Journey to the Savage Planet E3 2019 Hands-On Demo | Scan it and Harvest it

Journey to the Savage Planet sparks that sense of curiosity. You're on this huge planet, surrounded by strange lifeforms, and its up to you to scan and categorize them for your company. It's hard not to compare Journey to the Savage Planet to No Man's Sky but when actually playing the game there are key differences that helped Typhoon Studios' title stand out from Hello Games' title. The dark comedy wit combined with rewards for exploring and strong combat situations ensured the experience never got dull.

Journey to the Savage Planet story, at least in the demo, was simple. You're an employee for a company called Kindred Aerospace who is charged to see if the planet AT-Y 26 is safe for human occupation. Your job is to scan the various plants and animals to create a complete database of each area. It may seem like an open world experience, but it's not. Journey to the Savage Planet is more of a semi-open world with a primary objective always present but you're never restricted to a set path. Exploration is encouraged as some areas may yield valuable materials for boosting your stats and building helpful items.

During my time with Journey to the Savage Planet, I became increasingly impressed with intricate gameplay. The exploring elements were simple enough, jumping and scanning areas that may yield helpful resources. But it was the combat was made the experience shine. Some enemies are immediately hostile while others will only attack when forced to do so. Scanning proves to be optional but critical as well, as it categorizes what materials each harvestable item yields. The demo I played didn't have a tracker for all scans I completed but the producer on site stated that's something they're working on for the final release.

What really set Journey to the Savage Planet apart from No Man's Sky was the boss fight and humor. I did not expect to find a formidable fight but there was one. It was against a plant-eyed creature that required me to stand out of sight and sneak past the creature to deal a fatal blow. 

The narrative is well-written and never takes itself seriously. The virtual assistant that aids in your journey constantly jokes around about how you could die and that the creatures may eat you alive but in a very child-like manner. There were times I was wishing the AI to say something because it would make me smile.

Journey to the Savage Planet is set to take about 15 hours to complete when it launches. The hour demo I explored was definitely interesting, offering a mix of exploration, discovery, and great fights. With so many major games coming out between 2019 and 2020 don't let Journey to the Savage Planet fade from your radar. It's a funny and beautiful title that deserves much more attention than its getting.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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