Platform(s): PC (version played), Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Genre: 2D, Adventure, Cinematic

The 90s style of adventure games are a lost art: they were both cinematic and full of brain teasers that relied on manipulating the environment with some platforming and kinetic movement in-between. Your main characters are given extra frames of animation to add to the challenge but also to make the space venture feel weighty and immersive; you don’t exactly play a super soldier but an everyday person who got in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Planet of Lana 2 is one of these types of offerings in 2026. The kind that lets its visuals and on-screen puzzles do all the talking; show, don’t tell. The first game did such a good job in its sci-fi setting in its short-but-sweet runtime. The follow-up is pretty much more of the same, but that’s a good thing because indie developers Wishfully show that they can retain a level of quality and consistency with every new adventure game they’ve done.

Another World

After a short recap for those who missed the first game, we play as Lana who explores a cave with her friends Anua and little creature Mui, discovering a few clues to the scifi planet’s history. After a predicament caused by outsiders half and hour into the game, we’re off to different environments and areas where we find macguffins to save your friends while also not getting killed by raiders and invaders.

The main mechanic is Lana solving puzzles with her pal Mui, who can leap tall bounds, use its electric powers to turn on/off generators and other contraptions, and possess similar black creatures. They both get new powers, but that’s basically spoiling the experience. Every new encounter and power-up help flesh out the beautiful-yet-dangerous world around them and add more to the story and context involving the aforementioned invaders and raiders. Part 2 here solves more questions from the first game, but does leave room for more future follow-ups if the devs so intended.

Gameplay-wise, Planet of Lana 2 plays similarly to its predecessor, and that’s fine by me. Not once have I felt any frustration in the controls and gameplay, which is part reflexes and part puzzle-solving and environmental challenges that need bypassing. Once you figure out the solution that is more or less staring at you in the face, or remembered a narrative cue you missed, you feel kind of silly for not spotting it so quick. Planet of Lana 2’s level design and structure just feel organic and makes sense in each of its themed areas, be it the forests or snowscapes.

Having said that, some of them may leave you stumped and looking for a walkthrough or step-by-step video. When the devs said they’re upping the ante with the sequel difficulty-wise, they were not kidding with this one.

It Takes Two

Planet of Lana 2 is yet another stellar indie sci-fi platformer that stands out and is a must-play for everyone into creative-yet-testy brain-teasing adventure titles. Even its “short” runtime doesn’t hinder the fact that you’ll come out all the more enlightened out of this out-of-this-world (heh) experience.

To say more is doing the disservice of revealing its mysteries and drip-feed style of lore expansion; you need to see it for yourself (and also play the original if you haven’t). Just be prepared for a ton of tough puzzles heading your way.

Final Score: 90/100

Review copy provided by publisher.