A cinematic puzzle adventure refined.
The first Planet of Lana was a small, stunningly beautiful indie game with a quiet story and creative puzzle platforming that won people over. The first game was made by Wishfully, a group clearly driven by wonder and ambition. It looked amazing, but some people wanted more depth and length in the gameplay.
It came out in 2023 and told a short story about a girl named Lana and her cat-like friend, Mui, as they set out on a mission through a beautiful but strange world. The game was only about three hours long, which was its only major flaw. However, its cinematic style, wordless story, and emotional turns made it a unique experience.
Planet of Lana II builds on this by offering players a longer, more well-rounded journey that enriches both gameplay and story.
Beautiful worlds and smart puzzles were presented in the first game. The sequel builds on those ideas to make something much bigger and better. Wishfully, I was able to go into the sequel with trust after the first game did well.
They gave players more of what they liked while adding new features, wider environments, and a more complex story. It’s clear that this developer is going back to their world, not just to make a copy of the first game, but to carefully build on it, and they do a great job of it.
Planet of Lana II picks up almost two years after the events of the first game. It starts with a short prologue that summarizes the first journey and eases returning players back into Planet Novo. In Lana’s village, technology is increasingly used effectively in daily life, but a sudden emergency involving a loved one forces her to embark on a new journey. When the first game came out, the stakes were higher.
This sequel, on the other hand, features only one character in danger, which makes the quest feel more emotional.
Planet of Lana II continues to rely on its unique storytelling style without dialogue. The characters speak a made-up language, and their facial expressions, phrasing, and body language convey their meaning. This method, along with the amazing animation, makes it possible for intense stories that feel close and real.
Teeshi Furkawa, the composer who worked on the first movie, is back to make the music. The soundscape supports the story’s highs and lows, from touching moments with characters to tense encounters with hostile robots.
The sequel also delves deeper into Planet Novo’s past and social setting. You can choose to read optional lore, artwork, and flashbacks that explain how the towns came to be, how they relate to robots, and what Mui’s mysterious role is in the world. Some of the riddles are solved, and these story additions feel satisfying and well-thought-out. They make the experience better without taking away from the sense of wonder that made the first game great.
In terms of the story, the pacing is more deliberate than in the original, with dramatic scenes broken up by quiet times of discovery.
Some parts, like timed platforming or chase scenes, rely on trial-and-error, which can detract from the experience. However, these parts don’t happen very often and are usually balanced by the movie’s tension and a satisfying sense of success when it’s over.
Planet of Lana II really shines when it comes to gameplay. One of Lana’s better moves is the ability to dash and slide, which makes platforming faster and more responsive. Timing and accuracy are still very important, especially when navigating complex areas full of obstacles or avoiding robot enemies. These changes make Lana feel faster and more flexible, addressing some of the slowness present in the first game.
The cat-like friend Mui has undergone many improvements. The most interesting new feature is Mui’s power to hypnotize and control local animals. This lets players change the surroundings in creative ways. Each creature has its own special skills.
For example, some fish can jump and spray ink to confuse enemies, and small creatures that look like rodents leave ash trails that can be lit on fire to break through walls. This feature adds a new level of strategy, as players often have to organize Lana, Mui, and various animals or objects in the environment simultaneously. The tasks are cleverly designed to take advantage of how hard they are without being too hard, encouraging you to think outside the box rather than brute-forcing.
Lana can do more than just control animals.
She can also change technology. To get through places, you can hack or move some machines, which makes puzzles with both organic and mechanical parts. This mix of rules makes the game more interesting and keeps it from getting boring. A lot of the time, players have to think more than one step ahead, coordinating Lana, Mui, and controlled creatures’ movements, timing, and interactions.
The sequel offers a mix of hard and easy elements. Some parts of the game are puzzles that demand players to think critically and organize numerous systems. Other parts let players wander and look around. This blend protects players from getting bored and helps them feel more involved, which makes them want to slow down and observe how nicely the world is designed.
Planet of Lana II is mostly a puzzle platformer with some light stealth elements. There is no direct fighting. Compared to the first game, the puzzles are bigger and more difficult now that they feature multiple triggers, character powers, and environmental interactions.
When you combine Mui’s possession abilities with Lana’s control over technology, you get problems that require you to think ahead and do more than one thing at once.
In one situation, you might have to lead Lana along a path while using a possessed fish to turn off an underwater camera and light a mouse’s ash trail to get past a barrier. Most of the time, these puzzles are well-balanced, giving you times of satisfaction without being too frustrating.
There is some trial-and-error involved, especially in platforming or chase scenes, but the game is pretty easy to get back to because there are so many stops. The puzzles encourage players to explore different solutions rather than memorize the answers. They do this by rewarding creativity and observation.
Even though they aren’t as important, the stealth elements work well with the game’s mechanics. Players might have to avoid patrolling robots or use items and animals nearby to keep them busy. Even though these parts aren’t as hard as puzzles, they add drama and change the pace. The combination of stealth, puzzle-solving, and changing the surroundings keeps the game interesting for eight to ten hours, which is almost twice as long as the original game.
In contrast to standard RPGs, grinding XP or improving your skills is not a part of the experience. Instead, players get better by getting better at using Lana and Mui’s skills and finding new ways to solve problems in the world that get harder. It’s satisfying to figure out how to make multiple mechanics work together, which gives you a sense of success instead of normal experience point progression as a reward system.
Planet of Lana II continues to look great. Each setting was carefully crafted by hand, from cold mountain peaks with the crunch of snow to lush, tropical areas full of life. The animation is smooth and expressive, showing how the characters move and what the world looks like. The world feels more real and has greater depth thanks to parallax, real-time shadows, and screen-space reflections.
Some of the time, reflections or physics-based interactions don’t seem quite right, but these little technical problems don’t ruin the overall visual experience.
The environments are made to go with the gameplay; clear visual cues help you figure out puzzle answers and also encourage you to explore. The art style keeps the painterly, movie-like look of the first game, but adds to it by adding more places, better lighting, and more detailed environments.
Each new area feels different and has a wide range of visuals that make exploration fun and interesting. Teeshi Furkawa wrote the soundtrack, which makes the story more emotional. The sound effects, ambient sounds, and uncommon references to 1990s sci-fi all work together to create an ambiance that works for both peaceful and dramatic scenes.
Even though the characters speak a made-up language, their sounds do a good job of showing how they feel, what they want, and how important it is.
During chase scenes or dramatic puzzle-solving, the music builds to just the right level, adding to the movie-like feel without taking away from the gameplay.
From the rustling of leaves and the sound of water moving to the crunch of snow and the mechanical hums of robots, the sound design complements the visual storytelling. This careful attention to sound detail makes Planet Novo feel like a real world with living things.
Planet of Lana II is a well-thought-out follow-up that builds on the first game in almost every way. The story makes you feel something without using words. Instead, it uses music, movement, and facial expressions to connect with players. Over time, the game’s gameplay has altered. It now contains better platforming, smarter environmental tasks, and new controllers that enable you handle both animals and technology. Players feel gratified without getting too frustrated when the game is the correct level of hard and easy.
The sequel is beautiful to look at, with a wide range of painterly landscapes, smooth animation, and cinematic framing that make exploring and solving puzzles more fun. Sound design, like background noise and a unique score, makes the experience even better. The extra length and optional material are a good deal because they let players stay in Planet Novo for about twice as long as in the original.
