Ahead of the Game - Planet of Lana II is wordless platforming across a beautiful, war-torn world
Those creepy shadows are at it again
- Sneak past creepy creatures and work the terrain around you
- Solve platforming puzzles with your little friend
- Discover a deep narrative told without words
It's all sneaking past shadows in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
With Planet of Lana II's creepy, shadowy creatures and that constant sense of dread laced throughout this puzzle adventure, you'd think I'm still all hung up on Halloween. I'm not actually the biggest fan of the spooky season being such a scaredy-cat, but I suppose Planet of Lana II caught my eye this week just because it looks so, so lovely.
The sequel to the cinematic puzzler tells its story wordlessly - and with great impact, at that. Basically, you play as the eponymous Lana and her little cat-like companion Mui, and together, you'll have to navigate all sorts of tricky environmental puzzles to survive - and sometimes, that means swinging from platform to platform to evade the aforementioned shadow beings out to get you. You'll need to manipulate light too so you can sneak past them effectively, or work together from different angles to use the terrain to your advantage.
Honestly, the pressure here is a tad too much for me, but I can see how this would be an engaging challenge for anyone who's a fan of the genre (and who likes this kind of heart-pounding stealthy adventure). If nothing else, the narrative should be enough to draw you in, because it all does look and feel incredibly beautiful and poignant, especially since the background score is all sorts of evocative at just the right moments.
So, how do you play Planet of Lana II?
And you don't have to wait and see if it's your cup of tea, particularly if you're on Android! Planet of Lana II is out now in early access on Google Play, with a try-before-you-buy model that'll let you give it a go before committing to a full purchase. iOS pre-orders will be open soon as well, so I think it's safe to say it'll launch pretty soon. And at $8.99 a pop with no ads or in-app purchases, it's mobile-optimised with full controller support too!
