Reviewed On: PlayStation 5 (Pro)
Also Available On: PlayStation 4, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, & GamePass
Price: $19.99 USD
Developer: Wishfully
Publisher: Thunderful Games
Release Date: March 5th, 2026
Please note: A review code was provided for this review, but it does not influence the opinions stated here in any way.
Back in May of 2023, we got to play the beauty that was the original Planet of Lana. Ever since rolling credits on the original game, I was always hoping to see a continuation of this plot line after the events of the first game. This review will be very non-spoiler for not only this sequel, but also the first game as well. I will not spoil as much as possible, with the hope that this review will make you want to play both games. I played the original game over on GamePass, but I really wanted to get a physical copy after playing it to support the studio even more. I knew there was one from Super Rare Games, but I hoped to get an ESRB copy of the title, not just a PEGI version. Maybe Thunderful will release a physical with both games after this one has been released? Does this sequel make the same kind of splash as the first one did, or is it a bit of a disappointment in comparison?
Just like the first game, we will be controlling both Lana and Mui. Mui is a robotic kitty (who is absolutely adorable), and Lana is a young girl who is trying her best with learning about the world she and her family live in. One of the main focal points of this sequel is building together a potion to heal Anua after contact with a space rock that turned her to stone. This includes three items that you need to find, and once you collect all three of these things, the story changes gears and becomes even more interesting. The story isn’t just told to you with dialogue from characters, but rather, this game takes a different approach to storytelling.
All of the dialogue in the game is spoken in a mumbled and jumbled language that is very rarely understandable. On occasion, you can hear words like Lana, Mui, and a few other discernible things. The show, not tell approach for plots and stories doesn’t always work in gaming for me, but for Planet of Lana, it seriously makes the game better. You have to figure out some of the dialogue that happens through the way characters sound through their tonal sound and the way they interact with others. This isn’t to say the dialogue is weak; it is very strong in how it is done from all of the different voices in the game.
Another way in which you find out the story in this game is through the imagery and visuals that you find scattered throughout the roughly 5-hour adventure. There is a nice mixture of extremely bright visuals showing happier moments and sections, some sections that are darker and have a serious tone, and then other sections that are both bright and dark, depicting a mixture of different things. There is a plot line in the game, but most of it is up to personal interpretation to figure out what specifically is being said. The story is just as good as the first, and the first one was pretty darn solid for a plot line.
The gameplay is where a game truly shines in my book. This game is an adventure title that also incorporates puzzle solving, a bit of strategy and timing, a bunch of platforming, and more. Controlling both of the characters is pretty simple. Mui is easier since you don’t really play as them except for a small section of the game that doesn’t last more than 10 or so minutes. You can tell them to stay back, call them to your side, control where they need to go, and use an action button to either take control of a creature or perform some other kind of action that is needed in the area. Lana has a bit more complex movement choices, including crouching, climbing, sprinting, jumping, swimming, and more.
There is more than these three gameplay aspects in the game, but these are the ones you will be spending a good chunk of time with. The first big one is the puzzle solving using boxes, switches, crates, controllable creatures, riddles, manipulation of objects, and more. The next one is exploration and finding different things in the world. Some of the story parts are from exploring the world and finding images and information that will help put a full picture together. You have to find the different parts to the potion for the main set of the game, but there is more for exploration than just the main items needed to complete the game, as there are secrets to be found throughout the different levels you explore. The third thing is the stealth and platforming sections. These are personally my least favorite parts because even if I think I do it correctly, there were a couple of times where enemies have spotted me, and I don’t see how. There are cool sections for figuring out how to sneak past enemies, cameras, robots, and a few other things; however, after seeing them basically repeat over and over, they felt slightly too repetitive with the way they were designed.
The music in this game is very good. There are tense scenes that are throughout the game, from chase sequences, being caught by enemies, eerie sections, and more, that the music changes to describe these in a terrific way that really makes it feel like you are in terrible danger in that moment (which you obviously are). The other scenes are also good, with a mixture of relaxing areas, moments where you have to use your brain to complete a puzzle, and a few other surprises I don’t want to spoil that really transport you to the world. The audio design is also great, such as when you can hear when you are swimming underwater versus walking on the ground, when enemies are surrounding you, and more.
In terms of the performance of the game, at least on the PS5 Pro, it is overall incredibly smooth for the frame rate. No big issues when it comes to things like pop-in or lag sections; however, the game is not without a few bugs. I am playing this pre-release so there will be a few bugs that might be patched later on, or even at launch. One of the bugs that I experienced, I clipped and have shown below. I haven’t experienced this a second time, but it was annoying when it happened to me in the game. I’ve had a few collision bugs that weren’t game-breaking but definitely annoyed me since I had a few deaths that weren’t fully my fault. I did have a few other bugs and glitches throughout my adventure, but thankfully, I didn’t have any game crashes, save state issues, or other massive problems. Overall, it is decently polished as a whole.
Overall, throughout my time with the game, I don’t have much negative to say regarding the entire experience. The story was shown to me in a way I don’t get to experience a lot, which was a nice change from the normal story-driven dialogue-focused games. The gameplay as a whole package was nice, from solving puzzles, completing stealth sections, finding collectables, and everything else was enjoyable. The art, music, visuals, and performance were solid without many issues. There were a bunch of small bugs that plagued my experience, and while none of them were game-breaking, the quantity of them felt a little much to me. The game as a whole was solid from Wishfully and Thunderful, and it was great to see how they expanded the gameplay from the first game to add new kinds of puzzles and scenarios that were a nice surprise. I definitely still want a physical release in the US, and hopefully, they can make it happen with both games in the package, as it would be an amazing collection. I do not believe they are done telling the story though, so who knows what could happen.
Score: 8.5/10
