Lovely Planet

Lovely Planet is a first-person shooter platform video game developed by Indian indie developer Quicktequila and published by tinyBuild. It was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux in July 2014,[1] for Xbox One in January 2016,[2] and the PlayStation 4 and Wii U in April 2016.[3][4]

Lovely Planet
Developer(s)Quicktequila
Publisher(s)tinyBuild
Designer(s)Vidhvat Madan
Programmer(s)Vidhvat Madan
Composer(s)Calum Bowen
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
OS X
Linux
Xbox One
PlayStation 4
Wii U
ReleaseWindows, OS X, Linux
  • WW: July 31, 2014
Xbox One
  • WW: January 8, 2016
PlayStation 4
  • WW: April 5, 2016
Wii U
  • NA: April 5, 2016
  • EU: April 7, 2016
Genre(s)First-person shooter, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

The game received mixed reviews from critics, with praise given to its visuals and soundtrack, but criticism for its presentation and level of difficulty.

Gameplay
A level in Lovely Planet

The game is a speedrunning focused first-person shooter where the player must complete the level as fast as possible to progress.[5] There is no plot, but rather "micro-levels" contained within larger areas.[5] Being hit by a bullet, falling, or touching enemies causes the player to die instantly, and the player must memorize the levels to win.[5]

The player's gun does not have an aiming reticle, and bullets move slowly, forcing the player to lead their shots.[5] Players can earn up to 3 stars depending on how fast they beat a level, with the third star requiring perfect accuracy.[5]

Certain level hazards also force the player forward, for example, apples that must be shot out of the sky or they will kill the player when they reach the ground.[5]

Development

The game's art style and music has been compared by several critics to Katamari Damacy.[5][6][7] Andras Neltz of Kotaku found the dissonance between the game's graphics, music and shooting mechanics to be "unsettling".[8]

Reception

The game received mixed reception, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[9]

Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer rated the game 82/100, calling the gameplay "great" despite being "merciless", but saying the presentation was "mediocre", as it was too "abstract" to be appealing.[7]

Tim Latshaw of Nintendo Life rated the Wii U version 6/10, comparing the contrast between its "cute" graphics and "technical" mechanics "like opening a Hello Kitty backpack and finding nuclear launch codes within".[6] He stated that while "dedicated speedrunners" would enjoy it, its appeal was otherwise "limited".[6]

James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer rated the game a 2/5, saying that the necessity for extremely precise gameplay "leech[ed] the joy out of the action".[5]

Sequels

Two sequels were created following the game's release, Lovely Planet Arcade, a more puzzle-oriented first-person shooter, which released on July 22, 2016, and Super Lovely Planet, a third-person platformer in which the player controls a bouncing ball without any attacks, which released on July 28, 2017. Another sequel, entitled Lovely Planet 2: April Skies, was released on June 18, 2019.[10]

References
  1. Tyler Wilde (2014-07-25). "Lovely Planet review". pcgamer. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  2. "Cute, Twitchy Shooter Lovely Planet Coming To Xbox One On January 8th". Siliconera. 2015-12-28. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  3. "Brutal, Yet Adorable Speedrunning FPS Lovely Planet Hitting PS4 & Wii U". Siliconera. 2016-04-02. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  4. Lovely Planet - Nintendo eShop Trailer (Wii U), archived from the original on 2023-07-11, retrieved 2022-07-29
  5. "Review: Lovely Planet | Hardcore Gamer". 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  6. "Review: Lovely Planet (Wii U eShop)". Nintendo Life. 2016-04-13. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  7. "Lovely Planet review". pcgamer. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  8. Neltz, András. "The Trippiest FPS You'll See Today". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  9. "Lovely Planet". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  10. "Lovely Planet 2: April Skies". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
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