56 / wfmag.cc
ReviewRated
Metroid Primary Colours
curiosity more than dread. There are dangers,
but this is hardly a vicious foreign world that
your lone explorer has to tame to survive.
It seems like it was managing just fine until you
turned up, poking, slapping, and shooting things.
Some rather on-the-nose satire leaves
no doubt that you’re the invader here, as
an exploited corporate employee, sent to
determine whether the place is ripe for
settlement or resource farming. But it works to
cleverly reveal the sinister side of the standard
Metroid structure. Scanning means gathering
data for your boss as much as to inform
yourself, while flora and fauna are prodded and
pulped in the name of science. Your measly
starting equipment and lack of fuel for a return
journey, meanwhile, are due to cost-cutting and
your apparent expendability. Gear upgrades are
programmed into the ship’s 3D printer, but you’ll
have to collect the raw materials to make them.
The humour continues in the field, with
moments of gooey slapstick violence neverInfo
ReviewGENRE
Action
adventure
FORMAT
PS4 (tested) / PC
/ XBO
DEVELOPER
Typhoon Studios
PUBLISHER
505 Games
PRICE
£24.99
RELEASE
Out nowJourney to the
Savage Planet
ReviewRated
REVIEWED BY
Jon Bailess you look around your spaceship
in Journey to the Savage Planet,
you might wonder how it ever
reached its destination. At rest
on the far-flung, untouched
world, ARY-26, it’s clearly a vessel built on the
cheap. The retro chirps from its CRT-screened
computers have a certain charm, but hardly
scream reliability. As in the classic Metroid
scenario, you’re alone and stranded on an alien
planet, but here it seems less likely that you’ll
ever leave.
The basic premise isn’t the only thing Savage
Planet shares with Nintendo’s series, particularly
Metroid Prime. It’s a first-person exploration
game, where you scan alien environments, shoot
hostile wildlife, navigate hazards, and upgrade
your equipment to access new locales. As you
augment your spacesuit with double jump and
grapple capabilities, or spot cracked walls that
you lack the means to destroy and ledges you
still can’t reach, it can feel very familiar.
But as your rickety ship suggests, this is
Metroid Prime turned on its head. ARY-26 is a
place of natural colour and warm skies. Pastel
vistas burst with lush vegetation, while the
warbles and cries of nearby animals sparkHIGHLIGHT
To access later upgrades,
you’ll need to earn
promotions by conducting
scientific experiments.
Alongside scanning creatures
and collecting live DNA, this
means completing a range of
equipment tests. In practice,
these mostly involve killing
things in creative ways, such
as launching them in the air
and shooting them before
they land. Everyone needs
a hobby.
Extending your max health
and stamina means
consuming these ominous
growths of orange goo.
ARY-26’s most common creatures,
Pufferbirds, are docile and easy to
manipulate – perfect for experiments.A