Typhoon Studios is set to launch their first title early next year and I had a chance to sit down for a quick demo session at PAX West 2019. Journey To The Savage Planet is the name of the game, and unlike the title would suggest, it is actually a vibrant and colorful experience. You play as an employee of Kindred Aerospace who is proud to be the 4th best interstellar exploration company currently in the industry. After getting dropped on a planet far from civilization, you are tasked with finding out if it is habitable for human life. After quickly discovering that’s not the case, you and a friend will set forth to explore and cleanse the planet of it’s strange alien life while getting some loot in the process.
Upon starting my demo, the first thing I noticed was how colorful and cheerful the game looked. Alien life and fauna all have a nice mix of wild color schemes and really add to the feel of being on an uncharted planet. The game also has a very cartoony look to it, something that I think complements it’s style really well. Journey to the Savage Planet seems to be going for a more whimsical take on things rather than the usual gloom and doom, which is refreshing to see. That’s not to say that the alien life won’t annihilate you given the chance. I spotted all sorts of creatures during my demo, some flying around, some chasing me on foot, some with special ways to take them down. For example, one enemy needed a certain goo found on a nearby plant to be thrown at it first before it could take damage otherwise.
A whole arsenal of tools is available for you to play around with on your adventure. Bait was available to lure enemies to a certain spot which I used in conjunction with a sort of gooey grenade and my energy pistol weapon. A grappling hook and double jump made traversing floating islands fun and easy. That was just the beginning as I didn’t get to play around with everything at my disposal. In addition, upgrades can be bought at your home base by using materials found during your adventure and can be shared between players if in a co-op session. I was told that some things can’t be accessed without getting certain items or upgrades which gives the game a sort of Metroidvania feel which I am a huge fan of. Going back and finding something that was previously unavailable is always a rewarding experience and hopefully the game can deliver more on that.
What I feel the game really delivers on is the whole co-op experience. Too many games feel as though co-op is added as an afterthought, whereas here it feels like it was designed in mind with co-op. Exploring with a friend really seems like it will be a blast and with upgrades applying for both of you, you won’t be left behind while your friend takes all the glory. Finding secrets and completing objectives in co-op was already really fun in my 30 minute demo, and I can’t wait to see more when the game releases.
Journey to the Savage Planet is planned for release on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Epic Games Store on January 28th, 2020.
