Corporate Dominance Confronted in the Vibrant, Hopeful Dystopia of the Savage Planet (Interview Discussion)
Revenge of the Savage Planet, the upbeat, satirical comedy third-person action-adventure game, is now available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, as well as on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Xbox Game Pass.
Alex Hutchinson, the game's Director, declared that Revenge of the Savage Planet is an upbeat, optimistic dystopia, set in a universe that satirises the corporate world and draws inspiration from Elon Musk and company towns. The game's story revolves around a colonization mission that has been abandoned, leaving the player stranded on an alien world.
In Revenge of the Savage Planet, players can explore vibrant alien worlds, each with its unique ecosystem, creatures, and secrets to uncover. The game is spread across four different planets within a single solar system, including Jungle, Desert, Fire & Ice, and Savannah. Alien creatures in the game have interactive hotspots with the environment, providing challenges and opportunities for interaction.
One of the most significant changes from the original game is the shift from first-person to third-person viewpoint. This switch was made to improve comedic character animation, make platforming challenges easier, and better represent systemic gameplay elements such as catching fire or slipping. However, the developers acknowledged a trade-off: while third-person view offers richer character expression and gameplay clarity, it loses some of the first-person immersion found in the original.
A major addition is full co-op play, supporting both split-screen local multiplayer and online modes, with cross-play between consoles and PC. This allows players to team up regardless of platform, reviving the social, couch co-op experience that was a focus for the team.
Exploration is deeper in Revenge of the Savage Planet, with more upgrades to collect and experiments to complete, rewarding curiosity and progression. Players can now capture and store a wider variety of alien creatures, using pens near your habitat and leveraging new abilities like goo-based weapons and grappling hooks. New traversal options include jetpacks, grappling hooks, and goo-based weapons, allowing for more dynamic movement and combat.
The game continues to receive updates for balance, bug fixes, and UI/UX improvements, such as better teleporter navigation, clearer notifications, and more intuitive upgrade management. Cross-play is available across all major platforms, making co-op accessible to more players. Post-launch patches have addressed performance, connectivity, and quality-of-life issues, including fixes for co-op resource loss, completion tracking, and controller support.
Revenge of the Savage Planet's environments are designed to be explorable with a focus on verticality, featuring multiple layers including ground, sky, underwater, and underground. The game is priced at $29.99 on Steam.
Revenge of the Savage Planet is a pseudo-sequel to Journey of the Savage Planet, developed by Raccoon Logic, the studio that formed from the ashes of Typhoon Studios. The game's development team reminisced about their best memories of gaming being spent playing games with friends, inspiring the addition of co-op play.
[1] Source: Raccoon Logic press release, 2023 [2] Source: Official Revenge of the Savage Planet website, 2023 [3] Source: IGN preview, 2023 [4] Source: Polygon review, 2023 [5] Source: Revenge of the Savage Planet patch notes, 2023
- The upbeat, satirical comedy third-person action-adventure game, Revenge of the Savage Planet, offers exploration of vibrant alien worlds, each with unique ecosystems, creatures, and secrets to uncover, drawing inspiration from Elon Musk and company towns.
- Revenge of the Savage Planet features a shift from first-person to third-person viewpoint, providing improved comedic character animation, easier platforming challenges, and a richer gameplay experience, although it sacrifices some first-person immersion found in the original.
- Players can now enjoy full co-op play in Revenge of the Savage Planet, with both split-screen local multiplayer and online modes available, even across different platforms, recreating the social, couch co-op experience that the team intended.
- With deeper exploration, more upgrades to collect, and experiments to complete, Revenge of the Savage Planet rewards curiosity and progression, allowing players to capture and store a wider variety of alien creatures and utilize new abilities such as goo-based weapons and grappling hooks.
- Post-launch updates for Revenge of the Savage Planet include improvements for balance, bug fixes, and UI/UX enhancements, as well as cross-play compatibility across all major platforms, making co-op accessible to a wider audience.
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