Revenge Of The Savage Planet review - the best 3D Metroidvania returns
2020's Journey To The Savage Planet was the epitome of a cult hit – a game that was little known before its release, yet was great to play and chock full of personality. In the interim, its developer has been on something of a rollercoaster ride, as demonstrated by the fact it is now called Raccoon Logic rather than Typhoon Studios. But its return for a second bite of savage planetary action shows little sign of that upheaval.
Like its predecessor, Revenge Of The Savage Planet is a Metroidvania disguised as a third person action adventure. Structurally, visually and story-wise, it's very much a sequel, progressing logically from the first game and endowed with the same cheery, hyper-colourful palette and endearingly goofy vibe. But it also feels much more polished and honed and considerably meatier, thanks to a welter of side missions and hidden activities – addressing criticisms that the first game was too short.
If you're in the mood for a game whose story is utterly frivolous and tongue-in-cheek, with a leavening of gentle satire that pokes fun at the likes of boneheaded influencers and excessive consumption, you'll love Revenge of the Savage Planet. Once again, you're unceremoniously dispatched to an uninhabited planet, where you must establish a base in anticipation of colonisation. But this time around, your deadbeat employer, Kindred Aerospace, has been acquired by the rapacious Alta Interglobal.
When you reach your base, you find two messages from Alta, one welcoming you and the next informing you that you've been fired. Most of your gear is scattered around the planet you land on and four neighbouring ones. Each world has a distinctive set of ecosystems, including flora, fauna, and climate.
You must explore to find items that will add new abilities and upgrade your attributes, as you return to previously inaccessible areas when you acquire things like a whip, a grapple hook, an underwater scooter, and helmet-filter that allows you to breathe in poison gas-filled areas.
Everything in each environment can be scanned and the whip lets you capture alien creatures (some of which must first be stunned) Pokémon-style, which can then be researched by your habitat's computer, often yielding crucial upgrades.
There's some varied and inventive puzzling to be done – for example, unlocking crates by spraying metallic goo to create connections between electrified mushrooms. Plus, there's some pretty challenging platforming involved, along with some memorable and challenging boss battles. Tinkerers can 3D print all manner of furniture and appliances to decorate their bases, while the whole game is playable in two-player co-op, either in split screen or online.
One of Revenge Of The Savage Planet's many strengths lies in its tactility. Hostile creatures explode in showers of colourful goo, while others detonate after you've aimed a hefty kick at them. Different enemies require wildly different strategies and equipment; for example, green balls of slime filled with eyes can only be defeated by a good spraying with a water gun, which turns them progressively bluer until they melt.
Tiny spiky balls are impervious to your blaster but susceptible to your whip. Others have armour which must be whipped or ground-pounded before they will take damage. As you progress, you acquire tanks of differently coloured goo to fire, which must be deployed both against specific enemies and in the cause of puzzle-solving.
In lesser hands, Revenge Of The Savage Planet's welter of liquid-shooting guns and gadgets could have ended up as a disjointed mess, but Raccoon Logic has integrated them into a coherent and logical whole – it's definitely one of those games which is way cleverer than it looks.
Whether dealing with waves of varied enemies, solving puzzles which can often be arcane but always seem to make a weird form of sense, or returning with a new gadget to a previously explored area and uncovering something new, its maps are packed with activities that are all very satisfying. More Trending
And while it's longer than Journey To The Savage Planet, you should still be able to finish it in 20 hours or so, so it isn't one of those games that is intimidatingly long. Its least impressive aspects don't seriously detract from the fun but we did have to undergo a period of grinding before taking down one of the later bosses and sometimes found our drone assistant both a tad annoying and not as helpful as they should have been. The parody adverts piped to your habitat's screen also grate after a while, but at least they can be switched off.
This is a well-constructed and cleverly designed game, that refuses to take itself at all seriously. It's genuinely funny, very distinctive in terms of both looks and atmosphere, and offers a pleasing amount of varied and satisfyingly gameplay. Metroidvanias may be a favourite of indie developers but there's still very few 3D examples of the concept, and Revenge Of The Savage Planet really makes you wonder why.
In Short: One of the best 3D Metroidvanias ever made, with the same endearing sense of humour as the original but several welcome improvements and a more substantial adventure.
Pros: Great gadgets and clever Metroidvania style puzzles and platforming. Genuinely funny at time, with some nicely distinctive visuals. Suite of two-player co-op options are very welcome.
Cons: Some forced level grinding and some of the wackier humour can grate after a while – especially the annoyingly unhelpful drone.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC*Price: TBAPublisher: Raccoon LogicDeveloper: Raccoon LogicRelease Date: 8th May 2025
Age Rating: 12
*available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE: Half-Life 3 could finally be released after 18 year wait says insider
MORE: Call Of Duty 2025 will lock game modes behind battle pass claims insider
MORE: How to get Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga for free – but you have to be quick
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Midlife style tips from Norfolk's most fashionable resident
'A lot of people probably think that my life is nice and neat and tidy and fragrant,' Paula Sutton, the style and home influencer turned cosy crime author, says from a sofa in her garden office in Norfolk. 'But I'm a whirlwind of chaos at times.' That may be so – but in Sutton's world, even the chaos is picturesque. Consider her outfit: a blue puff-sleeved Doen dress worn with pearl earrings, slicked-back hair and red lipstick. And then the items around her: a tower of frill-edged, blue-and-white striped cushions, piles of antique crockery (with more plates on the walls), baskets galore, stacks of interior books, a bowl of apples – a thousand and one ' cottagecore ' elements ready to be assembled into the kind of scene that makes people contemplate moving to the countryside. As the tastemaker behind Hill House Vintage on Instagram (@hillhousevintage), Sutton, 55, has for years inspired some 610,000 followers with laying an outdoor table, cutting tulips from her garden and other such scenes of rural bliss. Her life didn't always look this idyllic. Born in Croydon, Sutton recalls being 'mesmerised' as she flicked through the first issue of Elle UK with friends on the upper deck of a London bus. 'I thought, 'I would love to be part of this world.'' She ended up working at Elle as bookings director for 'some of the best years of my life'. Meanwhile she and her husband, a classic car dealer, spent weekends with her in-laws in Norfolk. Once they had children, she says: 'I craved that peace and quiet and feeling of space.' They moved to a Georgian house in West Norfolk in 2010; she started a blog documenting her renovation and DIY vintage furniture upcycling shortly after. The first post was a picture of the house 'looking like a doll house in the middle of its garden'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paula Sutton (@hillhousevintage) The blog gathered momentum gradually before 'going crazy' during the Covid-19 lockdown. It helped that her imagery encapsulated the newly aspirational mode of country living that came to be known as 'cottagecore'. Never mind that the woman the press dubbed 'the queen of cottagecore' hadn't heard of the trend. 'It was news to me,' she says. 'I've always been inspired by the past and loved vintage style and pretty dresses. But it wasn't contrived – I was trying to pursue happiness, doing the things that brought me joy, and it all came across as very pastoral and bucolic.' Her style 'definitely evolved' when she moved to Norfolk. When she was younger and working at Elle, she followed runway trends. 'Now I'm not swayed by the shows or trends. I have a distinctive sort of vintage-inspired style that I know suits me and that I'm comfortable with. If something happens to be in fashion and aligns with my style, then that's fantastic.' Sutton estimates that 40 per cent of her wardrobe consists of true vintage, 20 per cent is things she's had for years ('it's my own vintage') and the remaining 40 per cent is new. 'But it will always have an essence of classic style.' Her dream wardrobe would be everything Grace Kelly wears in High Society. Some of her favourite pieces right now are her Ralph Lauren jodhpurs ('They remind me of Grace Kelly in the 1950s'), a Thierry Coulson striped empire line dress ('It speaks of history to me') and a trove of vintage suits from the 1940s that she adores wearing in the autumn. Summer is all about Doen and O Pioneers dresses. Last year she added another string to her bow, as a fiction author. Her debut, now in paperback, The Potting Shed Murder, is a cosy mystery set in a fictional village in (where else?) rural Norfolk. Heroine Daphne Brewster 'is very much me, but far more adventurous and brave and nosy'. But not, one imagines, with such a dreamy wardrobe. Five personal style rules Know the shapes that suit you. I always look at the silhouette of a dress and can tell if it will work. Be kind to your feet! For me that means never wearing a pair of shoes over 7cm in the heel. Dress to make yourself happy. That's my number-one rule. I don't dress to be sexy or with regard to what anyone else thinks. I 100 per cent dress for me. Match your shoes to your bag in some way. I like that put-together, matchy-matchy look. When in doubt, opt for a red lip. It's not just to look glamorous. It's also a confidence booster.
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Sex and the City reboot is given its marching orders - what happened?
Just as the revolution was moving along nicely, along came the abrupt end of And Just Like That (Sky Comedy, Friday). And just like that, an entire female cast was packed into a minivan and driven off a cliff, Thelma & Louise-style (figuratively speaking, of course). What happened? Showrunner Michael Patrick King said the third series of the Sex and the City reboot felt like a 'wonderful place to stop'. More than that, he did not say, but who would have blamed him if he had added 'and because I am sick to death of all the carping'? Trouble dogged AJLT - even the abbreviation is clunky - from the opening episode when Big met his end on an exercise bike. The shame of it. No Big and no Samantha (save for one blink and you'll miss it appearance) made for a much duller show. The new characters were either boring, annoying or, in the case of Che, Miranda's unlikely lover and the world's unfunniest stand-up comedian, plain unbearable. In the history of poorly received characters, poor Che made Jar Jar Binks seem like Brad Pitt. Read more Aidan returned in a bid to summon some of the old magic, but that simple country boy schtick of his was now as tiresome as the family he was forever running home to. By far the biggest gripe was the characters' appearances. Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte had had the nerve to grow older and look like what they were - women in their fifties. Never mind that these older, wiser, more vulnerable versions were far more interesting, and self-deprecatingly funnier, than their sharp-elbowed younger selves. I also warmed to Seema (Sarita Choudhury), the estate agent with a Working Girl head for business and a body for sin. Plus, the wardrobe had improved enormously, with a return to high fashion and seriously sexy home interiors. As new characters entered the mix and a couple of promising plots began to unfold, it seemed like foundations were being laid for the future, but it was not to be. Back to square one, sisters. In Flight (Channel 4, Tuesday-Thursday) was the latest up in the air nailbiter after Idris Elba's Hijack and Red Eye. Created and written by Mike Walden (Marcella) and Adam Randall (Slow Horses) the six-parter was just the kind of muscular thriller to power you through mid week - familiar but not predictable, twisty but not impenetrable, and it had the good fortune of Katherine Kelly in the lead role. The actor formerly known as Becky the barmaid from Coronation Street, among many other roles, played Jo, a flight attendant and mother to Sonny, 19. Sonny had gone to Bulgaria for a holiday and got into a bar fight. Charged with murder, he turned to mum to bring him home. But with the cost of his defence spiralling, Jo was fast running out of money and hope. With perfect timing, along came a stranger with an impossible-to-refuse offer. Unless Jo brought three kilos of heroin into the country for a gang of wrong 'uns, her son would not get out of jail alive. In Flight was a hostage drama and a drug thriller rolled into one, which would be chewy enough, but Walden and Randall managed to squeeze more out of the story. For all that Jo seemed terrified, she was also coolly transactional with her 'handler', looking for any little thing that would give her an edge over him. Kelly was terrific as the mum on the edge of a breakdown, still clip-clopping her way into work every day, pretending everything was normal. Ditto Harry Cadby as her son. At first terrified, Sonny was soon proving to be as resilient as his mother. The last time most of us saw Kelly, she was part of the UK-wide acting ensemble in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Closer to home, she was also in The Field of Blood, the 2011-13 adaptation of Denise Mina's novel. Fun fact: the tale of a cub reporter, Paddy Meehan (played by Jayd Johnson) was filmed in The Herald's old offices in Albion Street, Glasgow. For reasons I cannot fathom, none of us was plucked out of the subbing pool for stardom. And so to Nicola Sturgeon: the Interview (STV, Monday), because we've not quite heard enough from Scotland's former First Minister lately, have we? Now she's even found her way into the ruddy TV review. I can only apologise and say that normal service, whatever that is, will resume next week. The interviewer was class act Julie Etchingham. We like her. When the famously buttoned-up Theresa May admitted running through fields of wheat as a girl, it was to Julie she confessed. Prime Ministers, presidents, princes, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie - the ITV News anchor has sat knee to knee with them all. But how would the golden gal of British broadcasting fare against the big brass neck of Scottish politics? While 'the' interview suggested something special, filming took place in Dunure, Ayrshire, more than a week ago. Since then, Ms Sturgeon has been all over the media, her book picked cleaner than a turkey on Boxing Day. This, however, was the first broadcast interview, which meant the first chance to see Ms Sturgeon becoming 'emotional', as television folk coyly call it when someone cries on camera. Etchingham had dressed in cool neutrals for the occasion, with Sturgeon opting for a scarlet jacket. Perhaps she was trying to channel her inner Butlin's Redcoat to jolly things past the difficult stuff. It didn't work. Certainly, there was no May-like confession to stealing from the pick n mix in Woolworths. She was rude about Nigel Farage ('odious'), but who isn't? When she did get into difficulty it was all her own doing, as when Etchingham brought up the rapist Isla Bryson. You might have thought it impossible for Sturgeon to make even more of a pig's ear out of this subject, but boy, did she ever. Etchingham began looking at the former First Minister as if she was trying to argue that the Earth was flat. Personally, I turned the same shade as Sturgeon's jacket. Someone had to shoulder the embarrassment, and it was not going to be our Nicola. There was some moistening around the eye area when she spoke of Alex Salmond's passing. She still misses him 'in some way' - a quote up there with Charles's 'whatever love means' - for half-baked sincerity. The only time her voice truly faltered was when she was talking about herself and what she had been through. As for her new love life, her lips were sealed. 'I'm enjoying being my own person for a while,' she burbled, sounding for all the world like some Real Housewife of Montecito. Etchingham had a go at holding her to account on domestic policy, but she needed longer than the half hour allotted. The running time and the 7pm slot told their own story. If there had been anything juicy the programme would have been on at 9pm, not just before Emmerdale. Upstaged by sheep. It shouldn't happen to a vet, or a former FM, but it did. The toe-curling was not quite over - there was still the matter of Nic's first tattoo. 'Midlife crisis alert,' she joked. You said it, dear. It was an infinity symbol she designed herself, something about strength and resilience and moving forward. In short, your basic woo-woo BS. Come to think of it, that would have been a better title for her book. Finally, a mention for Smoke (Apple TV+), which had its series finale this week. Written by Dennis Lehane and starring Taron Egerton as a fire investigator and wannabe thriller writer, and Rafe Spall as a police captain, the often brilliant Smoke has been one of the year's best dramas. Yet it is one that millions will have missed because it's on a streaming channel (and one of the dearer ones at that). If, like the Sex and the City ladies of yesteryear, you have been holding out for the right one before taking the plunge on a streamer, consider Smoke 'it'.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Woman shocks in extremely skimpy two-piece outfit & stunning long legs – but you'll never guess her age
A GLAM 60-year-old mum has stunned people with a ''shallow and awful'' outfit she rocked whilst everyone else was bracing for rain in coats and umbrellas. Stylish Sue Giers, from Hamburg, Germany, previously confessed that trolls tell her to 'dress her age' and call her a 'granny' - but she loves wearing everything from hot pants to stilettos. 2 The blonde beauty is no stranger to causing a stir with her daring outfits online - and one of the latest ensembles is no exception. In the now-viral clip, which appears to have been shot on a chillier day, the bombshell proudly flaunted her toned body in a skimpy two-piece in public. The business owner looked phenomenal, wearing a floral two-piece and showing off her never-ending slim legs in sky-high strappy heels. Sue, who previously confessed that being ''basic'' is not in her ''DNA'' - strutted around, as she gave the viewers and strangers on the street a look at her daring outfit. The show-stopper of a two-piece featured a low-cut back, as well as strappy detailing paired with a figure-hugging mini skirt. Meanwhile, while Sue was dressed for sizzling hot weather, it appears that the temperatures that day were not as high - as everyone else in the background was keeping cosy with coats and long-sleeve jumpers, carrying umbrellas. But while Sue was clearly feeling herself, the comment section was divided - with many dubbing the stylish mum ''an attention seeker' '. Another agreed, writing: ''Put some clothes on. I don't care how old you are.'' ''That outfit is awful,'' one of the 1.9million viewers shared their brutal verdict. Woman shocks with outfit that shows 'zero class' as she walks down the beach promenade with one butt cheek fully out ''That is not hot. And even if it were, the shallowness of that is unbecoming. Let's be better,'' someone else urged. Luckily for the German fashionista, it wasn't all negative - as there were also plenty of fans hitting back at the keyboard warriors. ''She's just existing loudly in a world that tells women to shrink as they age,'' wrote one Instagram user. Hottest fashion trends of 2025 Fabulous' Fashion Editor Clemmie Fieldsend shares the biggest trends from the high street. The East/West Bag Baguette bags have had a good run, after returning from the 1990s' shoulders of Sarah Jessica Parker to modern-day fashion icons, like Hailey Bieber. In 2025, the East/West bag is a similar but elongated shape and has long, thin straps that are easy to throw over your shoulder. They've been on runway models' arms at nearly ever designer show - think Burberry, Givenchy and Bottega Veneta - and are hitting the high street now, too. Powder pink Bright fuchsia pink had its day after the release of Barbie in 2023 and now the more polished and expensive-looking pale shade is taking over for 2025. Pantone may say that it's the year of Mocha Mousse, but the catwalks say otherwise! From Prada to Erdem, the subtle look was all over the spring/summer catwalks, worn head-to-toe or on its own. If the sugary shade is too girly for you, then look to sharp suiting for a androgynous take on the colour. The shell jacket The '80s classic is back, but with a sleek and minimal new twist for 2025. We all know we're likely to see rain for most of spring, so your practical coat of choice should be a cagoule jacket. Depop revealed one of its big trend predictions for this year is retro sportswear, with surges already seen in '80s windbreakers'. Seen everywhere from the stylish streets of Copenhagen to the Miu Miu catwalk, now mums who have an emergency raincoat crumpled underneath their pushchair are very much in fashion! The turn-up jeans While the shape of jeans remains the same for this year and barrel-legs will still be everywhere, the way we're styling them is different. This season, transform your wide-leg, baggy denims into turn-ups. For this look, size doesn't matter, so while deep turn-ups are a hit from jean trend-leaders Citizens of Humanity, a slight fold is still just as good - but only as it's just one single fold. Peep-toe shoe Get your pedicures booked in sharpish, as this season your toes are the main event. After a long hiatus, the peep-toe has been welcomed back into the fashion fold, with brands like Hermes, Miu Miu and Tory Burch showing plain and embellished footwear in this style. From mules to pumps and clogs (yes, clogs will be around too!), there are lots of different styles that are set to sweep the high street. Sheer blouses See-through looks have always lived on the catwalk, but have rarely filtered into everyday life - until now. Designers Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford loved sheer looks on their S/S '25 catwalks and M&S even had sellout success with its black sheer pencil skirt last season. Expect to see more sheer looks lining supermarket aisles and high street shops in the form of skirts, tops and frocks. ''And the fact that so many of you see that and respond with hate? That's not about her - that's your own fear talking.'' Another echoed, writing: ''she looks great, deserves to feel confident and is trying to inspire other women her age to do so. do better girls.'' For Sue, however, it's more than just about clothes - it's also a reflection of how far she's come. The mum wrote previously said: ''These pieces aren't just fabric: they're a celebration of the journey that brought me here. ''From moments of uncertainty to moments of pure confidence, my style reflects the courage to embrace every stage of life with grace and authenticity. ''I hope to inspire others to redefine ageing and beauty, showing that true style knows no age. ''Let's continue to empower each other to boldly express ourselves and live life to the fullest!'' Sue reminded in the uplifting post.
