As a follow-up to 2020’s Journey to the Savage Planet, Revenge of the Savage Planet focuses on the player, an employee of Alta, who crashes on Stellaris Prime. While they quickly find their designated human colony, Alta has cancelled their employment, leaving them stranded.

The player begins their quest to return to Earth by scouring the different planets, locating tools and collecting parts. There are other narrative threads to pursue, like working with former Kindred Aerospace founder Martin Tweed to expose Alta’s shady dealings or exploring mysterious game show-like levels.

However, the humor may not be for everyone. Check out our 7/10 review for more details. Revenge of the Savage Planet is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, and PC alongside Game Pass. Regarding post-launch support, Raccoon Logic revealed that a roadmap is in the works for new features and updates.

Revenge of the Savage Planet follows the player as they crash land on Stellaris Prime to join the settlement, Nu-Florida, as an Alta employee. The problem is that during cryosleep, Alta terminated their contract, leaving them stranded. Thus, they set out determined to return to Earth, expose Alta’s wrongdoings to the universe and uncover a mysterious individual providing various challenges.

Check out our review for more details. Revenge of the Savage Planet is playable on Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC alongside Game Pass. Alongside early access, the Cosmic Hoarder Edition includes three limited editions, four bonus missions, a digital artbook, and a ten percent discount. Steam players also receive Journey to the Savage Planet for free.

You’ll be shocked to learn that its sequel, Revenge of the Savage Planet from Raccoon Logic, formed from the remnants of Typhoon, pretty much follows the same tenets. Same satirical take on capitalism and its harmful effects, in small doses through dialogue from your robotic assistant, Eko, and large, oftentimes disgustingly unfunny chunks courtesy of the live-action TV advertisements.

"If you liked the first game, it’s more of that with new tools, various planets to explore, intriguing new alien wildlife to scan, capture and research, and more colorful visuals."

Same narrative-guided gameplay but set on a relatively open map with all kinds of “Return later” obstacles, collectibles, and challenges. Same combat that starts with a piddly pistol, which is absolutely a chore at first but becomes notably less tedious over time. Same, but different, but still same, alongside numerous other regurgitated memes. Spiderman point? A cheeky Portal reference (which is actually one of the better-executed ones in the game)? It’s all here.

That can really sum up your experience with Revenge of the Savage Planet. If you liked the first game, it’s more of that with new tools, various planets to explore, intriguing new alien wildlife to scan, capture and research, and more colorful visuals. If its brand of over-the-top, explosive (and not always in the best way) satire or the humor didn’t appeal to you, then the sequel might not either. Action-adventure players could perhaps power through and find a game fueled by enjoyable exploration, albeit with several hiccups along the way.

The story begins with you, a former Alta employee, awakening in shipwrecked fashion with no tools and off course from the designated habitat, Nu-Florida. The previous game’s Kindred Aerospace was acquired by Alta, the stereotypical “family” focused business with villainous figureheads that are almost so excessively comical that they end up downright blase.

In the interval between cryosleep and arrival, you’ve been fired and must survive the excesses of this new world. This quickly leads to your previous employer, former Kindred CEO Martin Tweed, phoning in and discussing some potential shadiness with Alta. It’s your job to gather evidence and help him build a case. Of course, repairing and printing parts for a Javelin to return to Earth is also paramount, which can only be done by recovering your tools.

But why are your tools scattered across different worlds and so methodically organized? Why are some species and environmental objects so common, even when the planets have vastly different ecosystems? Amid the so-called “revenge,” there’s a decent mystery at the heart of Revenge of the Savage Planet, even if one key facet of the reveal is telegraphed hours beforehand. It’s funny because the smear campaign against Alta concludes in an underwhelming fashion.

"Each of the four planets is visually striking and environmentally distinct, starting with swamps and rainforests, dotted with canopy-like mushrooms and cliffs."

The Idiocracy-tinged humor also just doesn’t land for me. Humor is subjective, though, and maybe you’ll enjoy the excessive maniacal screaming by the supervillains. After a point, it all felt like noise, and the constant returns to base to watch video messages felt tedious at times. The fact that I can’t just permanently turn the TVs off is also annoying, even if it’s on-brand for the far future corporate dystopia.

Thankfully, there are some redeeming qualities to Revenge of the Savage Planet, primarily the exploration. Each of the four planets is visually striking and environmentally distinct, starting with swamps and rainforests, dotted with canopy-like mushrooms and cliffs. Xephyr is a desert planet whose extensive dunes are intercut with rocky terrain, while Quasadron IX is a mix of volcanic lakes and a snow-covered mountain, with a hazardous cavern lying in wait. Zenithian Rift is perhaps the most appealing – its savannah stretches extensively towards the horizon, highlighting the incredible view distance.

There’s enough freedom to explore these landscapes, discover and devour Orange Goo to increase your max health and stamina, shoot up ore veins for Aluminium, Carbon and Silicon, or discover new outfit pieces to customize your character’s appearance. Challenges also await to upgrade your rank and unlock further Blueprints, not to mention collecting Printer Slurry to craft. Even tasks like filling out your Kindex through scans will unlock rewards.

Then there are the mysterious locations, which lead to game-show-like scenarios overseen by a shadowy, totally mysterious figure. Tools like the Power Hose, Magnetic Fork and Remote Drone Controller facilitate intriguing platforming and puzzle-solving scenarios as you link electrical circuits in the environment, extend or retract metal barriers, and navigate tight spaces while avoiding laser wires. Home decoration is also present and a decent distraction, if only for the different unique animations.

As for the creatures, some are functionally similar across each planet – a hapless, easy-to-capture Raccocco is more or less the same as the hapless Puffer Fox on Xephyr. Nevertheless, there are some standouts, from the teleporting, dramatic Vaperon to the aggressive Wardrill.

"The Power Hose does let you mix things up, like covering enemies in green goo and igniting them, stunning flying foes with water for easier capture, or spraying electric goo to fry a crowd of angry Wardrills."

Capturing certain kinds will benefit you through research and upgrades, which means scanning and targeting weak points. There’s a solid catch ’em-all loop, even if the same humor pervades their descriptions and designs. Keep an eye out for the Tatushkey, which screams in a high-pitched non-stop manner before you kill it and try with utter futility to laugh.

It’s all enough to liven up the narrative quests without bogging you down. Some planets figure more prominently than others in the runtime, but chasing a giant worm across Xephyr, leading to a battle in the underground caverns, and ascending Quasadron IX’s peak by grappling and grinding across energy beams can be fun.

While the plethora of optional upgrades and collectables is fine, few scenarios really mandate owning them. Upgrading the Proton Tether to grapple anywhere and not just on specific points sounds nice but it’s ultimately unnecessary unless you’re returning to places for full completion. At the very least, the controls are responsive, barring some edge-case scenarios where my character wouldn’t properly grab or clamber on some ledges.

Combat is a somewhat mixed scenario. The Blaster’s Charge Shot is potent and augments let it bounce around, but it’s otherwise such a rudimentary weapon. I really didn’t like my movement slowing down on charging or the temporary pause after unleashing a Charge Shot, which often felt like the only way to handle tougher foes.

The Power Hose does let you mix things up, like covering enemies in green goo and igniting them, stunning flying foes with water for easier capture, or spraying electric goo to fry a crowd of angry Wardrills. The boss fights are also enjoyable if rarely challenging (at least on the standard difficulty), with mechanics testing your knowledge of recently acquired tools.

"Between the average combat and solid platforming, Revenge of the Savage Planet offers a solid adventure for those who can tolerate the humor."

By the 10.5-hour mark, I already wrapped up two major narrative threads. The third and final still requires scanning and crafting two more parts, bringing the overall “story” to about 12 hours. You could easily extend this with the amount of optional content available.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a strange experience. As much disdain as I had for the satire that didn’t offer much beyond the so-called biting commentary and witticisms seen and heard hundreds of times over, I did enjoy getting lost on each planet, exploring nooks and crannies for potential upgrades, and scanning everything to see if any of the descriptions could make me laugh. Between the average combat and solid platforming, it offers a decent adventure for those who can tolerate the humor.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Caught by MP1st, a trademark registration for a game called Revenge of the Savage Planet was filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office earlier this year. That is in addition to a casting call made on Actors Access for a game under the codename Project Lodestar, which, according to the casting call, is “a follow-up to Journey to the Savage Planet“.

The role itself was for “a sci-fi formally dressed spokesperson”, while the casting call also mentioned roles for other characters with names such as Slappi Xtreme Smartbot, Smile Syndicate, and Chisler Financial, all of which sounds very Savage Planet. Interestingly the most recent casting call for the project came in March, which suggests that work on it has continued at a steady pace behind the scenes.

How long it’ll be before the sequel gets officially announced is anyone’s guess, but fans of the original definitely seem to have that to look forward to.

Raccoon Logic and publisher 505 Games have announced that Journey to the Savage Planet will launch for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on February 14. It will feature support for 4K resolution, and will cost $29.99, though existing owners on PS4 and Xbox One will be able to upgrade for free.

Interestingly, the current-gen version launch will be for the game’s Employee of the Month Edition, which also includes the Hot Garbage DLC, multiple graphics modes, bonus chats with Martin Tweed, an enhanced photo mode, and more.

In our review of Journey to the Savage Planet when it first launched, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “Journey to the Savage Planet combines a hilarious and upbeat tone with a constant sense of discovery and progression to make for a fantastic explorative experience.” Read the full review through here.

Journey to the Savage Planet is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Among Raccoon Logic’s founders are Alex Hutchinson who co-founded Typhoon Studios and worked as its creative director; Reid Schneider who was the studio head and takes up the same role here (along with executive producer); technical director Yannick Simard who now works as CTO; former Typhoon Studios art head Erick Bilodeau who is now art director; and former principal technical designer Marc-Antoine Lussier, now technical design director. Hutchinson noted that the team was “excited to be back in the indie space, making the games we truly believe in with an amazing new team.”

“The early investment from Tencent is a huge boost, meaning we can do significant work on our own before we start talking to publishers. We love systemic games, games with a sense of humor and a big heart, and games with strong flavors that get reactions from players. We’re going to keep pushing on those ideas and we’ll have something to show soon!”

Schneider added that, “We’re super excited to continue the work we started at Typhoon Studios, and build upon the Journey to the Savage Planet franchise in the future. We would like to thank our partners at Tencent, Google, and 505 for their support. We’re fortunate to have put together an amazing team, many of whom helped build Savage Planet, and we’ve added some great new talent as well.”

Though its next project isn’t confirmed, Raccoon Logic is keen on providing “new adventures” in the action adventure space. This could mean a direct sequel to Journey of the Savage Planet or even a follow-up in the same vein. Time will tell so stay tuned for more details.

Journey to the Savage Planet is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. Check out our review here.