players can see their characters goofily running around or hitting a dab when dodging. Returning is the light Metroidvania style of adventure. As you play, you find new high-tech company gear and upgrades that will allow you to go back to earlier planets to continue exploring areas you couldn't access prior.
There is also a greater emphasis on co-op play in Revenge of the Savage Planet. You can either play local co-op via split-screen or you can go online and enjoy cross-platform play with others. You can certainly opt to play solo if you want. This isn't a strictly co-op title and anybody looking to play solo will still have a great time. However, I personally chose to play the game in online co-op with a buddy for the purposes of this review.
Like all good Metroidvania style adventures, you start out Revenge of the Savage Planet not really being able to do much besides run, jump, and kick. Soon enough, you will be building up a new colony on this alien planet, making upgrades to your gear, scanning and capturing the local wildlife for more upgrades, and even mining some rocks for upgrade materials. Basically, everything you do in Revenge of the Savage Planet is working towards making progress for bigger or better gear so that you can find even more materials to make that gear even bigger and better.
This upgrade, explore, upgrade loop can get a bit tedious at times. It becomes especially irksome when you are told, by your ever-present drone named EKO, that you need an upgrade to access this blocked off area. Well, you go to where this upgrade should be and of course it's not there. Then you're told to go somewhere else for the upgrade. Also, don't forget to make a trip back to your base to start the timed research on a newly captured creature There is often a lot of back and forth running around in Revenge of the Savage Planet. At times it can feel like a poor way to pad out play time or arbitrarily restrict access to areas.
The entire progression system seems to be at odds with itself at all times. The game shows you all of these fun and potentially exciting areas to explore but you're told, for one reason or another, that you can't go to those places just yet. If running around all over the place to pick up upgrade parts or materials were the only blockers to exploration, it might not be too bad, but they're not. Instead, the game often locks core upgrades behind the completion of specific challenges that, in most games, would be entirely optional. Some of these challenges are easy and even fun to do. For example, there is one challenge to do a Dive Bomb move from a height of 25 meters. That's easy! It's fun! Some challenges, like that one, will probably come naturally just through playing. However, a not insignificant number of the challenges require very specific situations that you either have to luck into or spend a bit of time manually setting up and hope all goes according to plan.
Sadly, the issues with slow progression and tedious running to-and-fro aren't the only issues I have with Revenge of the Savage Planet. There were some serious performance issues encountered throughout the game. I saw significant framerate dips that seemed to become more noticeable the further my friend and I progressed in the main campaign. Some areas, such as an oasis on what is otherwise a sandy and rocky planet, led to major performance issues on my PC. I had to lower some settings, which helped only slightly. In defense of developer Racoon Logic Studios, they have released a few patches for the game which have actually helped smooth out some of those performance woes. It's certainly not perfect but it is better than it was nearer to launch.
I know I sound like I'm being extremely down on the game. There is a lot to like and even love about Revenge of the Savage Planet. The game certainly has a lot of heart. You can see it in everything from the funny animations, descriptions of alien life, and even in the many live-action videos that play frequently at your home base. Revenge of the Savage Planet also allows you to customize your outfit and decorate your home base with things that provide no gameplay benefit whatsoever. Why? Because these are just purely a fun thing to do. Even the gameplay, combat, and traversal are all quite fun, but only later on when you've made significant progress through the game. As I said, simply getting to that point where you are near completely free to explore these planetary sandboxes can feel too slow, too tedious, and even too frustrating. These considerable obstacles will likely deter many players.
Revenge of the Savage Planet excels with its environmental puzzles, requiring players to rely on their intellect to progress. These puzzles vary in complexity. Some involve manipulating magnetic rocks to form pathways across cliffs. Others require following power lines and shooting specific buttons to unlock loot. More intricate puzzles utilize environmental elements like lava to melt ice or "Ferro Goo" to conduct electricity between plants and switches.
Revenge of the Savage Planet brims with undeniably enjoyable moments, strongly indicating that the development team had a lot of fun crafting its numerous pop culture references, its quirky live-action advertisements, its clever puzzles, and its vibrant and engaging environments. Despite presenting itself as an open playground for exploring vibrant alien environments, this game erects numerous unnecessary barriers, hindering the very freedom it seems to promise. Ultimately, the restrictive gameplay clashes significantly with the otherwise lighthearted and adventurous tone.
Score
Additional Information
- Revenge of the Savage Planet
- Developed by: Raccoon Logic Studios
- Published by: Raccoon Logic Studios
- Price: Starting at $39.99 (USD)
- Platform reviewed on: PC (also available for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Game Pass)
- Release Date: May 8, 2025
- ESRB: Rated T for Teen (Fantasy violence, animated blood, language, and crude humor)
- This game was provided to Total Gaming Network for review purposes.
