Revenge of the Savage Planet [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

After getting stuck into a bunch of tense RPGs as of late (I just finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same), Revenge of the Savage Planet has given me something refreshingly goofy and colourful that really emphasises just how silly and fun gaming can be. Thanks to its absurd humour, tight Metroidvania mechanics, and compelling sense of exploration, I’ve found myself completely engrossed in the experience, with it easily standing out as one of the sleeper hits of the year.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Set in a familiar dystopian future ruled by profit-hungry mega corporations, Revenge of the Savage Planet puts players in the role of yet another expendable employee that has been sent to colonise a distant planet. But your employment is promptly terminated and you’re left job-less, with your only option left being to explore the galaxy in search of revenge, resources, and the occasional couch for your base. The setup is simple, but it’s the tone – consistently irreverent and often laugh-out-loud funny – that really helps sets the game apart.

Revenge of the Savage Planet expands its universe beyond the single world of the original, offering a variety of planets to explore that each offer bursts of colour in their biomes and plenty of bizarre creatures and strange flora to discover. The shift to a third-person perspective works really well too, allowing players to appreciate the game’s visual flair and slapstick animations more clearly (especially in co-op play). There’s something absurdly charming about seeing your little guy traversing each locale in a variety of creative (and often clumsy) ways and it all adds to the game’s charm.

At its core, Revenge of the Savage Planet is all about exploration. Each new environment is a rewarding puzzle box of vertical terrain, hidden paths, and collectibles that remain just out of reach until you unlock the right ability. Starting with only a basic jump and a pistol, you’ll gradually acquire a double-jump, grapple, air dashes, ground pounds, and more, with this constant sense of progression adding a Metroidvania-like twist to the experience that makes every re-visit to an older area all the more fulfilling.

“Silly, smart, and satisfying… Revenge of the Savage Planet is simply one of the most joyfully weird games you’ll play this year.”

Combat is simple but satisfying with players upgrading their pistol with the likes of charge shots, elemental effects, and so forth as they progress to keep on top of an ever-growing enemy threat. It’s never particularly deep, but it’s varied enough to stay fresh, especially when paired with your movement upgrades that work perfectly in tandem with your combat skills. It’s one of those things where the mechanics themselves are simple alone, but when you mix things up and try to be creative in your approach to enemy encounters, there’s plenty of room for ingenuity and creativity… or you can just blast out shots and hope for the best, it’s up to you.

One standout feature is the game’s scanner, which turns scanning flora and fauna into a satisfying form of collectible hunting. Once scanned, these lifeforms change colour in your visor, turning the environment into a visual checklist of what you’ve documented. It’s a clever mechanic that makes even the act of wandering aimlessly feel purposeful, and if you’re a completionist like myself, you’ll easily spend hours simply tracking down every little thing around you. Sure, it won’t be for everyone, but I found it rewarding and it added to the game’s compelling sense of adventurous exploration.

There’s also the option to capture some of the planet’s wildlife. Once you unlock a whip tool, you can stun creatures and send them back to your base’s zoo. This isn’t just a novelty Pokémon-inspired mechanic either – captured creatures can be researched to unlock new upgrades, giving you more reasons to engage with the world in non-violent ways. Again, it’s something that massively appealed to the completionist inside of me, and of course, it also added to Revenge of the Savage Planet’s charm and variety.

Check out some screenshots down below:

While many games pad their runtime with dull side objectives, Revenge of the Savage Planet makes almost everything feel worth doing. Challenges range from creative platforming tasks, combat trials and hidden puzzle shrines, whilst there are even objectives tied to the décor of your home base. Revenge of the Savage Planet offers a hell of a lot of things to get stuck into, but with each task offering plenty of variety and utilising the ingenuity of the world design in creative ways, they’re always a lot of fun to get stuck into.

And best of all? It can all be played in both online or local co-op, allowing another player to join in on the fun. Admittedly, my main playthrough of the game was completed solo, but after getting a couple of hours in with one of my friends since launch, I’ve realised what an opportunity I missed out on: journeying through these planets and making discoveries is a million times more enjoyable with a friend. It plays well into the game’s humorous themes, and with the game offering plenty of zany tasks to complete, it’s easy to find yourself constantly giggling at the wild antics you get stuck into. If you’re looking for your next co-op adventure, honestly, you won’t want to miss out on this.

Visually, Revenge of the Savage Planet looks great on the PlayStation 5. Its cartoonish aesthetic is brought to life with crisp textures, vibrant colours, and fluid animations, whilst the various alien worlds are distinct, creatively designed, and offer plenty of humorous sights. The load times are swift too, so even when transporting between each sizable planet, you don’t have long to wait. Performance on the PlayStation 5 is solid throughout, with no noticeable frame drops or bugs that significantly affected gameplay.

Developer: Raccoon Logic
Publisher: Racoon Logic
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://www.savageplanet.games/