journey to savage planet gameplay

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow.

Buy Journey to the Savage Planet

Buy journey to the savage planet deluxe edition.

Includes 2 items: Journey to the Savage Planet , Journey to the Savage Planet - Hot Garbage

Content For This Game Browse all (1)

“Funny, fresh, and full of surprises, Typhoon’s debut blends genres expertly.” 84 – PC Gamer “One of the most interesting and unique indie games to be released in a very long time.” 90 – Screen Rant

About This Game

Onward to adventure.

Play with a friend

Explore and catalog the flora and fauna., no expense spared*, are you alone.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Players use laser blasters to shoot enemy creatures; players can also kick aliens into carnivorous plants, resulting in splatters of green blood. The game depicts some comical TV ads that contain instances crude humor: a phone-sex commercial for a gelatinous blob creature (“Chat with the most seductive soft bodies in space...”); a fast-food commercial showing human limbs going through a meat grinder. In one sequence, players encounter a creature with an anus-like orifice; players' scanning equipment confirms “a festering butthole” and “pile of poop.” During the course of the game, certain plants release a gas that alters the screen and color saturation; text indicates that the plants “disperse thick mists of hallucinogenic spores. Enjoy responsibly.”

System Requirements

• OS *: Win 7, 8, 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 | AMD Radeon HD 7950

© 2021 Google LLC. Journey to the Savage Planet, Typhoon Studios, and related marks are trademarks of Google LLC. 505 Games and the 505 Games logo are registered trademarks of 505 Games S.p.A and/or its Affiliates. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective holders.

More from 505 Games Official

More like this, what curators say, customer reviews.

You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.

Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:

Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear

Popular user-defined tags for this product: (?)

Sign in to add your own tags to this product.

Long read: How TikTok's most intriguing geolocator makes a story out of a game

Where in the world is Josemonkey?

Journey to the Savage Planet review - a genuinely funny toybox to explore

It's out of this world.

The first time I throw down a cannister of GROB, I'm not entirely sure what it is. As it explodes into a satisfying puddle of goo, the exotic creatures around me - my scanner tells me they're Pufferbirds and they "like, love me": it's already reciprocal - screech a joyful, if alien, screech and waddle straight to it. Awed, I waddle right after them.

Moments later, their little bodies start contorting and their cheerful chirps fade. With dawning horror, I realise I've mindlessly thrown down this unspecified foodstuff without knowing anything about it - even though I'm playing a game with the word "savage" baked right into the title - noticing for the first time it's labelled "bait" in my inventory. It's too late for recriminations, though, isn't it? These poor creatures are jitter-bugging their final death throes. I'll be branded a Pufferbird Poisoner, I think. The Avicide Assassin. Spare me no leniency, I'll wail, as they drag me from the dock. Don't let me-

The convulsion ends in an obnoxiously noisy fart and a cloud of blue atoms spills out from beneath the Pufferbird's backside. Its neighbour swiftly follows it up with a clamorous bottom-burp of its own. There's another trouser toot from the corner of the cave - I hadn't even spotted that one - and the faint luminosity of untapped atoms now presses softly against the dark walls of the cavern. I step cautiously towards them, still wary of upsetting the fowl, and gather my first resource - carbon - of the game.

Not all experimentation in Journey to the Savage Planet ends so innocuously, of course, but this initial encounter sets the template for what will probably be several hours' worth of "ooh, I wonder what happens if I do THIS?". I spend/waste a lot of time idly skipping through the striking regions of planet AR-Y 26, ears pricked for the telltale "gloop-gloop" sound that lets me know something gross but edible is pulsating close by. Other times there'll be a gentle tinkle to tell me a rich vein of coveted resources - carbon or aluminium, perhaps - is close at hand, or a hypnotic musical sting will indicate a secret is hidden nearby.

The similarities to titles like No Man's Sky and The Outer Worlds are numerous, and several mechanical aspects of the gameplay echo those of others, too, but to be fair to developer Typhoon, Journey to the Savage Planet cultivates its own charm. And oh - it's so gorgeous here! There are craggy mountains and snowy vistas and leafy glades and icy caverns stuffed with indigo crystals. There are giant mushrooms and scolding lava falls and bulbous, explosive shrubs and hallucinogenic trees and plants that shoot fiery lasers at you. Pulsing sacs of... well, I don't know what they're made of, really, but they'll drop seeds that can be trampolines or sticky traps or flowers strong enough to withstand a grapple tether. The game never tells you any of this, of course; it's up to you to fiddle with the curious items in your inventory and experiment with the bright, bold world around you.

Most of AR-Y 26's animal life is delighted to meet you, whilst others are unaffected by your presence. It troubles fewer still, which means you'll only occasionally need to charge your infinity-ammo pistol and remind the critters you don't necessarily come in peace. Journey to the Savage Planet isn't a shooter in the traditional sense which is probably just as well; the floaty gunplay and frequent recharging mean intense combat sequences with tougher foes can be frustrating, especially if you're looking to take down a boss or relieve a nearby vault of its precious cargo. So unless I'm collecting very specific resources that are only shed when certain species shrug off their mortal coils, I prefer to leave the wildlife be.

A lack of meaningful peril means you can indulge the whim to ignore your in-game objectives as often as you wish. Co-operative partners can float about as they please, free to explore different areas unchained from their companion. Regularly upgrading your equipment means there's always a reason to jump into a handy transporter and revisit old ground, utilising your new tools to unlock areas that had hitherto been inaccessible.

Perhaps most amazingly of all, not once did I begrudge this; despite its dizzying verticality, the maps are contained enough and accessible enough to ensure you're rarely far from your next objective, making backtracking a welcome distraction rather than a chore.

Mostly, though, you'll spend your time leaping across AR-Y 26's fascinating flora and fauna as you scout for resources that'll help get your stranded ship up and running. You're working for Kindred Aerospace - the fourth-best interstellar exploration company on earth, no less - which had mistakenly presumed this planet was devoid of intelligent life. The discovery of alien architecture suggests otherwise, but it's up to you to traverse the world, collecting samples and data as you go, and locate what you need to get back home again.

Very occasionally, I encountered a problem. Sometimes, Savage Planet's beasts glitched through the environment, once making it impossible to dispose of a key enemy to unlock a vault until I'd left and returned to the area via a transporter. Without a map to help orientate yourself, the waypoint compass system can be a little confusing, and on a couple of occasions, my handy respawn buddy spawned me in mid-air, which sent me spiralling to my death again. Not sackable offences, granted, and they didn't happen often enough to mar my experience, but something to bear in mind, perhaps.

And it's funny, too; honestly, genuinely comical. I know, I know - humour is in the beholder's eye, and I've already told you about the farting. Beyond that, though, Journey to the Savage Planet is stuffed with gentle Portal-esque self-deprecation, often breaking the fourth wall and offering up some of the most impressive, and entertaining, FMV in-game videos and advertisements I've ever seen. The AI voice in your ear, EKO, is both informative and charming without ever becoming an irritant, but if you suspect you'd prefer a more solitary experience, you can tweak her chatterbox-ness in the settings.

There are missions and objectives to complete, of course, and items to unlock and upgrade via the wonders of your 3D printer, plus there's plenty of collectibles, too (oh, how I love collectibles!) Succumb one too many times, however, and you'll lose the resources you've collected thus far and be forced to make a Dark Souls-esque dash to retrieve them.

But good grief, there's something so special about being untethered this way, free to float and stomp and cheese my way around this remarkable place, poking my head into the nooks and crannies as I meander along, admiring the friendly fauna I pass by. I don't know why EKO's so keen for us to find the fuel and get home. I'm pretty sure I never want to leave here.

Read this next

• Journey to the Savage Planet heading to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in February
• Outer Wilds leads PlayStation Now’s games for April
• Frostpunk and Journey to the Savage Planet lead Amazon Prime Gaming line-up for December

Digital Foundry | MSI MPG 321URX review: the best QD-OLED monitor for US buyers

Review | Sand Land review - a fitting tribute to a wonderful author

Review | No Rest For the Wicked early access review - a shaky start, but there's potential

Review | Stellar Blade review - no thinking, just slashing

Review | Manor Lords early access review - beautiful foundations but missing important pieces

Review | Tales of Kenzera review: a compassionate Afro-futurist exploration of grief

Review | Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes review - a Suikoden successor that plays things safe

Review | Life Eater review - an intriguingly uncomfortable game about abduction that chickens out a bit

Journey to the Savage Planet review

Ex ubi veterans take us on a tongue-in-cheek adventure., our verdict.

Funny, fresh, and full of surprises, Typhoon’s debut blends genres expertly. Co-op doesn’t add much, though.

PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

What is it? A survival-metroidvania hybrid with jokes. Expect to pay $30/£24, Epic Games Store Developer Typhoon Studios Publisher Epic Games Reviewed on i7 9700K, RTX 2080 TI, 16GB RAM Multiplayer 2-player co-op Link s avageplanetgame.com

Given that it looks so much like No Man’s Sky at a glance and it’s made by former Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinson’s new studio, perhaps it’s best to start with which games Journey to the Savage Planet is not like. 

Although you and a co-op partner find yourself in a raucously colourful distant planet scanning its local life forms and scavenging raw materials for crafting, it isn’t anything like as non-linear or as vast as No Man’s Sky. And sure, there’s a gun occupying the bottom-right of the screen, but Far Cry In Space it is not. What Typhoon Studios have made with their debut title is something else. 

Something that gives you a real sense of being stranded in a huge and uncharted alien environment, but carefully curates your path through it. That path takes you through platforming sequences, boss battles, mob fights and environmental puzzles and often calls upon you to double back and use a new bit of kit in an old area to access previously out of reach places. It does all this while regularly making me laugh along with its story beats, and making me care about its central mystery: if the planet’s supposedly bereft of intelligent life, what’s that enormous tower doing right in the middle of it?

It’s a comedy-metroidvania-survival-shooter-platformer, then, a kind of Subnautica among the stars with extra bells and whistles. As a Kindred Aerospace employee shot out into the farthest reaches of who-knows-where to chart the planet and see if there’s anything worth the company’s time, you find yourself in a pickle when - stop me if you’ve heard this one - your spacecraft’s damaged during landing. A voyage of discovery’s required to survive and source the parts needed to fuel your journey back home. 

A simplistic enough setup which does the heavy lifting needed to contextualise your scrabbling for aluminium and feeding indeterminate nutritional paste to small birds in order to collect their carbon-rich poop. But it has real life breathed into it by the outright silliness of JTTSP’s writing. 

Humour’s famously subjective, and perhaps your own experiences of the comedy here will be like watching a friend do karaoke while you’re mid-dental examination, but I doubt it. Pitch-perfect live action commercials for sci-fi gubbins punctuate your forays into the planet, aping the frothing sales pitches of ‘80s toy commercials and instructional videos, and I grew to actively look forward to Kindred CEO Martin Tweed’s next video communication with me. Even the behaviour of the loading bar on your vessel’s computer got me. Really. A funny loading bar.

The game might even be hoist on its own petard here because when it’s played in co-op, it’s easy to let your Discord bantz drown out the jokes, or to race ahead without stopping to appreciate the details. In fact, this may actually work better as a solo game all-round. So much of your progress is about making sense of the area’s topography and figuring out how to manipulate the flora and fauna so you can delve deeper into it, and if you’re lost alone you only have the problem of finding your way again. If two of you are lost in different locations, a lot of your time’s spent first trying to figure out exactly where each of you is lost, /then/ finding the critical path. I’m certainly not complaining that co-op’s available, but rather recommending a more antisocial approach if you feel knee-deep in the progress treacle with a friend. 

It’s an interesting mix of aggressive wildlife, cutesy fauna and joyously weird scenery that entices you deeper once you’re outside the safety of your crashed ship, and JTTSP plays on this deviously. Pufferbirds, the first sentient beings you encounter, are at least 50% eyeball and their trusting coos are impossible not to find endearing. In a purely mechanical sense, they exist to produce carbon when you feed them Grob. Grob is a purple-ish canned food paste that tastes, according to its promotional materials, anywhere between beef, lamb spleen poutine and cucumber shitwater, but that’s by the by. 

What’s more pertinent is that if you overfeed Pufferbirds in your quest for carbon, they simply pop. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal to you, but I can’t tell you how wracked with guilt I felt upon that discovery. Worse, the only way I found to make it past a Meat Vortex (think organic waste disposal) was to lure those wide-eyed, innocent Pufferbirds into vortex-sucking range and continue along the path while they were being eviscerated. You beastly devils, Typhoon Studios.

Very little of the plants and creatures around you is there just to fill the space, and there’s a mild puzzle element to almost everything with a pulse. The bee-like critters who plague your progress at the base of the tower can all be killed in one fell swoop by shooting their hive, while the amber shields on some enemies can be corroded by the acidic fruit of Blight Bomb plants. 

There’s always a reason to pay attention to your surroundings here, one that goes beyond the game just looking nice. Although let’s take a second to appreciate that yes, it does look very nice. Remember when indies looked generations behind triple-A releases? Or, you know, gave some indication that they weren’t made by a team of 1000 people with millions of dollars to spend? The detail on small items and variety of idle animations to its fauna is matched by its knack for pulling together a gorgeous vista with a painter’s eye for framing in just about any direction. 

The irony is that the closer you come to fuelling your ship and starting the journey back home, the more bewitching your current climate becomes. The simple rules of each biome - use Grapple seeds to scale the Cliffs of Mt. Gzarfyn, double-jump between the mushroom pads of the Fungi of Si’ned VII, lob Blight Bombs in the Matriarch’s Lair - become a kind of second nature that roots you to the place and turns a once totally alien landscape into something fondly familiar. It’s not doing something radical in its own right, but the blend of established genres and mechanics at the heart of Journey to the Savage Planet are still expertly chosen and blended together like a muso’s mixtape.

Phil 'the face' Iwaniuk used to work in magazines. Now he wanders the earth, stopping passers-by to tell them about PC games he remembers from 1998 until their polite smiles turn cold. He also makes ads. Veteran hardware smasher and game botherer of PC Format, Official PlayStation Magazine, PCGamesN, Guardian, Eurogamer, IGN, VG247, and What Gramophone? He won an award once, but he doesn't like to go on about it.

You can get rid of 'the face' bit if you like.

No -Ed.  

That's rad: with 65 million viewers, the Fallout show is Amazon's biggest hit since The Rings of Power

On the heels of Tarkov's worst week ever, a new rival extraction shooter is looking to woo its disgruntled audience

Manor Lords shatters Steam city builder record with over 170,000 concurrent players

Most Popular

Journey to the Savage Planet

• First Released Jan 28, 2020 released

Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss.

By signing up, you agree to the our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

We'll begin emailing you updates about %gameName%.

Latest on Journey to the Savage Planet

Excited For Starfield? Get 7 Spacefaring Steam Games For $30

Humble's new Spaced Out Bundle packs interstellar RPGs, shooters, and survival sims that will tide you over until Starfield.

PlayStation Now Adds Four More Games In April, Including Outer Wilds

Four additional titles are coming to PS Now very soon.

Amazon Prime Free Games For December: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, Frostpunk, And More

Amazon Prime members can snag nine free games this month.

Steam's Top-Selling Games For January 2021 Include Dyson Sphere Program, The Medium, And Plenty Of Yakuza

One of the big trends for January was that that 12 of the top 20 games were Early Access titles, an unprecedented number since the feature launched.

Journey To The Savage Planet Comes To Steam After Epic Exclusivity Ends

The game from Assassin's Creed veteran's studio is out now on Steam and it's 40% off.

PS4 Hidden Gems Sale Ends Soon, Includes Fantastic Deals

The PlayStation Store has kicked off a new sale dubbed Hidden Gems, offering deals on more than 250 PS4 games like Control, Journey to the Savage Planet, and Indivisible.

Xbox Game Pass April 2020: Yakuza Kiwami, Gears Tactics, And More Coming This Month

Microsoft announces the next titles coming to Xbox Game Pass and those that are leaving soon on both Xbox One and PC.

Top New Video Games Releasing On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- April 12-18, 2020

Fallout 76 adds Wastelanders, and Journey to the Savage Planet gets some Hot Garbage.

Top New Video Game Releases This Week On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC--April 12-18, 2020

Fallout 76 and Journey to the Savage Planet get expansions this week.

Journey To The Savage Planet Gets Hot Garbage DLC On PC And Xbox One Very Soon

The first piece of DLC for Journey to the Savage Planet releases April 15 on PC and Xbox One, with a PS4 release coming later.

Amazon Has Deals On Several Big Games Right Now (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)

Snag some new PS4, Xbox One, and Switch games to keep you busy this week.

Top New Video Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- January 26 - February 1, 2020

Sit on the Frozen Throne, explore a savage planet, and drive a route in Kentucky.

Top New Video Game Releases On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- January 26 - February 1, 2020

Past adventures are returning with Warcraft 3: Reforged and Kentucky Route Zero.

Journey To The Savage Planet Video Review

Journey to the Savage Planet is a charming and upbeat adventure about exploring an uncharted planet in service of your corporate overlords.

Journey To The Savage Planet Is 2020's First Great Co-Op Game

Rob Handlery and Jake Dekker explore the wacky world of Journey To The Savage Planet in this video. There are exploding chickens, deadly jellyfish, and lots of slapping. You can ...

First 27 Minutes Of Journey To The Savage Planet Gameplay

As an employee of Kindred Aerospace you've landed on an unknown planet. With secrets to explore and things to catalog, it's your job to determine if the planet is habitable ...

Journey To The Savage Planet - Cragclaw Boss Fight Gameplay

In this video we'll take down one of the first bosses you'll encounter, Cragclaw. Journey to the Savage Planet will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 28.

Journey To A Savage Planet Co-op Gameplay | PAX West 2019

In Journey To A Savage Planet we explore a strange planet with a buddy. Captured on PC at PAX West 2019.

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Journey to the savage planet, common sense media reviewers.

Sci-fi romp has sense of humor, also blood and adult themes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

The story uses humor to poke fun of consumerism an

The player's character, who can be male or female,

The action starts off fairly easy, with intuitive

Players use a sci-fi blaster to shoot bizarre look

Dialogue contains a reference to alien genitals. A

Spoken dialogue includes occasional instances of w

Certain plants emit a foggy cloud that causes the

Parents need to know that Journey to the Savage Planet is a first-person sci-fi adventure for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PCs in which players explore an alien world. The hero discovers and does battle with a variety of fantastical alien lifeforms (some of which are peaceful until…

Positive Messages

The story uses humor to poke fun of consumerism and capitalism by presenting disgusting fictional products as desirable, and suggesting that it's normal and okay for corporations to disregard worker safety, animal rights, and ecology. Cooperative play encourages teamwork and communication.

Positive Role Models

The player's character, who can be male or female, doesn't have much of a personality. He or she simply follows orders to complete corporate missions, several of which involve examining and killing local alien wildlife to harvest resources.

Ease of Play

The action starts off fairly easy, with intuitive first-person shooter (FPS) controls and basic abilities, such as running and jumping. Things grow more complex as the game progresses and players gain more abilities, many of which must be skillfully used to take down some surprisingly challenging bosses towards the end of the game.

Violence & Scariness

Players use a sci-fi blaster to shoot bizarre looking alien creatures, including flying squid, ball-shaped birds, and two-headed lizards. These enemies often bleed colorful blood, get ground up in swirling plant maws, and occasionally blow up in massive explosions causing mini mushroom clouds.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Dialogue contains a reference to alien genitals. A fake commercial advertises phone-sex with a weird amorphous creature.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Spoken dialogue includes occasional instances of words such as "s--t," "hell," "poop," and "butthole."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Certain plants emit a foggy cloud that causes the hero's vision to distort in hallucinogenic fashion.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Journey to the Savage Planet is a first-person sci-fi adventure for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PCs in which players explore an alien world. The hero discovers and does battle with a variety of fantastical alien lifeforms (some of which are peaceful until attacked) using a blaster pistol that fires bursts of energy. Enemies bleed colorful blood and occasionally explode in giant fireballs. The protagonist -- who can be male or female -- doesn't have much of a personality, but instead simply follows the orders of his or her corrupt corporate boss, who wants to exploit whatever resources the planet may have. The game uses humor to poke fun of things like consumerism and capitalism via ads for awful looking fictional products and a corrupt artificial intelligence. Dialogue includes mild language and makes reference to poop, buttholes, and alien genitalia. One jokey advertisement focuses on phone sex with an alien blob. An alien plant emits a toxic gas that causes the hero to hallucinate.

Where to Play

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (7)

Based on 1 parent review

Fantastic open world game

What’s it about.

JOURNEY TO THE SAVAGE PLANET has a slightly misleading name in that it's not about a voyage at all. Your hero has already landed on the titular planet when the game begins, and it's up to him (or her, should you choose) to begin investigating the local flora and fauna according to the orders of a clueless and corrupt corporate boss as well as a gleefully corrupt artificial intelligence. Players experience the world from a first-person perspective, their bobbing right hand wielding a blaster to defend against nasty alien wildlife (or to attack peaceful creatures to harvest their resources) while the left holds a variety of handy doo-dads, ranging from explosive plant bulbs to a giant syringe used to extract alien DNA. The planet's free to explore, but at the start of the game our hero has limited abilities, which means plenty of areas remain out of reach until he harvests resources necessary to craft new gear and upgrades, such as a jet pack or grappling gun. There are also plenty of alien artifacts to scan in order to better understand the ancient culture that once inhabited the planet, lots of items to collect -- such as gooey plants that can increase the hero's health and stamina -- and side quests and experiments to undertake. The main story can be completed without finding or doing everything, but working to achieve bonus objectives will result in a more powerful character, which will make later boss fights much easier.

Is It Any Good?

Few lessons about exploiting worlds and their resources have been learned by Kindred Aerospace, the company overseeing the exploration of this batty space adventure. But that's kind of the point of Journey to the Savage Planet, which uses a liberal dose of humor to show the folly of our modern society as it's applied in bizarre and immoral ways in the future. This ranges from disgusting products meant to recall Sea Monkeys and spam to thoughtless corporations refusing to provide adequate protection to workers while ordering them to do things that don't feel quite right. Taking on the role of one of these employees (or two, if you choose to play cooperatively with someone else), players go about accomplishing the company's objectives by scanning everything they see and taking what they need from the ecosystem in order to survive and progress. Put more simply, we see clearly some of the absurdities of our modern world in what we are tasked to do on this futuristic, alien planet.

It'd have been nice if the same attention had been paid the action. The combat's fun most of the time, with clever concepts such as enemies that split in two when struck, others that need to be ground pounded from above, or flickering, hard-to-target tails that serve as weak spots. But navigating the world without a map is a pain. And many missions and collectibles require returning multiple times to areas already explored once you have the proper gear to accomplish a specific objective or reach a distant ledge. Making matters worse, one of the key traversal mechanics later in the game -- grappling and sliding on rails -- is a bit janky, with latch points sometimes failing to register a grapple cue while you're in mid-air, resulting in a long fall into a bottomless chasm. Journey to the Savage Planet is smart and entertaining, especially when you're on your ship scrolling through computer files, but what you get up to on the planet's surface could have benefitted from some tweaking.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about screen time . Journey to the Savage Planet isn't the sort of game that's broken into levels or chapters, meaning there are few natural places to take a break, so how do you know when you ought to stop playing a game to get some exercise, do some work, or socialize?

Can you think of any real ads you've seen that seem to mislead the audience in order to sell a product? How can you tell whether to trust a brand?

Game Details

• Platforms : Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , Windows , Xbox One
• Pricing structure : Paid
• Available online? : Available online
• Publisher : 505 Games
• Release date : January 28, 2020
• Genre : First-Person Shooter
• Topics : Adventures , Space and Aliens
• ESRB rating : T for Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
• Last updated : January 5, 2022

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Dragon Quest Builders 2

Sci-fi movies, 10 best sci-fi books for teens, related topics.

• Space and Aliens

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

• PlayStation 5
• PlayStation VR2
• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation Store
• PlayStation Plus
• Portuguese (Br)
• Spanish (LatAm)
• Spanish (EU)
• Traditional Chinese

May Savings promotion comes to PlayStation Store 

Up to 75% off select games for a limited time. 

There’s something for everyone in the May Savings promotion which rolls out onto PlayStation Store April 24. For a limited time*, enjoy discounts on a vast assortment of titles, including Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak (67% off), Madden NFL 24 (80% off the PS5 version) and many more.

There’s something for everyone in the May Savings promotion which rolls out onto PlayStation Store April 24. For a limited time* you can enjoy discounts on a vast assortment of titles, including Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak (67% off), Lords of the Fallen (50% off) and many more.

Get a preview of just some of the games under offer below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount. 

• .hack//G.U. Last Recode
• 11-11 Memories Retold
• 428: Shibuya Scramble
• A Memoir Blue
• Accel World VS Sword Art Online
• Ad Infinitum
• AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES
• AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative
• Air Conflicts: Double Pack
• Airport Simulator 2019
• AKIBA’S TRIP: Undead & Undressed
• Aliens: Dark Descent
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite PS4 & PS5
• Amnesia: Rebirth
• Amnesia: The Bunker
• ANONYMOUS;CODE
• Anthem™ Standard Edition
• Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection
• ARCADE GAME SERIES: DIG DUG
• ARCADE GAME SERIES: GALAGA
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla PS4 & PS5
• Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey
• Assassin’s Creed® Origins
• Assassin’s Creed® Syndicate
• Asterix & Obelix XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir
• Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX
• Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky DX
• Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX
• Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~
• Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX
• Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX
• Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX
• Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy PS4 & PS5
• Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (PS4 & PS5)
• Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout
• Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX
• Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX
• Atelier Totori ~The Adventurer of Arland~ DX
• Atlas Fallen
• Avatar The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™
• Baby Shark™: Sing & Swim Party
• Batman™: Arkham Knight
• Batman™: Arkham VR
• Battlefield™ Hardline Standard Edition
• Beyond a Steel Sky
• Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions
• Birthdays the Beginning
• BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS
• BlazBlue: Central Fiction
• BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma EXTEND
• Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers
• Blood & Truth™
• Blood Bowl 3
• BLUE REFLECTION
• Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition
• Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
• Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare
• Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® Remastered
• Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle
• Capcom Fighting Collection
• Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions
• Carnival Games®
• Carnival Games® VR
• Castlevania Anniversary Collection
• Chronos: Before the Ashes
• Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
• Code: Realize ~Bouquet of Rainbows~
• Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~
• Commandos 2 – HD Remaster
• Commandos 3 – HD Remaster
• Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars
• Construction Simulator 2 US – Console Edition
• Construction Simulator 3 – Console Edition
• Corpse Party
• Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy
• Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition™
• Creed: Rise to Glory™
• Crysis 2 Remastered
• Crysis 3 Remastered
• Crysis Remastered
• Danganronpa 1/2 Reload
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
• Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp
• Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
• DARK SOULS™ II: Scholar of the First Sin
• DARK SOULS™ III
• DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
• Darksiders Genesis
• Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition
• Darksiders III
• Darksiders Warmastered Edition
• DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace
• Dead Island 2
• Dead Island: Riptide Definitive Edition
• DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Last Round
• Defense Grid 2
• Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed
• Detroit: Become Human
• Devil May Cry HD Collection
• DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH – HACKER’S MEMORY
• Digimon World: Next Order
• DiRT Rally 2.0
• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
• Disgaea 1 Complete
• Disgaea 4 Complete+
• Disgaea 6 Complete
• Dishonored 2
• Donut County
• DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of the Great Kingdom
• DRAGON BALL FighterZ PS4 & PS5
• DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS
• Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
• DreamWorks Dragons Dawn of New Riders
• Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour
• DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition
• DYNASTY WARRIORS 9
• DYNASTY WARRIORS 9 Empires
• EA SPORTS™ WRC
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
• ELEX II PS4 & PS5
• ENDLESS™ Dungeon PS4 & PS5
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination PS4 & PS5
• Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky
• Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (PS4 & PS5)
• Far Cry® 3 Classic Edition
• Farmer’s Dynasty
• Fate/EXTELLA LINK
• Fate/Samurai Remnant(PS4 & PS5)
• FIA European Truck Racing Championship
• FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0™ HD
• FINAL FANTASY® X/X-2 HD Remaster
• Fire Pro Wrestling World
• Five Nights at Freddy’s
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 3
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 4
• Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location
• Flashback 2
• FOR HONOR – Standard Edition
• Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
• Ghost Parade
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
• Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection
• Ghostwire: Tokyo
• GOD EATER 2: Rage Burst
• God’s Trigger
• Godfall Challenger Edition PS4 & PS5
• GRID Legends PS4 & PS5
• GrimGrimoire OnceMore
• GUNDAM VERSUS
• Handball 21
• HELLDIVERS™: Super-Earth Ultimate Edition
• Hitman GO: Definitive Edition
• Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™
• Hotel Transylvania 3 Monsters Overboard
• Hotline Miami
• Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
• House Builder
• How to Survive 2
• HUMANKIND™ PS4 & PS5
• Hunting Simulator
• Indivisible
• Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue
• inFAMOUS First Light
• inFAMOUS™ First Light
• Infinity Strash: DRAGON QUEST The Adventure of Dai PS4 & PS5
• Injustice™ 2 – Legendary Edition
• Jagged Alliance 3
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy™
• Jak II™: Renegade
• Jak X: Combat Racing
• Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf Console Edition
• JoJo Siwa: Worldwide Party
• Journey to the Savage Planet
• Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief
• Katamari Damacy REROLL
• KATANA KAMI: A Way of the Samurai Story
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition
• KINGDOM HEARTS III
• Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series PS4 & PS5
• Kona II: Brume
• LA-MULANA 2
• Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society
• Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk
• Langrisser I & II
• Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
• Lara Croft GO
• Last Day of June
• LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham
• LEGO® CITY Undercover
• LEGO® Jurassic World™
• LEGO® Star Wars™: The Force Awakens
• LEGO® The Hobbit
• Let’s Sing ABBA
• Let’s Sing Country
• Let’s Sing Queen
• Life is Strange: True Colors PS4 & PS5
• Little Dragons Café
• LIVE A LIVE PS4&PS5
• Loop8: Summer of Gods
• Lost Judgment PS4 & PS5
• Mad Rat Dead
• Madden NFL 24
• Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness
• Martha Is Dead PS4™ & PS5™
• Matchpoint – Tennis Championships PS4 & PS5
• MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA
• METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater – Master Collection Version PS4 & PS5
• METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE DEFINITIVE EXPERIENCE
• METAL SLUG 3
• METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY™
• METAL SLUG XX
• Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™ – Game of the Year Edition
• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-gon Breath
• MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM EXTREME VS. MAXIBOOST ON
• Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5 PS4 & PS5
• Monster Hunter Rise PS4 & PS5
• MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD™
• Monster Truck Championship
• Mordheim: City of the Damned
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Mortal Shell
• Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition
• MotoGP™22 PS4 & PS5
• MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore
• MXGP 2020 – The Official Motocross Videogame
• NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM Trilogy
• NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
• NBA 2KVR Experience
• NECROPOLIS: A Diabolical Dungeon Delve
• Need for Speed™
• Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered
• Need for Speed™ Rivals
• NEO: The World Ends with You
• New Gundam Breaker
• Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
• NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
• OCTOPATH TRAVELER II PS4&PS5
• Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus (PS1 Emulation)
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (PS1 Emulation)
• Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty
• Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition
• Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD
• Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
• One Piece: Unlimited World Red – Deluxe Edition
• ONE PUNCH MAN: A HERO NOBODY KNOWS
• Onechanbara Z2: Chaos
• Onimusha: Warlords
• Open Country
• Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission
• Orcs Must Die! 3 PS4 & PS5
• Outer Wilds
• Pacific Drive
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition
• PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls
• Persona®5 Strikers
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
• PixelJunk™ Monsters 2
• Planet Coaster: Console Edition
• Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™
• Poison Control
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers
• Portal Knights
• PowerWash Simulator
• Prison Simulator
• Psychonauts 2
• Pure Farming 2018
• Puyo Puyo™ Tetris® 2 PS4 & PS5
• R-Type Final 3 Evolved
• Raiden IV x MIKADO remix
• Rayman Legends
• Rayman® Legends
• Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne
• RESEARCH and DESTROY
• RESIDENT EVIL 2
• RESIDENT EVIL 3
• Resident Evil 4 PS4 & PS5
• RESIDENT EVIL 7 biohazard
• Resident Evil Village PS4 & PS5
• Risen 3: Titan Lords – Enhanced Edition
• ROBOTICS;NOTES DaSH
• ROBOTICS;NOTES ELITE
• Rogue Lords
• Rogue Spirit
• Romance of The Three Kingdoms 13
• ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV
• RPG Maker MV
• RTK13: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack Bundle
• RWBY: Arrowfell
• Ryan’s Rescue Squad
• SAMURAI SHODOWN NEOGEO COLLECTION
• SAMURAI WARRIORS 5
• Sayonara Wild Hearts
• SCARLET NEXUS PS4 & PS5
• SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE
• Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO
• Serial Cleaners
• Shadows: Awakening
• Sherlock Holmes The Awakened PS4 & PS5
• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
• Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter
• Skull Island: Rise of Kong
• Smurfs Kart
• Sniper Elite 4
• Sniper Elite V2 Remastered
• Sniper Elite VR
• Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2
• SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
• SNK HEROINES Tag Team Frenzy
• Soul Hackers 2 PS4 & PS5
• SOULCALIBUR VI
• South Park™: The Stick of Truth™
• Space Engineers PS4 & PS5
• Spidersaurs
• Spike Volleyball
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake
• STAR OCEAN : INTEGRITY AND FAITHLESSNESS
• STAR OCEAN First Departure R
• STAR OCEAN THE DIVINE FORCE
• Star Ocean® Till The End Of Time™
• Star Ocean®: The Last Hope – 4K and Full HD Remaster
• STAR OCEAN™ – THE LAST HOPE -™ 4K & Full HD Remaster
• STAR WARS: Bounty Hunter
• STAR WARS: Jedi Starfighter
• Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Enhanced Edition
• STAR WARS® JEDI STARFIGHTER™
• STAR WARS® RACER REVENGE™
• STAR WARS™ BOUNTY HUNTER™
• STAR WARS™ Episode I Racer
• STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight II – Jedi Outcast™
• STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
• Star Wars™ Pinball VR
• STAR WARS™ Republic Commando™
• STAR WARS™: Dark Forces Remaster
• Star Wars™: Racer Revenge™
• STEINS;GATE ELITE
• STEINS;GATE: My Darling’s Embrace
• Stranded: Alien Dawn
• Stray Blade
• Styx: Master of Shadows
• Styx: Shards of Darkness
• Sudden Strike 4
• SUPER BOMBERMAN R 2 PS4 & PS5
• SUPER CRAZY RHYTHM CASTLE
• Super Mega Baseball™ 4
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania PS4 & PS5
• Super Star Wars
• Survivor – Castaway Island
• SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris
• SWORD ART ONLINE: FATAL BULLET
• SWORD ART ONLINE: Hollow Realization
• Tactics Ogre: Reborn
• Tails of Iron
• TALES OF BERSERIA
• Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition
• Telling Lies
• Tennis World Tour 2 – Complete Edition
• The 25th Ward: The Silver Case
• The Alliance Alive HD Remastered
• The Artful Escape
• The Bard’s Tale IV: Director’s Cut
• The Crew™ Motorfest Standard Edition
• The Cruel King and the Great Hero
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me PS4™ & PS5™
• The Disney Afternoon Collection
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition – PS4 & PS5
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
• The Entropy Centre
• The Fisherman – Fishing Planet
• The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
• The Inquisitor
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’97 GLOBAL MATCH
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002 UNLIMITED MATCH
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS™ ‘COLLECTION: THE OROCHI SAGA
• The Last Faith
• The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
• The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails
• The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince
• The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™
• The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™
• The Pathless PS4™ & PS5™
• The Princess Guide
• The Settlers®: New Allies
• The Silver Case
• The Smurfs – Mission Vileaf
• The Walking Dead Onslaught
• The Walking Dead: Season Two
• The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season
• Thirsty Suitors
• Tin & Kuna
• Titan Quest
• Titanfall® 2 Standard Edition
• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Daybreak: Special Gigs
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® Wildlands Standard Edition
• Tour de France 2022
• Tribes of Midgard PS4 & PS5
• Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy
• TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 2
• Twelve Minutes
• Ultimate Custom Night
• Underworld Ascendant
• Unheard – Voices of Crime Edition
• Unravel Two
• Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen
• Utawarerumono: ZAN
• Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
• Valkyria Revolution
• VALKYRIE ELYSIUM PS4 & PS5
• VALKYRIE PROFILE: LENNETH
• void TRRLM(); //Void Terrarium
• void* tRrLM2(); //Void Terrarium 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr
• WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate
• Wasteland 3
• Welcome to ParadiZe
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• WipEout™ Omega Collection
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood
• Wolfenstein® II: The New Colossus™
• WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship
• Wreckfest: Drive Hard. Die Last.
• WrestleQuest
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Yakuza Kiwami 2
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS4 & PS5
• Yomawari: Lost in the Dark
• Yomawari: Midnight Shadows
• Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
• Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
• YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world.
• Yurukill: The Calumniation Games
• Zanki Zero: Last Beginning
• Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
• Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
• Zombie Army Trilogy

* M ay Savings promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am PST/BST, Wednesday April 24 until 23:59pm PST/BST Wednesday May 8. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details.

Did you like this? Like this

Share this story

Join the Conversation

But don't be a jerk!

Please be kind, considerate, and constructive. Report inappropriate comments to [email protected]

10 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Trending Stories

PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for April: Dave the Diver, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, The Crew 2 and more

Adam Michel Director, Content Acquisition & Operations, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut PC cross-play and system requirements revealed

Julian Huijbregts Online Community Specialist, Nixxes Software

Helldivers 2 gets an explosive new Warbond on April 11

Katherine Baskin Social Media and Community Manager, Arrowhead Game Studios

Dave the Diver plunges into PlayStation Plus Game Catalog April 16

Jaeho Hwang Director, MINTROCKET

Tales of Kenzera: Zau releases Day 1 into the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on April 23

Joe Richardson Community Manager, EA

Players’ Choice: Dragon’s Dogma 2 voted March’s top new game

O’Dell Harmon Jr. (he/him) Content Communications Specialist, Sony Interactive Entertainment

PlayStation Stars Campaigns and Digital Collectibles for April 2024

Grace Chen Vice President, Network Advertising, Loyalty & Licensed Merchandise

Stellar Blade interview: creating stylish sci-fi action in a post-apocalyptic world

Sachie Kobari PlayStation.Blog Japan

Please enter your date of birth.

Sorry, you may not access this content..

• Category: ID@Xbox

IGN x ID@Xbox Digital Showcase – See Everything We Showed in Our Second Edition

That’s a wrap folks! The second edition of the IGN x ID@Xbox Digital Showcase just ended and there was a lot to show. From bullet hell shooters to roguelites, or open world co-op games to mascot managers, we just showed off a diverse set of games coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC. A little bit of everything for everyone to love!

Read on for a full recap of every game we brought along during the showcase – including two montages with even more indie games!

33 Immortals (coming to Game Pass)

Developer: Thunder Lotus

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC

33 Immortals is a co-op action-roguelike for 33 players. Play a damned soul, and rebel against God’s final judgment. Dive straight into epic 33-player co-op battles with instant “pick-up and raid” matchmaking. Cooperate with your allies to survive against hordes of monsters and massive, challenging bosses. Expand your arsenal and equip powerful new relics to permanently upgrade your soul. Face the wrath of God in a fight for your eternal life.

Stay up to date on 33 Immortals here .

All You Need Is Help (coming to Game Pass)

World Premiere

Developer: Q-Games Ltd. 

While bumping around and supporting each other, turn your friendships into friend-shapes! This innovative cooperative multiplayer game introduces a fresh gaming experience.

Dive into a quirky multiplayer co-op puzzle game where adorable, fluffy cube-shaped creatures collaborate to reach their goals. These creatures, each oddly shaped, jostle against each other to help solve puzzles. When in trouble, shout “HELP!” and friends will surely come to your aid!

Stay up to date on All You Need Is Help here .

Astor: Blade of the Monolith

Developer: C2 Game Studio

Publisher: Versus Evil, tinyBuild

Rip through hordes of enemies with fury and style in this fast-paced action-RPG. Play as Astor, a young warrior determined to unveil the secrets behind his creators’ unforeseen demise. Learn new attacks, abilities and combos, unlock magical powers, and collect legendary weapons as you crush hordes of enemies. Find your way towards the Monolith, an ancient structure holding immense power, and confront the source of the planet’s haunting evil. Will you join Astor on his journey to become the planet’s savior?

Stay up to date on Astor: Blade of the Monolith here .

Developer: Hack the Publisher

Publisher: Serenity Forge

Platform: Xbox Series X|S, PC

Centum is an unreliable narrative-driven adventure game. At first, it appears to be a point-and-click adventure. You’re a prisoner in a cell. You have 100 days to escape. But is that really the goal? Centum plays with your mind and tricks you into thinking you’re playing a different game. But through surprising interactions, surrealist storytelling, and striking, large-scale animated pixel art, this unexpected experience takes players on a mind-bending, emotionally fraught journey through the looking glass to show them a different side to their familiar reality.

Stay up to date on Centum here .

Commandos: Origins (coming to Game Pass)

Developer: Claymore Game Studios

Publisher: Kalypso Media

A reboot of the iconic ‘Commandos’ franchise, revisit the frontlines of WW2 and experience the story of how the elite unit from the original games was formed. From the blazing deserts of Africa to frozen Scandinavian fjords, meet the 6 members of your squad and use their unique skills to overcome the most demanding of missions.

Watch the humble beginnings of the Commandos unit as it first begins to form and experience the stealth-based tactical gameplay which made the series so beloved.

Stay up to date on Commandos: Origins here .

Dungeons of Hinterberg (coming to Game Pass)

Developer: Microbird Games

Publisher: Curve Games

Welcome to Hinterberg, a new tourist hotspot in the idyllic Austrian Alps! As Luisa, you’ll snowboard down glaciers, zipline through the forest, climb a mighty mountain, or have a coffee by the lake while you’re out looking for your next dungeon. 

Braving dungeons requires more than just cutting-edge sports gear and a good sword arm. Hinterberg’s dungeons are full of puzzles that will surprise and challenge you. Use your head, your magic skills, and every trick in the book to become a Master Slayer!

Stay up to date on Dungeons of Hinterberg here .

Fera: The Sundered Tribes

Developer: Massive Damage Games

Platform: PC

Fera: The Sundered Tribes is an open world co-op survival crafting RPG that blends monster hunting and colony sim mechanics with fun aerial traversal and exploration. 

In a unique post-apocalyptic world of untamed magic and ancient secrets, you are the only hunter to have taken down one of the invasive behemoths terrorizing your land. Your tribe elected you as their leader, so follow your destiny to reclaim this magic-ravaged land you call home. 

Stay up to date on Fera: The Sundered Tribes here .

Gamera Montage (all coming to Game Pass)

Today at ID@Xbox Digital Showcase, Gamera Games announced that their lineup of indie games will be launching across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC and will be available with Xbox Game Pass and/or PC Game Pass. From a fantastical parenting simulator to narrative horror, acclaimed games like Depersonalization , Firework , Keplerth and Volcano Princess are coming to Game Pass in the next few months. On top of that, pixel puzzle adventure The Rewinder is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC with Game Pass today! 

Here are all the games shown in the montage:

The Rewinder

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC (with Game Pass)

Developer: Misty Mountain Studio

Using pixel art to evoke ancient Chinese painting styles, this 2D puzzle adventure game sees you take on the role of Yun, a “rewinder” who has the ability to enter people’s memories and influence their actions. Travelling to a village, you’ll be able to unravel the mysteries of what occurred there, and uncover a story inspired by Chinese mythology.

Platform: PC (with PC Game Pass)

Developer: Shiying Studio

Firework is a horror puzzle game. An accidental fire at a funeral forces the police to re-investigate a horrifying closed case. You play as a rookie police officer who joins the case by chance, and discovers that this crime is more bewildering than they could have expected.

Depersonalization

Developer: MeowNature

Depersonalization is a branching RPG with multiple endings, which allows you to shape the world of the game around you. Players can create a variety of characters, each with their own personalities, offering exploration, investigation, and deductive reasoning as means to reach the end of the story you help create.

Developer: TARO

A 2D sandbox RPG, Keplerth lets you take on the threats of a dangerous alien planet wither alone or with friends. Offering an open world with near-infinite variation on every run, you’ll be able to fight, farm, craft, and even edit your own characters’ genes to survive.

Volcano Princess

Platform: Xbox Series XIS and PC

Developer: Egg Hatcher

In this fantasy parenting simulator, you’ll be tasked with raising a daughter – not only affecting her future, but the future of an entire kingdom. With multiple choices and endings, you’ll be able to help your daughter to learn, train, and befriend others, ultimately affecting how the story plays out as a result of your decisions. 

Developer: Game Pill

Platform: Xbox One, PC  

Explore the galaxy. Discover new life. Eat it. Play as Hangry, a beastly mercenary with an insatiable hunger hunting down fearsome monsters in a snack n’ slash RPG. Traverse through barbequed woodlands and candy-coated caverns to find ingredients for Goutra, the chief chef of an alien underworld diner. 

Your goal is to find the finest cuts for Goutra and climb the ladder of the city’s underbelly to become the planet’s best hunter. But beware, you must resist the temptation to eat the merchandise.

Stay up to date on Hangry here .

Humanity (coming to Game Pass)

Developer: tha ltd., Enhance

Publisher: Enhance

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox One Series X|S, PC

A unique blend of puzzle-solving and action-platforming, Humanity puts the fate of all mankind in your hands. Er, paws. Did we mention you’re a dog? 

Become a Shiba Inu and help reconstruct humankind in this acclaimed action-puzzle game. Drop commands to guide a mindless human horde to the goal through 90 increasingly challenging handcrafted story mode stages. Then, choose from thousands of user-made puzzles expanding on the breadth of mechanics, or design your own and share it with the community.

Stay up to date on Humanity here .

iii Montage

This montage was a recap of all the games that were featured in the Triple-i Initiative showcase on April 10 that will be playable on Xbox. Here is the full list of content seen in the montage:

Games that have currently been announced for Xbox: 

• 33 Immortals
• Cat Quest III
• Death Must Die
• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
• Kill Knight
• Let’s School
• Never Alone 2
• Shadows of Doubt
• Wizard of Legend 2

Games that are already available on Xbox:

• Broken Roads (released on April 10)
• Brotato : Abyssal Terrors DLC
• Dyson Sphere Program : Rise of the Dark Fog Stage II Update (PC Game Pass only)
• My Time at Sandrock
• Palworld : Arena Update (Coming this Fall)
• Ravenswatch : Fall of Avalon Update
• Risk of Rain 2 : Devotion Update
• Vampire Survivors : Operation Guns DLC (Coming soon)

Jackbox Naughty Pack

Developer: Jackbox Games

Jackbox Naughty Pack is an intimate pack of three games that are sure to have you laughing, and maybe even sweating just a little! This title is coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S later this year, with individual games to be revealed later this summer. This will be Jackbox’s first M (Mature 17+) rated game, full of spicy surprises and maybe even some familiar faces!

Stay up to date on Jackbox Naughty Pack here .

Keylocker 

Developer: Moonana Games

Keylocker is a bizarre and colorful turn-based rhythm JRPG. Play as the singer and songwriter, BOBO, and take down a despotic regime that has outlawed all sound. Fuel your moves with the electric power of music by using real-time execution of moves in rhythm game style! Battle the authorities, unlock the secrets of Saturn, play in your own band’s concerts, and hack into the network to bring an end to this corrupt system, for better or worse. Inspired by the charm and physical comedy of the Mario & Luigi RPG series, with the mechanics and storytelling depth of Chrono Trigger. 

Stay up to date on Keylocker here .

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Developer: Don’t Nod Montreal

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a narrative adventure game set in the fictional town of Velvet Cove in the summer of 1995. Four high school friends – Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat – spend the summer together hanging out, playing music, and becoming best friends… until something changes the trajectory of all of their lives. After 27 years of silence between them, they reunite to confront the dark secrets that made them promise to never speak again. 

Stay up to date on Lost Records here .

Palworld (available on Game Pass)

Developer: Pocketpair

You’ll be meeting some new Pals this summer! Attention please, Pal Tamers! New species of Pals have been discovered on the Palpagos Islands. Track them down and discover how these new Pals can help you in your adventures. Palworld ’s first major update is heading your way this June. Stay tuned!

Stay up to date on Palworld here .

Promise Mascot Agency

Developer: Kaizen Game Works

Explore the cursed town of Kaso-Machi! Recruit and train a variety of mascot friends! Help them out when jobs are inevitably met with disaster! Solve the mystery of your exile from the yakuza! Help Pinky work through her many, many anger issues! Upgrade your cute kei truck with turbo and wings! Shoot Pinky like a freakin’ missile! Turn Promise Mascot Agency into the number one agency in Japan! Go go, Michi and Pinky!

Stay up to date on Promise Mascot Agency here .

Stampede: Racing Royale

Developer: Sumo Leamington

Publisher: Secret Mode Limited

Stampede: Racing Royale is a wild, thrilling 60-player online karting battle royale game. Take on the world in races, battles and more to avoid elimination. Take the crown, and earn incredible rewards. Discover incredible maps, over 400 customization items and so much more!

Don’t miss your chance to head straight into pole position, when Stampede: Racing Royale speeds into Game Preview on Xbox Series X|S this summer. Do you have what it takes to get to the front of the herd?

Stay up to date on Stampede: Racing Royale here .

Developer: Perfect Random

Sulfur combines first-person shooter mechanics with role-playing and roguelite elements. It’s a single-player ‘hardcore’ roguelike extraction shooter with modifiable and enchantable guns. Welcome to a modern old-school action-adventure: Outsmart enemies, find treasure, improve weapons, harness powers. Delve deeper, find answers, make it end. 

Stay up to date on Sulfur here .

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter

Developer: Odd Bug Studio

Publisher: United Label

Embark upon a vast, snow-ravaged kingdom in Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter , sequel to the critically acclaimed action-RPG. An old and unspeakable evil has stirred in the North; wings black as death; fangs sharp as steel; and a thirst for blood rivalled only by their hunger for vengeance.

As Arlo, heir to the Warden of the Wastes, journey through the vast, snow-ravaged lands of the North in an epic quest to overcome the Dark Wings once and for all. Hunt down giant beasts, unite disparate clans, upgrade your settlement, and discover a terrible secret of blood & crown…

Stay up to date on Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter here .

Times & Galaxy

Developer: Copychaser Games

Publisher: Fellow Traveller

Meet over 100 alien weirdos in Times & Galaxy , a space journalism adventure coming to Xbox in June 2024! Times & Galaxy is a funny, heartfelt game about space aliens and the richness of the stories that make up their everyday lives. Set in a solar system full of strange beings, from space lizards to goo people, you will step into the shoes of a shiny new Robo intern for the system’s most trusted holopaper, the Times & Galaxy.

Your goal? Prove that Robos can report, get to know a whole bunch of aliens, and maybe keep your job at the end of it all. Good luck, intern!

Stay up to date on Times & Galaxy here .

Vampire Survivors (available on Game Pass)

Developer: Poncle

Vampire Survivors ’ new Laborratory update will challenge your survival skills with two new characters, two new stages, two new weapons, one new evolution, and 1 new passive. Most importantly, there will be 6 new achievements!

Stay up to date on Vampire Survivors here .

And that’s all for our latest showcase! Connect with ID@Xbox on  X (formerly Twitter) , Instagram , Discord ,  Twitch , and  YouTube , and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to learn more about what Team Xbox has planned.