Review for Journey to the Savage Planet. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 28/01/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 21/05/2020
Finding yourself, by calculation or by accident, alone on a lost planet and (you can swear) also rich in situations and life forms ready to make your skin, is certainly a rather recurring theme in recent videogame history. Just think of the chat No Man's Sky or that little pearl that has revealed itself Subnautica. Journey to the Savage Planet catapult us into a situation of this kind, but he does it in his own way, tinging everything with a strong dose of irony and insanity, offering us a fresh, interesting and at times brilliant adventure, absolutely capable of presenting himself with his head held high. comparison of its direct competitors with whom, for better or for worse, it shares more than one element.
Journey to the Savage Planet, developed by Typhoon studios and published by 505 Games, looks like a production poised between the indie and the AAA title, having been made with a budget not even comparable to that of more noble productions, but which still maintains a truly impressive technical level. The game puts us in the shoes, or it would be better to say in the environmental suit, of an anonymous employee of the Kindred Corporation, a company that (and they are really proud to say it) ranks well in fourth place in the ranking of corporations engaged in the exploration of deep space . Well then, but not very well.
Even our landing on a mysterious unexplored planet is not very good, which will make us come out of cryogenic sleep with the semi-destroyed exploration module and little more than our professionalism (somewhat doubtful among other things, according to the files that concern us!) to survive in a potentially hostile environment. Ah, and there would also be that little question of reclaiming a world fit for colonization for the glory of Kindred which, let us remember, is fourth in contention in the conquest of the cosmos, not petty!
As you may have guessed, the demented vein is noticeable from the first moments of the game, starting from the selection of your avatar (mamma mia che faces, Ed) and continuing with the absurd and thumping commercials and motivational videos that are played by the shuttle's computer . Computer that also has a talking AI that, in theory, should support us during our exploration but that in practice, never misses an opportunity to make fun of us with its "jingles". The first thing we will have to do will certainly be to repair our spacecraft as best as possible, so that it can then be used as a semi-permanent base and research laboratory.
To do all this, we should carefully explore the environment or, rather, the environments that surround us, analyze and catalog life forms of various kinds and, of course, look for useful materials for repairs and subsequent upgrades of weapons and equipment, once in possession of which we will be able to access areas and regions previously inaccessible. During our exploration we will be called to solve various environmental puzzles, very often solvable by involving the bizarre local fauna.
Speaking of the strange creatures we will meet, we will have to learn about their habits and peculiar characteristics as soon as possible, both to be able to deal with them in the best possible way in case of danger, and to always know if they can be somehow useful during our exploration. The gameplay of Journey to the Savage Planet is that of a first person action. Our character will be able to travel far and wide the alien wastes by walking, jumping, running and, as long as you develop the right equipment, even flying.
Even the “platform” sections are extraordinarily precise and never frustrating, where we will have to jump and climb trees and ledges and which, in this type of games, are often imprecise and strained.
Graphics and sound, they do a really good job, managing the colors and animations of the environment that surrounds us without any hesitation, without any drops in frame rate whatsoever even on the now obsolete PlayStation 4 slim on which we tested the game (also available on Xbox One e PC, Epic Store exclusive).
The only flaws we noticed in Journey to the Savage Planet are a combat system that is a bit too imprecise (but we are not talking about any FPS, it must be said) and a certain repetition in the long run, a flaw that is however diluted by an almost total freedom of approach to the surrounding environment. So it will be up to us to try to find an imaginative way to accomplish a task.
To all this we add the possibility of facing our exploration in the company of a friend, thanks to the collaborative multiplayer mode, which certainly does not hurt, especially the longevity of the title.
Our final judgment on Journey to the Savage Planet can only be decidedly positive. We are facing a title that is not high-budget, and in some places it shows, but much more fun and incisive than many more famous titles. Many merits and a few negligible defects make this title a highly recommended choice for lovers of exploration ... and trashy humor!
► Journey to the Savage Planet is an Adventure type game developed by 505 Games and published by Typhoon Studios for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 28/01/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 21/05/2020
