Planet Alpha Review

Intro

We start off in a dark red foreign space. You are hurt and limping. Struggling to make it to safety and the instinct to rest and recuperate. The green glowing light that shines from your helmet is the only source of light for miles, except for the stars afar twinkling on cue. The background is filled with jagged, rough rocks, like the condition your physical status is mirroring. Falling craters fill the horizon. Such a beautiful but dark terrain. As we pass over a stone bridge, trudging to make it to the other side, suddenly a crack, then a fall to the lower section of the alien planet. After the drop you are holding your shoulder, but onward we go as we have no other choice but to grudgingly move on. Feet slowly dragging along, blackness overtakes all light, and darkness soon follows. Minutes later, you appear in front of what looks like tilted houses, maybe something resembling a cocoon. With feet for stability, the structures stand tall in the sky. Crawling on knees and hands, you collapse, waking up fully healed with no signs of injuries. Two fires lit on either side of you, show that wherever you woke up, it is certainly inhabited by someone or something. The ability to sprint gives the game a boost of momentum you finally need to set off in this gorgeous landscape with all motives pointing toward adventure.  

Alien dinosaurs fill the vast land behind you. Light and dark cycle continuously with no breaks in between, making day and night almost obsolete. Flowers bloom with shining drops of light on them, as if rain itself poured down and left behind a glowing residue. A waterfall that looks so clean and pure majestically streams down with ease. Life seems to dwell in every plant, shrub, flower and vine that covers rock mountains. The strange creatures seem to have tentacles protruding from them that serve as sensors. Anywhere from 4 eyes and up, the creatures have fascinating appeal and seem very gentle. Coming to what seems a dead end, you jump towards the towering wall and you grab the lively vines that allow you to climb above. More of a view comes to life, as well as other alien dinosaurs that could not be seen previously. What a mix of color and art. As if someone took a paintbrush and with the stroke of the tool, created what seems to be utopia. A rock is just waiting, longing to be moved so that you may use it as a step to gain higher grounds. We soon encounter another puzzle, this time it is based on moving pillars up or down with curious looking symbols on them. The easily won feat is just the beginning of a tale where, adventure, wits and dark forces are conjured up in this breath-taking game. Mystery still lies ahead with many more spectacles that await your presence. 

Graphics

This is a beautiful game. The bright hues make this platformer stand out well. The mystic dinosaur creatures and the lively green life sources give you a vision of a beautiful land that is inhabited by an alien life source. In my mind the possibilities seemed endless. Imagine seeing this type of platformer back in the day, what would the evolution of VG'S be today? The Devs at Planet Alpha ApS did a great job and are highly commendable for making such an impressionable game.

Awards & Scores

This game won around 12 awards. The reviews I glanced at did not go beneath an 8 and that was only 1 of the reviews. The others were well above 8.5. I know that the team are well proud. Epic in every sense. Indie games are really dishing out some great content that we can all enjoy. It seems that a lot of the AAA games in the last two or three years have not been on point, but have been seeing more out of the Devs in the indie world. 

Puzzles

Here we have a strategy/puzzle with which things can be a little tricky. A lot of the puzzles have to do with the movement of light, the sun and moon to be exact. Stand on a plate and move the objects until you find the sweet spot. The way the puzzles are set up and the visuals in one, give you an experience that one may not have seen before. This is like stepping into a motion picture having never experiencing a marvel like that.  Mind blowing to say the least.

Invader

So, the character you control has a spacesuit and helmet on you, surely have traveled to another planet. After the second puzzle you will see a hologram appear above you that resembles a space ship leaving earth and heading toward its destination, right after that unidentified flying objects crash in and you see these mechanical aliens with glowing buttons and a glass top with a metal head and one bright red aura glowing from within. These guys are not friendly, and it is your job to sneak past and run from them. If they spot you, you will know due to a sensor they have implanted in them and a noise that sounds of danger. They will take aim and shoot you down. Stay low in the grass and stay crouched heading the opposite of where they stand. Everything that was once beautiful is now dark and swarming with a mist of green while fire engulfs the life around you. These guys bring death and they will not hesitate to hunt you down. They will walk toward you as you creep past them, so you may need to stop before passing. If you feel lucky enough, run. They will follow you past objects in search of the entity they peered at. Flight is your only option. Some spots you will have to duck, then jump over objects that are in your way, the machines have impeccable aiming and will not miss, even running isn't enough in most cases. Venture further on and you will encounter a sphere with a laser attached to it, holding it up are three long legs that remind me of the robot off the Incredibles. That beam can graze you and life as you know it will perish. Keep away, duck and run fast.

Descend

After the chase from the mechanical demons, you will descend into what I like to call, The Scorpion Lair. Here we are avoiding the mechs but also the bugs that dwell here as well. Florescent green eggs lay about all over and it seems as if they are the Scorpions. When venturing forth you will find ripped, hacked and torn mechs thrown around. They are now the hunted. Though you still must worry about them, you have a great enemy on your side. The Scorpion is a distraction to the metal demons as they shoot at it to no avail. You will be tasked with moving the eggs just as before when you had to move stones to gain higher grounds. These eggs are very precious to the master of the lair for they are its heirs. Keeping that in mind, when you approach a certain point in your journey in the descent, you will have to move an egg. The egg must be pushed in front of a mech so that they will see it and commence to shooting at it. You will find it hiding above on a ledge amongst other glowing objects, so keep an eye out. After they shoot this egg, the master Scorpion will come out of nowhere and SMASH the Mech demons, giving you a clear path to run. Keep running cause there are a bunch of mechs shooting at the Scorpion while the beast is running in your direction. You do not want to end up being the form of a pancake under the weight of the beast. Continuing you will find an army of Mechs that are marching on with a drill behind them. Shortly after you will find what I like to compare to a Servitor in Destiny. A red beam protruding in front of it as a sensor, but also a death warrant. Keep clear. More of your inclination can be summed up as dark. The lower you go the more bones you will find. A clear indication that a lot of things have died. One huge bone fragment, which looks like a skull will be hanging above a gang of Mechs, stand on it until it loosens and drops right on top of their bodies. Always a great satisfaction when you wipe out enemies. After all the darkness it seems as if light is taking hold again as you traverse to a beautiful open landscape. With this, we journey on.

The Outro

Fascinating world I have just emerged from. My mind is full of bright flowers and glowing mushrooms. I am very satisfied with the outcome of Planet Alpha. If you are looking for a great graphical game, here it is. Play it a bit and tell me if I am wrong for saying this is the top indie/platformer/puzzle game of the year. I will no doubt have this in my top list of games to add to my memory. If I had a score system, I'd give this game a 9.5. That is saying a lot I know, but you will not know until you have played it. Open your mind and dive into Planet Alpha.