Revenge of the Savage Planet review: Gorgeously goofy game emerges from shadow of Google gorilla
Fast-forward to 2025 and a sequel has just emerged from the ashes of the sorry saga, made by former Typhoon alumni who bought the IP rights for their company, Raccoon Logic. Savage Planet was never a mega-budget AAA title despite Google's deep pockets and this follow-up echoes that approach. It's a reasonably compact mid-priced romp laden with slapstick humour and cartoonish worlds, poking fun at consumerism and rapacious corporations. Wonder where the developers got that idea?
As in the original, your astronaut crash-lands on a far-flung world, leaving you to gather scattered pieces of his shattered ship in the hope of eventually escaping. Thus follows a Metroidvania loop of resource-gathering and equipment-recovering, all wrapped in a third-person platformer-shooter design.
The local wildlife isn't particularly hostile, albeit with some exceptions, and progress depends mostly on exploring small areas of a handful of planets, platforming around cliffs, forests and caves in low gravity slow-mo leaps. It's an agreeable gameplay loop well worn in its concept – farming the elements to make new gear, finding key equipment and then revisiting areas that are further opened up thanks to your new tools. It supports a full co-op mode, though solo play is equally fun.
Raccoon Logic ladles on the satire with some live-action video clips parodying the corporation that abandoned you on the savage planet. But the storyline functions as just a thin fig leaf for its anarchic gameplay, which puts acid, lava and electrically conductive goo at your disposal.
The modest size of the team at Raccoon Logic becomes apparent sometimes – the awkward physics and occasionally funky enemy behaviour can hamper the gameplay mechanics.
But this a goofy little treasure, a passion project for a small team bruised by their encounter with a corporate gorilla. They're still here and Stadia is long gone. Who's the monkey now?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
5 hours ago
- The Journal
Film lovers unimpressed after Dublin cinema 'left the the lights on' during screenings
OVER ILLUMINATION DURING showings at one screen at Odeon cinema at Dublin's Point Square led to a raft of complaints and has resulted in the cinema chain closing the offending screening room indefinitely. The hubbub gained traction online when when one Odeon customer took to Reddit to share their understandable frustration after encountering the offending lights while watching Danny Boyle's zombie sequel 28 Years Later. 'I have watched more than 20 movies this year in different theatres and have never seen lights so bright, the dark scenes of the movie were barely visible,' they said. To make matters worse, ushers said they had been told they couldn't turn off the lights as it was the emergency lighting system. To save other cinema fans from a similar fate, the customer took to Google reviews, but found they were not the first unhappy patron. A previous customer said the cinema's lighting 'completely ruined the viewing experience', while another said they would give the cinema a rating of 'zero' if possible. Advertisement One prospective cinemagoer posted online that they had decided to seek a refund rather than risk ending up in the brighter screening room. The experience would be 'equivalent to watching telly with the big light on at home', another poster said. Thankfully, Odeon cinemas have now taken action to prevent further harm and closed the screen. Apologising for the inconvenience, a representative said the infamous lights were in fact emergency lighting which had gone rogue. 'The emergency lights in that screen are usually left on at minimal level for health and safety reasons. However, it does seem that there is an issue with controlling the light levels, so ODEON has decided to close that screen until it's resolved,' they said. No doubt the cinema managers are hoping their corrective action casts the row in a slightly different light. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Jaw-dropping price of a pint at first Oasis gig in 16 years as fans slam ‘scandalous cash cow'
THE price of a pint at the Principality stadium during the first show of the Oasis reunion tour has been revealed. Fans are expected to splash the cash on thousands of pints tonight as the 4 A pint at the first gig of the tour is set to cost a staggering amount Credit: Alamy Unfortunately it looks like the There will also reportedly be four pint jugs on offer for an eye watering £31. This for bulk A total of 34 bars are located around the stadium and are manned by a whopping 900 staff. Bottles and drinks containers are taken from punters at the door to stop them There are a number of bars around the stadium where beer is presumably cheaper. The Prince of Wales is a Weatherspoon's pub within walking distance and a row of bars just outside of Gate 4 include a Brewdog with high ratings on Google. Most read in Money Fans have been queuing to get into the stadium overnight, hotly anticipating the return of the Tickets were checked earlier today and fans will now have to wait until 5pm to be allowed in. Oasis tour: Fans line the streets & are ALREADY queuing hours before start of most-eagerly awaited gig ever The show is expected to start at 6pm with support act Cast being followed by Richard Ashcroft at 7pm and Liam and Noel Galllagher posed for several photos together in August last year confirming the Fans were previously outraged by the shockingly high price of merchandise sold as part of the Items billed for sale at during the tour ranged from an Adidas football shirt with the words 'Cardiff, UK' for £85. 4 The band split in 2009 Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 4 Tonight marks the first time the brothers have toured together in more than a decade Credit: Andrew Barr - The Sun Glasgow 4 The brothers announced their reunion in August last year There is also a What's the Story blue tone hoodie for £70. A dated tour collection, including T-shirts with the words 'Oasis 04.07.2025' on the back for £40. A Cardiff exclusive poster also comes in at £40 and a Live '25 keyring is selling for £10. Fans were left infuriate by the staggering prices and branded it a "cash cow." Taking to social media, one fan wrote: "Will those be the prices for the whole tour or will they change dynamically if it's busy?" Another branded the prices "scandalous", while another agreed: "Fleece the fans." Music lovers have previously accused event organisers of fleecing them too with the Read more on the Irish Sun After an image of the At the festival a pint was costing punters a whopping £7.20 while a double shot of spirit and mixer was a staggering £13. How to save money buying alcohol Alcohol can be pricey if you're planning a party or hosting an event but there are ways to cut costs. It's always important to drink responsibly, here, Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements share some tips on getting booze for the best price. Stocking up can mean big savings on drinks, especially if you want to buy wine or fizz. The big supermarkets regularly offer discounts of 25% when you buy six or more bottles of wine. The promotions typically run in the lead up to occasions such as Bank Holidays, Christmas and Easter. If you know you are going to need booze later in the year, it can be worth acting when you see offers. Before buying your preferred drink make sure you shop around to find the best price – you can use a comparison site such as or Don't forget that loyalty cards can unlock better savings so make sure you factor that in too. If you like your plonk, wine clubs can also be a good way to save money and try new varieties. You'll usually have to pay a membership fee in return for cheaper price so work out if you will be buying enough to make the one off cost worthwhile.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
The Shrouds review: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, and some icky ‘GraveTech' make for a lifeless horror
That man is Karsh (Vincent Cassel), a wealthy widower who invests his fortune in GraveTech – a ghastly burial enterprise that allows people like him to livestream images of their loved ones' decomposing corpses. It involves an elaborate shroud, and Karsh should probably see a therapist. Instead, he dreams of being reunited with wife Becca (Diane Kruger) and is devastated to discover someone has vandalised her grave. Becca's twin Terry (also Kruger) tries to help; so does Terry's ex, a greasy brainbox named Maury (Guy Pearce). Dicey love affairs and grisly medical conspiracies complicate matters. Cronenberg has made ickier horrors, but I'm not sure he's made a film quite as lifeless as The Shrouds. It's a personal project for the Canadian auteur, whose film editor wife Carolyn Zeifman died in 2017 – and if you look hard enough, you can see what he's trying to get at. Silly, superficial plot swerves and contrived, theatrical exchanges spoil the tension. A disappointment.
