TL;DR: Revenge of the Savage Planet has its moments—chiefly among them some charming FMV cutscenes and a few satisfying goo-splattered platforming puzzles—but ultimately buckles under the weight of its own forced quirkiness, bland combat, and a co-op mode that feels like a glitchy afterthought. Like a sitcom spin-off with none of the original cast’s chemistry, it’s technically functional but barely memorable.

The Sequel Nobody Asked For

When Journey to the Savage Planet dropped back in 2020, it didn’t revolutionize gaming, but it did offer a unique first-person flavor of platforming that stood out thanks to its earnest weirdness. Fast forward five years, and its sequel—Revenge of the Savage Planet—lands with the grace of a busted IKEA drone.

Gone is the fresh, first-person perspective. In its place: a third-person camera so generically serviceable, it feels like it was ripped from the Unreal Engine starter template. The humor’s still here, but it’s been aged in a barrel of Twitter memes from 2013, and trust me, the vintage hasn’t held up.

The Setup: Office-Space in Outer Space

You play as a laid-off Kindred Aerospace employee who crash-lands on a new planet, your jobless carcass joined by Eko—a floating AI companion with all the charm of a malfunctioning Alexa. FMV cutscenes introduce your corporate overlords and various interstellar oddballs in a sort of low-budget Tim & Eric production. Honestly, these are the highlights, and I mean that with only a touch of sarcasm.

The story? Retrieve your scattered gear, survive, and maybe find a new gig on another planet. The plot takes up about as much mental real estate as the gum under your desk, but hey—it’s functional. It’s just also forgettable.

FMV Flair: A Bright Spot in the Goo

The full-motion video segments are where the game momentarily remembers how to be fun. Wacky props, over-committed actors, and some solid practical effects almost sell the illusion that this universe has personality. Think local theater troupe doing The Expanse with a $40 budget. It works, sort of, especially if you enjoy B-movie camp.

Best of all? You can turn off Eko’s nonstop jabbering. It’s the closest thing to an accessibility feature this game has.

Metroidvania Mechanics: Been There, Goo’d That

If you’ve played any Metroidvania in the past decade, you already know the loop: unlock an ability (double jump, ground pound, goo grapple), backtrack, open a new door, and repeat. Revenge does this competently but uninspired. It’s like eating cereal without milk—it’ll fill you up, but you won’t enjoy it.

Progression is tied to collecting resources from the environment. Want a new ability? Go find some glowing rocks. Need a stronger blaster? Time to goop up some critters. It’s structured, sure. But thrilling? Not remotely.

The Combat: Pew Pew… Yawn

Combat is the equivalent of elevator music with laser beams. You’re equipped with a sci-fi blaster that can be upgraded, but the enemies barely justify the effort. Strafing and spraying goo gets old fast, and the boss fights are as memorable as lukewarm toast.

There’s no real sense of danger or strategy—just keep shooting and wait for the goo to stop moving. I’ve had more thrilling battles with my Wi-Fi router.

Co-Op Calamity

Look, I love co-op. Portal 2, It Takes Two, even Borderlands when it’s not yelling in my ear. But Revenge completely fumbles the ball here.

NPCs never shut up, making it almost impossible to communicate with your partner unless you’re both fine talking over the dialogue—or each other. The missions aren’t really designed for two players either, with many objectives devolving into one person doing the thing while the other waits. I’ve had more interactive co-op experiences in Google Docs.

Busywork in Space: The Side Hustles

Side missions abound, from capturing alien wildlife with your lasso to scanning every mushroom in sight. Some unlock cool upgrades. Most just pad out the runtime. It’s the kind of content that feels like it was designed by a marketing team with a checklist titled “Replay Value.”

The base-building segment is oddly compelling though—you can decorate your living quarters with items you find throughout the world. It’s shallow but satisfying, like space-themed Animal Crossing with zero neighbors.

World Design: Pretty But Predictable

Each of the game’s five planets has its own aesthetic—fungal forests, toxic swamps, lava caves—but they all feel like variations on a theme. Alien, yes. Exciting? Not really.

It’s a shame because the art direction clearly had potential. The environments are colorful and sometimes even stunning, but level design rarely takes full advantage. There’s a real lack of surprises.

Accessibility Woes

The accessibility menu is practically non-existent. No subtitle size controls, no colorblind modes, barely any control mapping. It’s 2025 and this is inexcusable. Gamers deserve better than a barebones options menu.

Final Verdict: A Bland Banana in the Galactic Fruit Bowl

Revenge of the Savage Planet tries to be zany, slick, and satisfying—and it manages to occasionally hit one of those three. But for every clever FMV scene or gooey chuckle, there’s a dozen reminders that this game is playing it way too safe for something so eager to be weird.

If you’re a Metroidvania die-hard or a completionist who enjoys checking every box, this might be a decent weekend distraction. For everyone else, it’s another example of what happens when a sequel confuses “more” with “better.”