Journey to the Savage Planet is the debut game from Typhoon Studios, and it’s best described as a space adventure with a colorful art style and a whimsical sense of humor. You might see a passing resemblance to Hello Games’s No Man’s Sky and Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds in the game, though some critics point to Nintendo’s Metroid Prime as another inspiration.

Players will explore a mysterious (and, presumably, savage) planet as a newest employee of Earth’s “4th Best interstellar exploration company.” Cataloging animal life, exploring alien ruins, and battling slimy boss monsters are all on this space jockey’s to-do list.

Critics are split right down the middle on this budget game (it’s priced at $29.99), but all of them had at least a few positive things to say about it…

About Journey to the Savage Planet
Journey to the Savage Planet in an upbeat first-person adventure game set in a bright and colorful alien world filled with weird and wonderful creatures. As an employee of Kindred Aerospace, which proudly touts its rating as the 4th Best interstellar exploration company, you are dropped onto an uncharted planet deep in a fictitious, far away corner of the universe. Launched with high hopes but little equipment and no real plan, your job is to explore, catalog alien flora and fauna and determine if this planet is fit for human habitation. Onward to adventure! Good luck – and mind the goo!

Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Typhoon Studios
Genre: First-Person Sci-Fi Adventure
Release Date: January 28, 2020
ESRB Rating: Teen

Destructoid
Review – 8.5/10
“It’s presumptuous to make this call so early into 2020, but here goes: Journey to the Savage Planet stands a very real chance of being one of my most pleasant surprises in video games this year.

I came in with little to no expectations – heck, I could barely get the name right – and really just hoped for a decent little game to break me out of a post-holiday-break malaise. It did the trick and then some.

As I write this review, I’m seriously considering starting up a third playthrough.”

IGN
Review – 6/10
“Journey to the Savage Planet is a game with a lot of nice ideas – trying to single-handedly twist a well-worn genre into new and exciting shapes – but ultimately doesn’t quite have the courage to commit to them. There’s a lot to enjoy, particularly in its opening hours, but for all its grand ambitions, Savage Planet ultimately falls back on tired ideas to see it through to an underwhelming end. Like the ship you’re trying to repair throughout, it’s an admirable thing, but it can’t quite nail the landing.”

Kotaku
Review – Mostly Positive
“It’s unfortunate that Savage Planet suffers from some annoying bugs and I wish the story came together into something more meaningful or interesting. I still had a blast playing it. I want more games like this in 2020: games that aren’t focused on selling a battle pass or being 200-hour epics. Journey to the Savage Planet knows it’s wacky and embraces that. In 2020 I need to smile more, and Savage Planet made me feel great, even if I was covered in goo.”

USgamer
Review – 2.5/5
“Journey to the Savage Planet is enjoyable when it’s in its element—having you exploring a mysterious planet and platform precariously over different environmental hazards. It’s the straightforward combat and irksome writing where things get a little tedious. The ship’s AI especially wears out its welcome quickly, and challenging gameplay moments like boss fights are a little few and far between.”

Video Games Chronicle
Review – 4/5
“As you might expect from a mid-priced title from a new team, Savage Planet can be a little rough around the edges, with some frustrating enemies and gunplay that often feels clumsy and substandard. However, these are small criticisms in the context of an overall memorable and well designed space adventure.

Typhoon’s 30-person team should be applauded for creating a confident and inventive adventure in a crowded genre, and with their debut title no less. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”

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