Side-scroller games have come a long way from when the first Mario hit the store shelf. We have seen the rise of games such as Limbo, Inside, Castlevania, and Valiant Hearts, pushing the line to a new height. It welcomed the realm of possibilities that can be achieved by a simple 2D side scroller. Planet of Lana II demo did an awfully good job in delivering both the gameplay and visuals in a short period.
Planet of Lana 2 carries the same visual atmosphere as the first game, released back in 2023. In the sequel, we are seeing a continuation of the same character duo from the first game, but in a new adventure. Only time will tell how the game builds on the original, but as far as the demo is concerned, it does look promising.
Here is my impression of Planet of Lana II Demo.
Little to No Handholding
The demo puts you through a variety of stages for 30 minutes, but what surprised me the most is the level of differences between stages. If one level puts the player in the dense forest, another one will take place in a laboratory in the middle of a frozen land. There is an art to every level design, and they sell the level and puzzles really well.
Let’s talk about puzzles. Each level introduces a unique puzzle catered to its area design. None of the puzzles felt the same, and they were tricky enough to scratch my head a few times more than I would like to admit.
My experience with the puzzles also got better with little to no handholding in game design. There is this idea of figuring everything out on your own, which few games dare to adopt, but I’m glad to see that most levels and puzzles in Planet of Lana II rely on players to figure them out without any major hand-holding.
The controls also made backtracking easy, and the overall movement felt smooth without any awkward animation when running, jumping, or climbing.
Breathtaking…
Apart from the gameplay, another highlight would be the paintings in the background. In terms of visuals in video games, we have come a long way from Pong. I put on Super Mario Bros 2 to see the clouds and mountains in the background, then I switched to Planet of Lana II and saw a digital painting unfolding in front of my eyes.
Nearly every stage had something to look at, from the trees in the grassy forest to the giant rocks at a distance surrounded by ocean; the demo always delivered something engaging and great to look at, on every level. The level design also blended well with the gameplay; every time the game offers anything scenic, it pauses the gameplay to allow for walking around bits. I can already foresee many bursting the screenshot key in every level.
In the End
The Plant of Lana II demo was short, but it was sweet. So far from what I have played, the game is a thrill ride. The art speaks volumes, and the gameplay is different enough to be engaging most of the time. There is a story, but the demo was limited to only a few glimpses rather than building up a narrative. The trailer that plays at the end does show the potential of the full game.
I would highly suggest you try the demo to have a good time.
