Planet Alpha by Team17 and and Denmark-based independent developer, Adrian Lazar of Planet Alpha ApS game studio, is a 2-D atmospheric puzzle-platformer with 3-D elements. In it, you continuously move forward towards some goal that only the main character knows.
In fact, most of what is going on is shrouded in mystery. As the game progresses, the story appears to reveal itself more and more until you have a vague idea of what’s going on. There is no dialogue whatsoever in the game, so what you learn is through the environment and how the characters interact with it and each other. While I thought this was a creative way of storytelling, there were still parts of the story that went unexplained. For example, at the game’s beginning, the main character is seen limping through a desert, but how he got there and why he was limping are things I have yet to discover.
The main character himself is perhaps the most mysterious thing in the game. I have yet to find out if he is exploring the planet or if he has settled down on it, and if he is exploring it, why he is there in the first place. I imagine by the game’s end these questions will be answered, but it was still somewhat unsettling to play as a character when I didn’t know what his goals were.
One of the most interesting mechanics in this game is the ability to control the position of the sun. At the beginning, you can only use this ability when the main character is in an area where his helmet glows yellow, but about 1-2 hours in, this restriction is removed and you can use the ability anywhere you wish. While I thought the use of this ability was underused to the point of simply being a decoration during the first part of the game, I started seeing it used much more creatively once I was able to use it wherever I wanted. At this point, the planet itself would change based on whether it was night or day, requiring the time to be changed to allow for advancement. There were even a few times where I had to change the time in the middle of a platforming puzzle.
Many of the puzzles in this game require somewhat unconventional thinking to solve, but it isn’t done unfairly. While unconventional thinking might be required, the game usually does do a good job of nudging you in the right direction. There was still a few times where I felt like I had to bash my head against the wall for 5 minutes before I figured out how to advance though.
While this game is listed as having stealth mechanics, just as often I had to let my enemies see me. The main character has no weapons—or any way of fighting back directly—so multiple times I would have to lure the enemies into a trap. These traps aren’t always straight forward, but if you look around enough you should be able to find them.
Overall, I enjoyed playing Planet Alpha. I think a fair rating for this game would be 8/10.
Check Out the Planet Alpha Launch Trailer:
PLANET ALPHA is available to download for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
Xbox One Review
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Overall Score - 8/108/10
I am a recent Computer Science/Game Development Programming Chapman University Graduate. I am a life long enthusiast of computer/video gaming and my favorite game genres are adventure, choice-driven stories, fighting, and racing. My favorite game/movie series include but aren't limited to 'Legend of Zelda'; 'Dragon Age'; 'Persona'; 'Sonic the Hedgehog'; 'Mario'; 'Metroid' ;'Megaman'; 'Naruto'; 'Batman'; 'Spiderman'; 'Star Wars'; and 'Star Trek.'
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