Planet of Lana II

Planet of Lana II
DeveloperWishfully
PublisherThunderful Publishing
DirectorAdam Stjärnljus
ArtistJimmy Chan
WriterKlas Eriksson
ComposerTakeshi Furukawa
EngineUnity
Platforms
Release5 March 2026
GenrePuzzle-platform
ModeSingle-player

Planet of Lana II is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Wishfully and published by Thunderful Publishing. A sequel to Planet of Lana (2023), the game was released for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessor, Planet of Lana II is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle-platform video game. In the game, Lana must work with her companion, a cat-like creature named Mui, as they explore a planet named Novo. Set two years after the events of the original game, Lana is more experienced and agile, being able to perform feats such as wall jumping, dashing, and sliding. The two characters need to use their own unique skills and cooperate with each other in order to solve puzzles and overcome environmental obstacles that hinder their progress. For instance, Mui can hack into machines and use its telepathic abilities to briefly control other creatures in the world, while Lana can explore underwater.[1][2]

Development

The game is developed by Swedish studio Wishfully.[2] While Planet of Lana was initially envisioned as a standalone game, the sequel was greenlit as the team wanted to further expand its story and setting with a new game.[3] Creative director Adam Stjärnljus added that Planet of Lana II was a more ambitious project, with a game length that doubled the original's. Following the first alpha build, the team had to remove content from the game to keep it a focused experience.[4] The studio described Lana as a more mature and confident character in the sequel. This created opportunities for the team to design more complex puzzles, a faster movement system, and more diverse gameplay mechanics that emphasized the cooperation between Lana and Mui.[1] Biomes in the game were also designed to be more distinct from one another, with each introducing unique gameplay variations.[5]

The team also added that the story in the game was darker than the original, and that players will meet more non-playable characters and settlements.[6] The various factions in the game adapted to technology in markedly different ways. The Dijinghala, the game's primary antagonist, weaponized it aggressively and used them to ruthlessly exploit the planet's resources.[7] As with the first game, the characters spoke an unintelligible language, and the game relied entirely on music, animation, voice acting and body language of characters to convey its emotions.[3] The developers worked with an expanded animation team led by the Animation Director Olle Engstrom to be able to execute this at the required scale[8]. Takeshi Furukawa, the composer of the original game and The Last Guardian, returned for the sequel.[2]

Wishfully and publisher Thunderful Publishing announced the game in June 2025.[9] A gameplay demo for the game was released in February 2026.[10] It was released on 5 March 2026 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.[11]

Reception

Planet of Lana II received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[12][13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b Nelson, Samantha (5 February 2026). "Planet of Lana 2 dodges the big mistake most sequels make". Polygon. Archived from the original on 10 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Cardy, Simon (5 February 2026). "Planet of Lana 2 Is Like a Star Wars Story Made by Studio Ghibli". IGN. Archived from the original on 6 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b Phillips Kennedy, Victoria (5 February 2026). "Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf offers the same warmth, but also a welcome step up in puzzling challenge from the original". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  4. ^ Gould-Wilson, Jasmine (5 February 2026). "More alien cat action, big brain puzzles, and a "darker" story give this epic sci-fi adventure more bite than I expected". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  5. ^ Wen, Alex (2 January 2026). "Why Ghibli-inspired Planet of Lana II is "working against" Unity to achieve its unique 2.5D aesthetic". Creative Bloq. Archived from the original on 25 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  6. ^ Valentina Stella, Marlos (24 August 2025). "Somehow, the sequel to Planet of Lana feels bigger, prettier, and deeper in every way". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  7. ^ Stjärnljus, Adam (28 November 2025). "Planet of Lana II – Expanding the Story for an Ambitious Sequel". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on 2 January 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Exclusive Interview: Planet of Lana II Devs Talk Returning to Lana's World". 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  9. ^ Harte, Charles (8 June 2025). "Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf Is An Emotional Puzzle Platformer Out In 2026". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  10. ^ Archer, James (10 February 2026). "Pretty platformer sequel Planet of Lana II gets a pretty good Steam demo tomorrow, ahead of its surprise March release". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 11 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  11. ^ Norman, Jim (6 February 2026). "Stunning Cinematic Platformer 'Planet Of Lana 2' Leaps Onto Switch 1 & 2 Next Month". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Planet of Lana II for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Planet of Lana II for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  14. ^ a b "Planet of Lana II for Xbox Series X/S Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf". OpenCritic. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  16. ^ Vincent, Hadley (4 March 2026). "Planet of Lana 2 review – A beautiful tale about preservation". Destructoid. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
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