Primal Planet review

Occasionally, it feels like the metroidvania genre has become oversaturated. With SteamDB listing nearly 3,000 titles under the tag and dozens more appearing each month, standing out has become a daunting task for even the most well-crafted entries. As such, it’s easy to feel numb to the customary rhythm of exploration, upgrades, and intermittent backtracking.

Welcome to the Jurassic Jungle

Yet, Primal Planet manages to stand apart from its prolific surplus of peers. From the game’s opening moments, the indie title establishes a strong sense of context. Here, solo developer Seethingswarm delivers some atmospheric worldbuilding, with its Jurassic-era, pixel-art landscapes. There aren’t the halls of some gothic castle but a domain of unkempt flora and jungles that conceal ferocious tribes. Without spoiling anything, Primal Planet doesn’t just pull from the Phanerozoic eon. Expect a few science fiction elements to keep things interesting.

Pleasingly, these environments aren’t just vibrant-colored backdrops that showcase dazzling day and night cycles. No, these landscapes are hostile and alive, dotted with treacherous terrain and enough angry dinosaurs to keep you vigilant. After the lead character is separated from his family following a Tyrannosaurus Rex attack, you’ll discover the kind of setting that makes every bit of progress feel earned. Pleasingly, exploration in Primal Planet feels precarious, with enough unanticipated dangers to keep you cautious.

Sino, My Favorite Sidekick

Best of all, combat is satisfyingly tactile. Enemies hit hard, so you’ll be thankful that your tools of survival evolve over time. That spear that you crafted makes for a formidable, ranged weapon. But douse the tip in fire and you’ll be able to ignite overgrown fields, permitting access to a new area. Sure, it’s traditional metroidvania gating, but starting a brush fire is a welcome alternative to a double-jump or key. Resourcefully, Seethingswarm even integrates puzzles into the formula, requiring players to get a flaming spear past waterfalls.

Smartly, Primal Planet doesn’t overwhelm players with weapon upgrades. Instead, it carefully doles them out, making each new tool or movement ability feel like a hard-earned prize. Meanwhile, the actual encounters are intense, requiring both reflexes and strategy. This is especially true for boss battles that require pattern recognition and a healthy amount of patience.

One of my favorite additions to metroidvania conventions is Primal Planet’s assistants. Your wife is a bow-wielding dynamo that demonstrates the kind of intelligence rarely seen by NPCs. But undoubtedly, it’s Sino the baby dinosaur who’s the true star of the show. A faithful companion who has no trouble keeping up with you, the orphaned sidekick is remarkably resourceful, attacking minor enemies to stay healthy.

A Well-Designed Planet

Primal Planet’s exploration is delightfully rewarding. True to metroidvania tradition, the world is riddled with hidden alcoves and alternate routes. Yet, the game’s layouts ensure that’s you’ll rarely get completely lost. Naturally, the game gradually peels back layers of its map, sporadically sending players to previously-explored zones, this time with new ability that reveal hidden paths. Sure, it doesn’t revolutionize the basic structure, but Primal Planet refines it with prudent pacing and engrossing level design.

Visually, Planet employs a gritty, pixel-art aesthetic to render its vibrant world. Animations are fluid and character designs are distinctive while skillful coloring highlight sunsets or shadowy caverns. On portable PCs like Steam Deck, the game’s performance remains steady even in combat-heavy sections. The game’s soundtrack blends prehistoric instrumentation with modern synth washes to construct an ambience suitable for aliens and primordial animals.

Stone Age Success

In a genre overflowing with entries, Primal Planet doesn’t reinvent the (stone) wheel. Instead, Seethingswarm’s title delivers solid fundamentals while layering a strong sense of atmosphere and mechanics that maintain interest across an eight-hour campaign. Most importantly, the game rekindles the sense of wonder and discovery that many modern metroidvanias struggle to provide. For burned out players, this might be the game that reminds you why you loved the genre in the first place.

Primal Planet was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.