PLANET ALPHA

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 225 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • story
PLANET ALPHA Game Cover
Simply put, it’s colourful and spectacular, well worth the play-time.
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"PLANET ALPHA" is a single-player fantasy platformer game with excellent mechanics, stunning visuals, and a memorable soundtrack. Players awaken as a stranger on an alien world, pursued by enemies and forced to manipulate the time of day to survive. As you explore this beautiful yet dangerous world, unlock the mysteries of PLANET ALPHA and discover your story.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 225 reviews
graphics66 positive mentions
stability5 negative mentions
  • Planet Alpha features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that captivates players throughout the game.
  • The game offers a unique mechanic of manipulating the time of day, which enhances the gameplay and changes the environment dynamically.
  • The sound design and ambient music complement the visuals, creating an immersive experience that draws players into the alien world.
  • The gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks variety, often reducing to simple platforming and trial-and-error mechanics.
  • Stealth sections are poorly executed, leading to frustrating moments where players may feel cheated by inconsistent enemy detection.
  • The story is vague and lacks depth, leaving players without a clear understanding of the narrative or motivation behind their journey.
  • graphics108 mentions

    The graphics of Planet Alpha are widely praised for their stunning beauty and unique artistic style, often described as a blend of retro futurism and vibrant colors that create an immersive atmosphere. However, some players note that the visuals can be overly busy, occasionally hindering gameplay clarity and making it difficult to distinguish important elements. Overall, while the graphics are a highlight of the game, they are sometimes seen as overshadowing the gameplay experience itself.

    • “Incredible visuals that create a sense of awe and really transport you to another reality.”
    • “The graphics are stunning and the deep backgrounds of the game's environments will leave you breathless.”
    • “The art style, locations, and soundtrack are definitely unique.”
    • “Planet Alpha is a very busy game visually, which works to its benefit for aesthetics, but against it for gameplay clarity.”
    • “It also can't hold a consistent art style and is frequently way too visually busy to the point where I couldn't tell the important bits from the unimportant bits.”
    • “It's more like a graphics demo than a full game.”
  • gameplay85 mentions

    The gameplay of Planet Alpha has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its visual beauty but criticizing its lack of originality and engaging mechanics. While the game features a unique time manipulation mechanic and some rewarding puzzles, it often falls into repetitive and trial-and-error gameplay, particularly in stealth sections. Overall, the gameplay is seen as simplistic and lacking depth, making it less compelling compared to similar titles like Limbo and Inside.

    • “The gameplay is quite challenging - don't be afraid to die a lot - but also very rewarding.”
    • “The gameplay was really nice too, with a fun mix between puzzles (not very complicated puzzles though, which is just how I prefer them), some more advanced platforming, some sneaking, some running and jumping in fast action sequences, and sometimes you were just casually jogging through this wonderful world, taking in the wonderful sights.”
    • “The amount of sceneries and settings it changes, the dramatic sequences it pits the player against, how they are directed, the movement from the tops of the hills to the depths of the planet, the night and day changes that are both a visual and gameplay feature, it’s all very well directed and exciting to experience.”
    • “Planet Alpha is a very busy game visually, which works to its benefit for aesthetics, but against it for gameplay clarity.”
    • “The gameplay itself is dull; its mechanics lack originality, unique defining features, and any variety.”
    • “The gameplay is a little bit repetitive, with some sections seeming to go on forever.”
  • story52 mentions

    The game's story is often described as vague and lacking depth, with many players feeling it fails to engage them emotionally or provide a clear narrative. While some appreciate the visual storytelling and atmospheric elements, they note that the plot is cryptic and requires multiple playthroughs to grasp fully. Overall, the consensus is that the game offers a visually stunning experience but falls short in delivering a compelling or coherent story.

    • “Incredible visuals and sound, great soundtrack, amazing world setting, super fun sidescroller gameplay that's not too difficult but still challenging enough to be fun, and a very intriguing story told with no dialogue.”
    • “The story unfolds naturally from the moment you load the game, with no text or cues, only the experience itself.”
    • “Roughly, it appears to be a story about an alien stranded on a planet he or his race might or might not be connected with, seemingly uninhabited by intelligent life but with remnants of an ancient civilization, invaded by a brutal mechanical force, your character might or might not be connected with it, relentless to destroy all life on it and literally suck the marrow out of it.”
    • “No storyline, no puzzles, no variety, just running aimlessly for hours amongst the same scenes.”
    • “Nothing really happens that invests you in your avatar or their quest at any point; they have no idiosyncrasies that would endear them to you, and you know nothing about them, and that is by far my most massive complaint with the game.”
    • “There is no story; you simply walk, climb, jump, fall, and so on.”
  • music31 mentions

    The music in "Planet Alpha" is widely praised for its fitting and enjoyable quality, enhancing the game's stunning visuals and atmosphere. Many players appreciate the original soundtrack, describing it as beautiful and atmospheric, which complements the game's aesthetic appeal. However, some users have expressed frustration with the difficulty in accessing the soundtrack on Steam, despite their admiration for its emotional depth and immersive qualities.

    • “That's right, Planet Alpha is a treat for both the eyes and the ears, as the music is also fitting and enjoyable to listen to.”
    • “It's that smokin' beautiful, remote alien world that the devs conjured up, along with a madly mesmerizing original soundtrack.”
    • “This game was very beautiful, and the music was a wonder to listen to.”
    • “3/10 only for visual and music.”
    • “The music at least could provide some emotional depth or stirring, but no; the music is too subtle, leaving the action to.”
    • “The music?”
  • atmosphere21 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning visuals, immersive soundtracks, and detailed environments, creating a captivating and often oppressive experience. Many players found themselves drawn into the world, with the atmospheric elements being a significant factor in their enjoyment, despite some criticisms of gameplay mechanics. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics and a rich, atmospheric design contributes to a compelling and engaging experience.

    • “I'm not a stealth fan, but damn the horror atmosphere in this game is so well done that it makes me want to see more.”
    • “The world was gorgeous and so detailed, with so much atmosphere and amazing environments.”
    • “At first I wanted to play just a short time but I got sucked in for several hours on the spot because of the outstanding atmosphere and soon I forgot about reality for some hours.”
    • “The ending is pretty anticlimactic, but the visuals are strong in both the storytelling and the atmosphere.”
    • “The convincing atmosphere ranges from dreamy to downright nightmarish.”
    • “I will still recommend the game because I love the genre, and the visuals and atmosphere alone are worthy of the price purely from an artistic perspective.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while players report occasional minor glitches and frame rate hitches, there are no significant crashes or major issues that severely impact gameplay. The experience is generally stable, with some users noting that the bugs do not detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “It is buggy and quite unfair.”
    • “Great art and environment, kinda buggy, and pretty good atmospheric storytelling.”
    • “I've seen quite a few comments in regards to bugs or glitches.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while many players enjoy a visually stunning environment with good performance, some report serious performance issues. However, these problems do not seem to significantly detract from the overall experience for most users.

    • “The performance is good.”
    • “Adventurous and atmospheric eye candy environment; there's a bit of optimization lack, but it doesn't bother your experience.”
    • “Adventurous and atmospheric eye candy environment, but there's a lack of optimization that doesn't bother your experience.”
    • “Additionally, I had serious performance issues.”
    • “As for the VR tags other reviews are talking about, I never had any performance issues, but I can't speak for everyone.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Reviews indicate that the lack of a compelling story significantly diminishes emotional investment for players, while the music fails to enhance the experience, resulting in a game that lacks heart-touching moments or excitement.

    • “No story means no emotional investment by the player.”
    • “The music could provide some emotional depth or stirring, but it is too subtle, leaving the action lacking.”
    • “There's nothing really heart-touching or exciting.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly with puzzles that require precise timing, which can detract from the overall experience. However, many still appreciate the game's strengths and note that some tedious elements can be skipped.

    • “Puzzles often end up being extremely tedious, while you try and get past what feels like something that should be much easier than it is.”
    • “Near the end, it gets quite tedious because you have to time certain things quite precisely.”
    • “That aside, Planet Alpha is fantastic, and you can miss the tedious portal bits if you like.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    While the game features many memorable moments, reviewers generally feel that it lacks significant replayability.

    • “There are many memorable moments, but I don't think it would be very replayable.”
    • “Once you've experienced the story, there's little incentive to go through it again.”
    • “The lack of varied outcomes makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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