Revenge of the Savage Planet

The fact that Journey to the Savage Planet is getting a sequel is something of a miracle, as the studio was actually shut down after the end of Stadia, but then got back together. The result is Revenge of the Savage Planet - and everything is bigger, brighter and better.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is the sequel to Journey to the Savage Planet (2020). In a future shaken by corporate greed and stupidity, the player character has been made redundant and abandoned on the far edge of space with little equipment and no safety net. Players must explore planets and collect upgrades in order to get revenge on their former employer and return to Earth.

Across multiple planets, players are tasked with exploring and understanding these alien worlds. Players can scan everything, capture creatures, explore and catalogue everything on these planets, hopefully increasing their science level to unlock new equipment and upgrades - and encounters with alien boss battles, suggestive fauna, problematic software and maybe even a greedy CEO.

It's basically a space action-adventure with a Metroidvania structure that encourages players to return to previously explored areas with the upgrades they acquire as they progress through the main story. So players will explore, fight, jump (using a jetpack, energy lasso or whip), collect items and solve puzzles across several alien planets, upgrading their equipment along the way. There is plenty to explore and find off the main path. The survey function is particularly useful when exploring, as it not only helps to find the way to your destination, but also marks resources in the area that are needed for upgrades (conveniently, enemy weak points are also highlighted). The game is generally quite open-ended, with a variety of quests to choose from. And players can also capture and collect alien creatures with their lasso, and then visit them once they've been moved to pens outside the player's customisable space trailer in scenic Nu Florida.

Compared to its predecessor, everything is of course much bigger, more varied and the perspective has changed. Unlike the first-person perspective of Journey to the Savage Planet, the game is now played from a third-person perspective, allowing for more physical comedy, improved platforming and the opportunity to add collectible spacesuits. There are now four planets, not just one, plus a secret fifth if players uncover all the secrets. What remains the same is the satirical attitude, the slapstick and the humour, with exaggerated cartoon animation and colourful, crazy creatures and environments - and it is equally important and fun to create chaos with the gadgets and tools provided. Revenge of the Savage Planet can be played solo or in co-op - either split-screen/couch co-op or online with cross-play - and the co-op aspects have also been expanded.

"Humour is so unfortunately rare in games whereas it's so common in movies and books and tv, so we think there’s an opportunity there. Plus every year we see more grey and brown games which are so overly serious… we want to stand out. If the gameplay and the way players want to play is usually slightly ridiculous, especially in systemic co-op games like ours, then it's better to attach a ridiculous story it: let’s embrace the chaos! And hopefully enough people buy this one we get to go around again because we have some amazing ideas for our third independent game!" - Creative Director and Co-Founder Alex Hutchinson

There is also a guest appearance in the game by Dave the Diver (Mintrocket / Nexon) – in 3D for the first time. Reid Schneider, Studio Head at Raccoon Logic, said: "We knew we wanted to do a big surprise collaboration for launch but we needed to find the right IP that would work for the game.  After an introduction from Amir Satvat, who incidentally had the idea to put Dave in the game, I got to know Jaeho Hwang (Mintrocket CEO) pretty well. We had a bunch of calls, and talked about doing a crossover with Dave the Diver. The collaboration emerged from there and we're super grateful to Jaeho (and his team)  for entrusting us with Dave."

Revenge of the Savage Planet was developed by Montreal-based Raccoon Logic. It's their first game, but the story behind the studio's origins is more than interesting - especially as the game's premise, in which the future has been thrown into chaos by corporate greed and stupidity, seems to draw on their own experiences.

Creative Director and Co-founder of Raccoon Logic is Alex Hutchinson, who worked at Maxis (Electronic Arts) as Lead Designer on The Sims 2 and Spore, and then as a Creative Director on a game that is indexed in Germany. He then joined Ubisoft Montreal as Creative Director on Assassin's Creed III and Far Cry 4. In 2017, he co-founded Typhoon Studios with Yassine Riahi and Reid Schneider. Their first game was Journey to the Savage Planet. In December 2019, Google acquired Typhoon Studios under the Stadia brand, but the studio was shut down in February 2021, along with Google's entire Stadia Games and Entertainment division, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged. Undeterred, Hutchinson teamed up with former Typhoon employees and confidants to form Raccoon Logic in 2021. They initially funded themselves while looking for a new partner, and then Tencent came on board. After that, they negotiated to buy back the IP and codebase from Google - and so began work on Revenge of the Savage Planet. Raccoon Logic currently employs around 30 people.

Commenting on the studio's turbulent history, Creative Director Alex Hutchinson said in an interview with GamesMarkt: "The only upside of being made redundant as an entire studio is the whole team is standing around out front of their former office with a shoebox in their hand at the same time. This meant we could ask pretty much everyone if they wanted to restart and keep working together, and thankfully most people did. These days we're probably 50% original Typhoon members and 50% fresh faces, so it's a good mix. But restarting was a pretty easy decision because we still believed that the world needs more fresh, funny co-op games that a normal human can complete in a human amount of time. We thought we had at least a few more games in us!"

Revenge of the Savage Planet launches on 8 May 2025 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC. In addition to the Standard Edition, there is also the Cosmic Hoarder Edition, which includes the Cinco de Mayo Trash Panda Skin (first month only), Shama Lama's D.I.A.P.E.R. (Ding Dong Influencer Accelerator Program Extreme Routine) four new missions, the HR Enforcer Deluxe Suit, the Gold Lamé Space Suit, the digital soundtrack and art book, and three days of advanced access starting on 5 May 2025.

Conclusion

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a worthy successor to Journey to the Savage Planet, building on its strengths to deliver a cartoonish, light-hearted, colourful and crazy experience - not to mention co-operative play.

Features

• Colourful and cartoonishly wild sci-fi world with satirical undertones and humour
• More planets, more upgrades, more creatures and more of everything
• Stronger focus on co-op