Planet Alpha

Released on September 4, 2018 for the Nintendo Switch by Team 17, Planet Alpha features side-scrolling, 3D platforming on a fantastic alien world.

 
Planet Alpha turned heads in early 2018 indie-game showcases for it's incredible visuals, placing the player in a beautiful, side-scrolling 3D alien realm. Colorful landscapes rolled beyond gargantuan alien beasts, as the astronaut protagonist was seen running from rockslides, and dodging murderous robots. It all looked so incredibly gorgeous, only augmented by the fact that it came from a one-man development team. Eventually, the game was picked up and released for multiple platforms by Team 17. Reviews were...solid, but solid wasn't quite enough to get me to shell out some dough for it. However, an eShop sale covers a multitude of sins, and at $2 one Sunday afternoon, I found it easy to pull the trigger. At $2, this very solid title is a steal.

 

(Gonna get real Garfield with this caption) I hate Mondays

A few minutes into the game, though, something becomes very clear to those who've seen promotional footage for this game: Planet Alpha is not graphically optimized for the Nintendo Switch. All of the beautiful particles floating through the air are there in the other versions of this game, but they're nowhere to be found on the Switch port. Detail and lighting seem a bit reduced, as well. Apparently, this was the cost of converting the game to Nintendo's hybrid wonder. That's not to say the game doesn't look great.

 

Minus a missing pixel here and there

This vast, sprawling, immensely huge alien planet is gorgeous. The landscape changes from plains to massive jungles, to caves and oceans, and it all looks lovely, if simplistic in style. The graphical downgrades were done to keep the game running smoothly, and boy does it. There aren't any framerate hiccups, and if you hadn't seen the other versions of Planet Alpha, you wouldn't know what you were missing. The use of color, shadow, and light movement is wonderful. This alien planet is imaginatively designed, as well. There are even more massive and awe-inspiring creatures running through this terrain than were seen in the original trailer. Even as a less high-def experience, Planet Alpha still looks great for the Switch...plus, now you get to play it handheld (the docked version does look a little better, but not on the level of the other versions).

 

Who wants to experience this alien world off of their toilet, though?

It sounds just fine too, though there's not a ton going on in the audio department. No voice acting, but creatures bellow and chirp, lava flaws, all of the environmental stuff is fine. The game's music is a slowly shifting, continuous ambient work, reminiscent of Robert Rich's "Somnium" pieces, particularly the 8th. This creates a lovely and lush, enveloping aural atmosphere that won't give you a hummable melody, but will immerse you in Planet Alpha's world.

 

The alien death rays sound like alien death rays, the schnozberries sound like schnozberries...

That world is really what this game is all about. Prospective players initially expressed some fear that Planet Alpha's early footage revealed endless runner gameplay, a style where the screen is constantly moving forward, as the endlessly running player has to continuously move with it. While you do run quite a bit in Planet Alpha, the gameplay style here is definitively side-scrolling puzzle-platformer.

 

Thankfully, as sometimes you just want to stand on and ponder giant alien lily-pads instead of just running right over them

The player, as an unnamed astronaut, must move across the alien landscape, solving environmental puzzles without any method of attacking their foes. Puzzles range from simple block-pushing, to clever stealth segments. The planet has been invaded by killer robots who appear determined to exterminate all life on the planet--including you. At times, you'll have to just hide until they're gone, and at others, you'll have to find ways to use the environment against them. This leads to some stellar set pieces, as distant landmarks or creatures in the background can suddenly become major factors in what's going on in the foreground.

 

This creepy bug might crush, but it might also crush those robots who keep shooting you

However, the gameplay's biggest hook is the player's ability to change the time of day. The player can rewind time with the L-trigger, and fast-forward with the R-trigger. This can bring out nocturnal animals to smash robots, or cause platform-shaped plants to bloom in the sun, so that jumps across bottomless chasms can be made. Yes, platforming. Lots of jumping. It's all here, and for the most part, it's pretty fun, with frequent and generous autosave points ensuring constant progression. There are moments, particularly when it comes to the stealth segments, that the gameplay does get a little repetitive. It's not much fun to just have to wait minutes upon minutes for the bad guys to get out of the way.

At some point, are you going to point your death lasers in another direction? I've got an appointment with the urologist in 30 minutes. I think this spacesuit gave me a bladder infection.

Thankfully, waiting isn't generally the biggest aspect of Planet Alpha's gameplay. It's just the least fun aspect. Unfortunately, though, in my opinion, it's not the game's biggest flaw. That flaw is one that's lately seemed endemic in a lot of otherwise solid indie games--a total opacity of story.

 

Wait, where am I now? What is this place? Why am I here? What is happening? Who am I? Why am I doing this? Will you EVER tell me, game?!?!

I have absolutely no idea what is going on in Planet Alpha. I don't know why my astronaut character has landed on the planet. I don't know why robots are attacking the planet. I don't know why robots are attacking me. I don't even know who my astronaut character is. The game never bothers to explain those things. The basic ending tells you nothing. The special ending, earned by discovering four well-hidden items, which are tucked away in the game's most distant corners, sheds little more light. It's tough to connect with a game that gives you no reason for anything that you're doing.

 

This moment feels deep and existential...or at least it would, if I had any idea what was going on.

However, I can't deny that for the majority of Planet Alpha's ten or so hours, I enjoyed myself. The graphics may be less detailed on the Switch than on other systems. The gameplay may get a little stagnant at several moments. The story might be non-existent, or at least hidden by an opaque barrier. However, running around this very alive-feeling planet, as the environment shifts and moves and breathes and dies around you, while you yourself barely grasp at survival, is an incredible feeling. By those terms, the game works. I'm looking forward to playing whatever this one-person team does next.

 

SCORE: 7.4/10