Planet of Lana — Facing the Horizon

A quick look at the sky reveals that we’re not on Earth but on another planet. In the coastal village where we play Lana, a young girl, we encounter only humans. Everyone seems to live in harmony, each with his or her own task in this little refuge of wood and bridges where life seems good. We hear laughter and conversation, but the language is incomprehensible and inaudible. The community on this planet lives in serenity and tranquility, seemingly content with the essentials for existence. Soon, Lana joins her sister, Elo, who is recognizable by her shaven head adorned with a single braid. A quick passage through the forest reveals that they are orphans as they pass two graves with discretion and modesty.

But the forest getaway soon turns into a nightmare. Disturbing noises and tremors echo through the air. Machines that could be described as extraterrestrial suddenly appear in the pure blue sky and on the green earth. They are so reminiscent of the mechanical, spider-like creatures in H.G. Wells’ famous novel The War of the Worlds. Indeed, it’s an invasion. The village is destroyed and set ablaze, and its inhabitants are captured and taken away—including Lana’s older sister, Elo. Lana begins a frantic race to escape the aliens and find her sister.

The art of simplicity

Planet of Lana was developed by Swedish independent studio Wishfully and released in 2023. From its first glimpses, the game appears to be in the tradition of Inside or Little Nightmares, as it is a 2D cinematic plaftormer, where the character moves from tableau to tableau, always going to the right to advance. But it’s a far cry from the dark atmosphere of its predecessors. Planet of Lana is immediately seductive, with its luminous ambience, vibrant colors and sense of infinite space in the background. Lana’s planet is greener and more luxuriant than Earth, from which we are far removed, as the subtitle An off-Earth Odyssey suggests.

The title is far less mysterious than its inspirations. In fact, one could argue that it doesn’t offer anything new, as its gameplay and mechanics are not innovative. Lana travels through paintings and solves puzzles with the help of Miu, a cat-like creature she meets along the way. The enemies they encounter can’t be killed. We can only secure our path by creating a diversion or, at best, by locking the creature up somewhere. This process is far less complicated than in Inside.

And yet, the charm is there from the very first scenes. In the beauty of these hand-drawn shots, then animated in 3D, with heart and soul. Planet of Lana may be simple and straightforward, but that’s where its strength lies. We travel Lana’s planet with her, beyond the small village she’s always known, of which only rubble remains. We confront hostile creatures with them, spy on the enemy and discover the past of this place. The game takes us on a real journey, taking us through different regions, stopping to admire and dream about the beauty of this planet. The accompanying music, composed by Takeshi Furukawa (The Last Guardian), has everything from the melancholy of a past Lana has never known, to wonder at the splendor of the world, to fear at this invasion motivated by unknown motives.

An intimate odyssey

Touch by touch, Planet of Lana takes us into its universe, with a candor that doesn’t bother with interface or dialogue. By opting for simplicity and the strict minimum of interaction – the characters communicate only through words and onomatopoeia that are difficult to understand – the title invites us to immerse ourselves. To an immediate attachment to its protagonists. The sororal bond between Elo and Lana is quickly perceptible, as is the one created when Lana meets Miu. The adorable cat-like animal follows her throughout, helping her to solve puzzles, create diversions and gain access to certain passages. A mutual aid and complicity that inevitably works both ways, as Lana must also ensure that Miu survives in the face of enemies or is able to follow her through scenery that is sometimes submerged in water, as the animal cannot swim. In this way, Miu can be instructed to stay in certain places to activate mechanisms at the right moment, or to hide and then appear to attract an enemy. The result is immediate affection, and for us, as in Neva, an even stronger attachment to both of them from the player’s point of view. We find ourselves protecting Miu, who becomes our companion on the road, the one who keeps us from feeling lonely and discouraged.  After all, Lana is still just a child, isolated from her community and family, who finds herself up against destructive robots.

The charm of the game comes from its simplicity, as we’ve already said. Too simple, one might say, forgetting that this quality has every chance of inspiring universality in players. Lana’s quest has all the makings of a traditional voyage of initiation. The starting point is a peaceful village in harmony with nature; a disruptive element is introduced with the arrival of the aliens; and the appearance of a helper in the form of Miu, who helps the heroine evolve, grow up and face her fears. This is followed by a series of adventures exploring the planet in a variety of settings; the final resolution, with the revelation of a secret and a final boss; and finally the final situation, almost similar to the initial one, but bringing even more harmony and cohabitation than before. Lana herself emerges stronger, transformed, bolder and more resourceful. Innocence has become experience. The journey has been profoundly formative.

This game fascinates and touches. This is not necessarily due to the development of the characters, who are rather one-sided despite their strong bonds, but to the structure of its story, which inevitably reminds us of the tales of our childhood, drawing us into a familiar recipe, but executed with love and care. It’s ideal for discovering video games, but also for immersing oneself in a universe that reminds us of the extent to which video games are a source of wonder, fascination and travel. How much an art direction imagined with such detail and light attracts us, offering luminous nuances and vibrant life.

It’s also the discovery of a planet that resembles the Earth without being Earth-like, and whose nature is rich in the absence of urbanity. Coastlines, forests, caves, deserts, underground galleries, a succession of islands and shores… The beauty of it all makes you want to explore the place even more, to understand the layers of its history through the skeletons and murals scattered here and there. Beyond the quest to save Elo and the other inhabitants, Lana is led to rediscover and above all understand her home planet, far from the confines of her village.

A sense of wonder

Planet of Lana delivers something I haven’t felt for a long time in a video game, despite the innovative nature of Blue Prince or the poetic magnificence of Clair-Obscur: Expedition 33, two very recent titles. Something I feel is particularly linked to independent games: the sense of wonder so common in science fiction literature. When faced with a new planet, a new galaxy, the hero or heroine – like the readers – are seized with joy, wonder and even vertigo at the universe they have created. I felt this sensation of discovery and exploration of the unknown in Journey, for example. By letting us experience the plot through a young girl’s flight, Planet of Lana encourages us to reconnect with an innocent, childlike candor, untainted by prejudice, so as to take a better look at the environment around us.

For, if we follow the story through to its conclusion, we can understand a certain ecological message that ensures the preservation of nature on this unique and precious planet. To understand how technology and humanity can live together, far from mere mechanical survival. This is also why each picture is so beautiful, allowing us to perceive every little detail of the landscapes, their infinite horizon – helped by the cinematic platformer feel – and their apparent tranquillity disturbed by the arrival of the “robots”. The limpidity of the sky invites escape, the depth of a starry night, introspection. Forests, plains and shores invite us to marvel at nature. The skeletons of immense creatures on the shores recall the evolution of life, the succession of creatures and beings on this idyllic planet. Its underground galleries, darker and muddier, evoke species of animals that prove dangerous out of fear and survival, rather than malice. And there’s this particularly memorable passage, haunted by Siohban Wilson’s song Horizons, music that is featured in the closing credits.

This is the moment when Miu and Lana finally take a break from their frantic race, in the middle of the desert, as the sun rises. Only then do the two protagonists stop to contemplate the landscape, its immensity, its beauty. Dawn glows in shades of pink and orange, heralding a new day. The music magnifies this moment of contemplation, the singer’s voice soft and nostalgic, reflecting the thoughts of our protagonist. A more distant, futuristic tone also resonates, reminding us how far we are from Earth, in a futuristic universe that is not our own, which can be hostile and threatening. But Siohban Wilson’s gentleness soothes this feeling, giving way to a sense of being at home, and also of contemplating this world with pride and humility. If the title is Planet of Lana, it’s just as much because this is the only world the heroine knows, but also because over the course of her journey, she has come to adopt it, to make it her own, to overcome its dangers, to discover its buried secrets, and finally to appreciate all its beauty.

“I’ve crossed a thousand lands
To find what I could stand
And all over the whole wide world
There’s still so much more to hold

Will I find my way home?
I’ve crossed this map all alone
Will I find my way home?
I’ve opened all the horizons”

Planet of Lana is a game whose simplicity is omnipresent, allowing novices and experienced players alike to find their way around. Its intimate odyssey, its characters and their engaging interactions take us back to the enchantment of fairy tales, and a journey that is as much epic as it is introspective. What’s more, it boasts magnificent art direction, full of life, color and a profound tribute to the lushness and serenity of nature – an inspiration from Studios Ghibli, according to Whishfully Studios. But what I, as a gamer, retain most of all is that sense of wonder that independent games have the secret of, that feeling of being faced with a universe to be explored and admired, both familiar and remote, that makes us experience both adventure and wonder, with a sensitive heart and will that we don’t always find in today’s titles.