None of these mechanics present a great deal of challenge, but they change up frequently enough that they rarely feel tiresome or bland. Generally though, you are led along through various challenges based around platforming and/or puzzle solving. In terms of gameplay, Lifeless Planet progresses in a fairly linear fashion, only occasionally opening up to wider areas that encourage broader exploration.

The end doesn’t quite match the build-up throughout the game, but it’s far from any sort of major disappointment and the game’s relatively short running time actually feels perfect for the story being told. The story itself stumbles a little bit with its over-reliance on various log and journal entries, but the twists and turns are generally compelling, as is the use of environmental storytelling throughout. People have been here before and something happened that has left the planet in a dire situation, and figuring out exactly what happened might be your only way of getting home. Since this is a story driven game, I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it doesn’t take too long for you to realize this planet isn’t as lifeless as the title might suggest. Your fellow crew members are gone and you are low on oxygen so you set off with the goal of trying to survive and figuring out what is happening on this strange new world. The game kicks off with your character, an unnamed astronaut, experiencing a rough landing on a mysterious planet far from earth.

These are ambitious goals, especially for a project largely made by one developer, and you can see the strain of limited resources, but ultimately we’re left with an exceptionally intriguing game. While Lifeless Planet occasionally borrows a little bit from the latter take, it’s mostly an effort at creating a hard science fiction adventure driven by story as well as a sense of discovery. Science fiction games tend to lean heavily in one of two directions, action or horror either you’re a badass marine with an arsenal of high tech weaponry or you’re a normal person caught up in some nightmare scenario in a setting where no one can hear you scream.

Lifeless planet premier edition ign