Laid off too, huh?

Between the release of Journey to the Savage Planet in 2020 and its sequel, Revenge of the Savage Planet, Typhoon Studios went through what can only be described as “The Capitalism Wringer”. Acquired by Google a month before Journey came out, the studio worked on the tech conglomerate’s bizarre Stadia platform, only to get shut down, lose the rights, reform as Raccoon Logic, and reclaim the IP from Google’s clutches.

That journey of being led on and promised exciting work, only to have it yanked away before you even begin, is where Revenge of the Savage Planet starts. You have also been put through “The Capitalism Wringer”.

After being sent to start a new colony by Kindred Aerospace, you crash onto your new planet to learn the company has been acquired by another mega corporation, Alta, which is even more of a capitalistic nightmare than Kindred. Just after that acquisition, they lay you off.

Stranded, you work on building the colony anyway, because what else are you meant to do? You will complete task after task and discover new secrets and threats on the planet you start the colony on. This eventually expands to other planets within the same solar system. 

Like Journey, Revenge is infused with fantastic jabs and jokes at capitalism’s expense, highlighting how ridiculous it is that nothing else matters but The Company and its profits. Journey feels rather tame in comparison to the mockery this game makes of capitalism, especially as things have only gotten worse in the real world since 2020.

No effort is made to get you back home; you are just tossed out on the planet and asked to “figure it out.” Sounds familiar. 

It’s all pretty depressing when taken at face value. But witty dialogue, funny jokes, and excellent live-action commercials, sketches, and video messages all coat the story about capitalism abusing people in a comedic and lighthearted wrapper. The only thing I don’t love is that some of the “gross” humor during these live-action skits is back from Journey. It was a huge turnoff every time it popped up.

The one major change in Revenge of the Savage Planet is that instead of exploring one interconnected world, you are exploring four separate planets with their own biomes, enemies, discoveries, and secrets. These planets act like miniature open-world zones. You can explore for secrets, hunt down resources and upgrades, and complete missions (your typical open-world collection of activities). The Metroidvania aspects are still here as you unlock a fun toolbox of toys and gadgets to play with, including a double jump, grappling hook, and the ability to grind on energy rails, to name a few. They are all exciting to toy around and experiment with, especially when combined with the enjoyable platforming and digestible exploration in Revenge’s sandbox. 

They also feel like sizeable upgrades that have an effect on the game going forward and what you can do in areas you have visited before. Once you have these gadgets, you can then take them back to other planets you’ve already explored to unlock new areas, find secrets, and collect previously unobtainable upgrades. While the Metroidvania structure here still has its moments and works well, the single planet structure from the first game gave it a proper sense of forward momentum and forward movement that isn’t present in Revenge. It’s ultimately less satisfying to hop from zone to zone than explore an interconnected environment. 

You are also building up your colony. As you progress, you will call down additional buildings, facilities, and homes that have absolutely no one in them, which feels like a jab at Google’s huge, pricey California campus, well-documented to have been like a “ghost town” when Raccoon Logic was there.

This does provide a nice, tangible sense of progression in the absence of moving through a connected world, and some of the new facilities let you obtain new items or collectibles, like capturing animals and housing them in an enclosure. It’s an interesting way of showing your progress as you build out your colony, as in this example, the enclosure becomes filled with each animal you capture, allowing you to pet them. You can then also research these animals after capturing them to unlock a variety of cosmetic upgrades for your character, from simple colour swaps to entirely new suits. 

Some other collectibles feed into more permanent upgrades that allow you to unlock improvements for your abilities, tools, and jetpack. Everything you do or collect feeds back into some kind of upgrade system or unlock. Nothing here feels pointless, and there aren’t any collectibles that feel like they are just filling space on the map with no purpose. To be fair, this was also one of the strongest points from the first game, so it’s great to see it retained in the sequel.

While it isn’t revolutionising anything, Revenge of the Savage Planet’s combat and platforming is a fun time because it isn’t too demanding or cumbersome, much like the rest of the game. The arcadey and lightweight feel is more like a 3D platformer with some sandbox elements, like exploding bombs in the environment you can shoot at. You are often hopping across mushrooms to reach new areas and spamming shots from afar to take down enemies, re-exploring environments with your new abilities to reach new cliffsides and open new doors.

Gunplay here is a lot like Journey. Shooting is arcadey and punchy enough, but everything feels a little floaty and weightless. On top of that, sound effects are easily the weakest area. Gunfire, enemy effects, UI effects, and jingles that play when you unlock a new area or collectible all sound like they were recorded on a phone. There is a weird tinniness that envelopes the sound, and it never eases up. It doesn’t make Revenge unplayable, but it’s distinctly noticeable as nothing sounds as it should. 

It’s also great to play one of these open-world, collectible-driven sandbox games without feeling like you signed up for a full-time job. Less is more here, and there is a great balance of main quests, side objectives and activities, collectibles, and upgrades. Like the first game, it doesn’t feel like anything is trying to drain your time, and the progression curve is smooth compared to many open-world games that level-gate or upgrade-gate you. It never forces you to find more stamina or health upgrades, and I appreciated that Revenge of the Savage Planet respected my time and let me do as much or as little as I wanted.  

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a lot like its predecessor. It’s a fun, lighthearted, turn-your-brain-off kind of collectathon sandbox with enough to keep you busy for a pleasant 10 to 15 hours. Besides some odd sound effects, there isn’t much here that doesn’t make for a fun time, even if the gameplay and structure changes are slightly less engaging than before. 

Score: 8

This review is based on a PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher.