Planet of Lana is what can be called a little gem.
Released in May 2023, it immediately carved out a space in my heart.
The protagonist, Lana, is a girl who embarks on a journey to save her brother, after the peaceful fishing village where they lived is attacked by strange alien machines.
The incipit is much stranger to read than to see it, as is the rest of the story, because although Planet of Lana is a "silent" game, or rather with an alien "Ico" style language, it manages to beautifully tell the story its plot and makes excellent use of both the music and the settings, conveying the right emotion to feel in that exact moment you are experiencing.
Personally, however, I believe that the real strong point is the use of colour, as even just seeing the enemies, characterized by a very intense black and fluorescent lights, moving in incredibly sunny scenarios and with backdrops similar to paintings, creates a real sensation of visual "disturbance", making us easily understand that that thing shouldn't be there.
The environmental puzzles are almost all very good, not frustrating and very diverse.
We will be able to solve them, many times, using our adventure companion (called Miu) who we will guide through various inputs, to overcome the various scenarios...
I know you're wondering, yes, we will also be able to pet him....and you will want to do it very often, seeing how adorable he is!
Another positive aspect is the short longevity, which prevents the game from becoming redundant or boring.
4 or 5 hours will be enough to complete it 100%.
In short, Planet of Lana is a simple, well-structured, well-told environmental puzzle adventure, very silent but which will involve you emotionally in a way that few games manage to do!
Available for Xbox X e S, Gamepass, PC and coming on April 16, 2024 also on PS4, PS5 and Switch!
