Lovely Planet - Review (PC game)

Who said twitch shooters had to be set in grisly wartime settings or cerulean alien worlds? Lovely Planet may look incredibly sweet in its 'Katamari', chibi style dressings but underneath it all is a game that will beat you mercilessly into the ground with its rainbow encrusted, spiked, bouncing apple type, addictive thing that will quite literally drive you to madness. Let’s try this again. Lovely Planet is an FPS that’s set in a rather cute looking world where you must have a stunning set of reactions and the ability to memorize pathways to perfection in order to get through the extremely challenging levels. Sounds easy? It’s not, it’s far from it, it’s quite possibly the first twitch based FPS that’s genuinely addictive and also so punishing and cruel that it doesn’t mind coming across as a bit airy fairy and cutesy because it knows it could totally have you if it wanted to. You will lose at this game, many many times, you will become so familiar with the game over screen that you’ll be able to recite it from memory years after putting away this game for good. Quite simply, this game is a lying bastard that tries to convince you it’s totally approachable and easy to get into then floors you with the first punch. Now that you know how difficult it is, let’s examine it in a bit more detail. 

Developer: QUICKTEQUILA 
Publisher: tinyBuild
Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action
Release date: 31st July 2014
Platforms: Windows, Linux and Mac
ESRB: Unrated (involves shooting enemies but the bullets are cubes)

Lovely Planet is a first person shooter where you must complete a series of short levels that are no longer than one minute long and which typically last about 30 seconds. There are initially over 80 levels but there are more once you complete all of them; typically this serves as an additional stab to the side considering how long it takes to complete those ones in the first place. In order to complete each short level you must navigate platforms, avoid hazards and defeat all of the enemies presented to you and by missing just one you will have to restart that level. The courses are extremely challenging and this is partially due to the constraint of having to hit certain things before you hit the ground which results in a great deal of trying and failing to aim in mid-air. Thankfully you’re granted an infinite number of ‘bullets’ with your one and only weapon but there’s little use just spraying the screen with the purple cubes that you shoot. The key to mastering this game is to know the course by heart and to act with speed and precision which is not an easy task due to the sheer number of levels and the seemingly impossible situations the game puts you in. The slightest mistake will kill you whether that’s being hit by a single bullet, falling out of the world or touching anything that’s red there are so many ways to end up restarting the level. It’s basically one of those games where you master a small part of it, then get stuck on another bit, then creep a bit further along as you overcome that particular challenge, and then get stuck on another bit… and so on. 

To ramp up the pressure the game encourages a healthy dose of competitiveness among its players through leaderboards and record times which serve to constantly remind you at how much you suck compared to the rest of the world. Not that that’s a bad thing, in fact it’s a very appropriate feature because part of what makes this game so addictive is seeing yourself improve, whether that’s in comparison to others or not. Critically, the controls of the game can sometimes be a little ‘off’ where inputs aren’t always recognized but this is a fairly rare occurrence and is not frequent enough to impact on the overall game. Strangely there’s no actual aiming cross-hair either so firing shots is harder than in a usual FPS game but, after some practice, you’ll find yourself firing with accuracy you didn’t even know you could manage as everything becomes almost instinctual. Besides, at a mere £3.50 you can excuse a couple of blips on what is otherwise a fantastic game. 

Considering I don’t usually enjoy anything of an FPS nature this is genuinely a fun, albeit frustrating, little game that may attract all sorts of gamers to try it out either for a quick blast about or for some seriously dedicated gaming to get through all of the courses. Either way, it looks and sounds great, with adjustable sensitivity in the controls and plenty of features to keep you occupied for hours. Whilst the sound effects aren't exactly the best they're overwhelmed by a very upbeat music track that reminds you that everything's going to be ok, even when you die for the 100th time. If you fancy a challenge, check this game out now by purchasing it on Steam here.

The Good: 

• Fast and crazy funtimes
• Good for those who enjoy a challenge
• Nice escalating level of difficulty
• Unique art style for this genre
• Decent soundtrack that's surprisingly not annoying
• Simple mechanics

The Bad:

• Lacks some variety in terms of gameplay
• Occasional lag with the controls
• Incredibly frustrating game that may put off many people
• Unable to compare yourself directly to friends is disappointing
• Sound effects aren't very good particularly enemies 'dying' noise

The Score: 8/10

Final thoughts: "I suck so much at this genre of games that I'll likely never get to see the ending or the later levels. I tried, I failed, I moved on with my life. That doesn't stop it from being an amazing game, I'm just awful at rote memorization of levels."