Xbox Game Pass new release has a gorgeous link to PlayStation exclusive The Last Guardian


Xbox Sport Cross subscribers have been drawn to Planet of Lana of their 1000’s. The sport, developed by Swedish studio Wishfully and offered as a ‘cinematic side-scrolling platformer’, has been a essential and business success throughout the board – however coming Day One to Sport Cross has meant that the indie sport has discovered a very valuable place within the hearts of Xbox homeowners.

That is completely not a ‘podcast sport’.

And it’s simple to see why the sport has tugged on the guts strings of so many: the world, painted and realised with its attractive Ghibli-lite aesthetic, is brimming with intricate and cerebral puzzles, peculiar machine lifeforms, and otherworldly creatures. The detailed graphics (which actually do evoke watercolour work and joyful little bushes) are one factor, however it’s that soundtrack that does lots of heavy lifting on the subject of giving Planet of Lana that nostalgic and particular sense of place.

Let’s rewind a bit. Planet of Lana – as it’s possible you’ll anticipate from the identify – is about on an alien planet the place the eponymous protagonist, a younger woman Lana and her monkey-like animal acquainted Mui, undertake a determined rescue mission as a way to save her sister. Artwork model apart, you’d be forgiven for considering it’s one thing within the ilk of Shadow of the Colossus, or Ico, and even The Final Guardian. Planet of Lana isn’t a Fumito Ueda/Japan Studio sport, however there’s a very sturdy hyperlink between Ueda’s final high-profile launch and this Swedish indie curiosity.

This odd planet is stuffed with curiosities.

That hyperlink is Takeshi Furukawa, the BAFTA-nominated Japanese American composer that has contributed to the rating. Capturing to fame throughout the video games trade after engaged on The Final Guardian and soundtracking Trico’s journey with emotional aplomb, Furukawa has loved fairly a bit of labor (you may additionally recognise his music from comedy present Mythic Quest, and also you’ll hear it on the upcoming Avatar: The Final Airbender TV sequence for Netflix, too). However Planet of Lana is the primary time he’s gotten to revisit that emotive, hovering orchestration that was so profound in The Final Guardian – and it really works a deal with within the sport.

Come for the ambient music that slowly builds and skulks and grows, coming to climax alongside the incessant and natural beat of tribal drums. Keep for the attractive vocal melodies carried out by Scottish singer Siobhan Wilson, who actually is a credit score to the soundtrack regardless of by no means having labored in video games earlier than.

Furukawa has been notably humble in his response to the rating’s reputation, too. “Thanks everybody for the large response to Planet of Lana,” he notes in a sequence of tweets. “I all the time knew the sport can be superb, however for the music to be equally well-received is a shock and honor. I have to level out that music is all the time a workforce effort.”

He notes that Siobhan Wilson wrote the lyrics for each monitor within the sport, and co-wrote the orchestration for tracks Horizons and Finish Credit. He additionally name-checked Saki Furuya who ‘took the mess of his Logic sequences’ and wrangled them into scores which can be ‘musical and visible artistic endeavors’. Ken Belcher will get a shoutout for being a proficient multiinstrumentalist, too – you possibly can see the complete thread of credit right here.

You will not become bored with the visuals or the music.

As if a beautiful soundtrack wasn’t sufficient, there’s additionally a really good little music puzzle hidden throughout the sport (and one that really put me in thoughts of Tunic’s notorious windchime puzzle, rather a lot). I gained’t spoil it right here, however in Chapter 11 of the sport there’s a multi-layered puzzle that requires you to discover a strategy to play again the right musical notes by deciphering a peculiar code. It’s good, it’s fascinating, and it’s a really attentive manner of paying homage to the refrains and themes that underpin the whole thing of your expertise within the sport up to now. I actually am a sucker for music puzzles like this.

Between Furukawa’s eagerness to have a good time the musical expertise behind the sport and that good little puzzle included throughout the title, it’s very clear that Planet of Lana is a must-play for any music lovers on the market that have already got a Sport Cross subscription. The precise sport itself is a pleasure – and in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to personal a pleasant OLED TV (or perhaps a primary 4K one), you are able to do far, far worse for ogling graphics than spending a number of hours inside this enchanting spectacle.


Introduced throughout Summer season Sport Fest 2021, Planet of Lana was initially set for launch in 2022 earlier than being delayed to spring 2023. It’s out now for Xbox consoles and PC, and is included with Sport Cross.