Planetship

About

Planetship is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by LaserWzzrd Games and was released on September 24, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Psst hey computer entertainment enthusiast... wanna get weird in space?! Take my virtual cyberhand and follow me/us into the void on a real wild ride through space to end up the savior of the human race! Whaddaya say, wanna take your brain out? Put it in the Pilot's seat? ...?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Unique and trippy psychedelic visuals with a retro 1950s sci-fi theme and numerous references to classic sci-fi movies and pulp novels.
Innovative concept of piloting a planet-sized spaceship with resource management, crafting, and random encounters that provide occasional humor and story elements.
Deep and immersive soundtrack with electronic and retro influences, enhancing the surreal space exploration experience.

Lacks tutorial and guidance, leading to confusion about mechanics, controls, and objectives, making early gameplay frustrating and inaccessible for many players.
Gameplay loop is repetitive and slow-paced, with limited combat, scarce weaponry, and uninspiring resource collection that leads to boredom over time.
Technical issues include unstable save functionality causing loss of progress, UI problems such as oversized tooltips and cluttered interfaces, and occasional freezing or crashing.

graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
23%
18%
The graphics feature a distinctive indie-level, trippy aesthetic with vibrant colors and abstract sci-fi designs that many find visually captivating, especially in VR. However, some players feel the visuals can be overwhelming or distracting when paired with complex gameplay, and certain effects may become repetitive over time. Overall, the game's unique visual style is praised but may not appeal equally to all due to its intensity and pacing.
- “Visuals are excellent.”
- “Definitely has a great amount of trippy stuff, nice colors, and nice effects, though they are a bit far in between (as are some of the random events) if you're expecting one after another visuals.”
- “You try to sculpt the surface of a distant planet, lost in the boundaries of a never-imagined before universe, by adapting Earth’s geographical elements like mountains and seas with a different color palette, checked.”
- “I really wanted to like this game based on the trailers, my appreciation for abstract science fiction, and some of the review comments but there's too much of a disconnect between the gameplay and the aesthetics for me.”
- “If a game wants to indulge in trippy visuals, I would prefer it to limit both the amount and complexity of information that needs to be digested in order to make choices in-game.”
- “It feels very crowded even though it really isn’t and I’m not a fan of these sorts of visuals, unless it’s for a short period or if I feel that it actually adds something to the game.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The gameplay is generally seen as bland and lacking depth, with a tedious grind and minimal substantive mechanics beyond writing and random events. Issues like freezing, poor tutorial guidance, and overly complex mechanics detract from the experience, though some elements like worldship enhancements and in-game collectibles add modest interest. Overall, the gameplay is simple but marred by frustrating design choices.
- “The writing and random events are good, but that's where the meat of the gameplay ends.”
- “Some tutorial levels and more guided instruction as opposed to the single panel prior to gameplay would have helped.”
- “Gameplay is so simple (you deduce after 0.5 hours of playtime) but Mr. Lawrence's dedication to this game emanates from the planetship.”
- “The grinding aspect of the elements might have had a redeeming value, but unfortunately the gameplay loop is just too bland and the overall experience is not very substantive.”
- “After a few hours of uninterrupted gameplay, the screen will start freezing for 5+ minutes.”
- “There is a serious lack of breadcrumbs for some basic mechanics in this game: the single instruction screen informs players of how to operate weapons on the ship, yet pressing the mouse key did nothing when the planetship was under attack.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is quirky, intelligent, and heavily inspired by B-movie sci-fi and retro space travel clichés, delivering a postmodern, often psychedelic comedic experience. Players appreciate its witty writing, random funny events, and clever references to classic sci-fi, creating a distinctive and enjoyable tone throughout exploration.
- “The meat of the game is 6 degrees of freedom movement through a bunch of psychedelic procedurally generated solar systems, collecting resources, encountering random events and stumbling into lots of B-movie sci-fi stuff played mostly for humor.”
- “Not only that, but there are very cool references to old school (and I mean old school) sci-fi books and films, as well as funny jokes regarding how humanity thought space travel would be back in the 60's-70's.”
- “A distinctive writing style that is highlighted with a cryptic and always intelligent sense of humor.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music is generally praised for its immersive, electronic, and psychedelic qualities, often described as a standout and integral part of the game's atmosphere. However, some find certain repetitive sound effects, like the sci-fi radio signal, irritating over long play sessions. Overall, the soundtrack is considered creative and highly enjoyable, enhancing the game's unique and trippy experience.
- “The writing is quirky, funny, and the music is 10/10.”
- “It's really a trippy solo player game; I like how your planet and the sun pulse to the awesome music.”
- “Music and sound effects are okay, but the random repetitive sci-fi radio signal gets annoying really quickly, especially since this game is quite long even on the lowest difficulty.”
- “Now for stoners, fans of psychedelic art, or big fans of music that sounds like Boards of Canada?”
- “A creative use of light for imagining dreamy landscapes that works in conjunction with a mesmerizing electronic soundtrack composed by Casino Versus Japan, the artistic name for Erik Kowalski.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game lacks a cohesive or engaging story, offering minimal plot hooks or clear motivations for player actions. Its narrative mostly consists of procedural random encounters and dialog windows, blending sci-fi references and humor that feel disjointed from the premise of surviving space travel as a brain-piloted ship. Overall, the story elements feel superficial and do not provide a compelling or immersive experience.
- “In this game your whole body was destroyed leaving you just the brain so you can pilot a ship to survive space travel in a procedurally generated universe.”
- “In the background there's constant chatter taken from old sci-fi movies (Shatner features prominently of course) and what sounds like real-life NASA mission control recordings.”
- “I'd have preferred if the spontaneous (and seemingly arbitrary) random encounters had a similar feel to the introduction story (something more like 2001 or Solaris) but the reference filled humour felt out of place with the premise that had been set up.”
- “With no real story to speak of, plot hooks, or any reason to your actions that I could identify.”
- “I'd have preferred if the spontaneous (and seemingly arbitrary) random encounters had a similar feel to the introduction story (something more like 2001 or Solaris), but the reference-filled humour felt out of place with the premise that had been set up.”
- “This is because all you are shown is a dialog window with a little story and then a few options you can choose from.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is generally seen as tedious and bland, with repetitive tasks like translation sliders lacking engaging variety. The absence of a clear save feature further diminishes the appeal of grinding, making the overall experience feel unsubstantial.
- “The grinding aspect of the elements might have had redeeming value, but unfortunately the gameplay loop is just too bland and the overall experience lacks substance.”
- “There's a slider you have to use to translate with aliens, which became a little tedious.”
- “I'm not certain there's a way to save at this point, which makes grinding less palatable.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have mixed impressions about the game's stability, with some suggesting it may run smoothly but without clear consensus or detailed feedback.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight strong replayability, noting that the game's length and varied content encourage multiple playthroughs to fully experience all it offers.