The seemingly genreless—but adventure-game-adjacent—Planet Laika is, without question, a strange game that leaves a brilliant first impression. Unfortunately, as the game progresses it scaffolds a story that can never sustain its sprawling abstraction, and the narrative collapses into a wreck of disjointed and obtuse parts, piercing the player in their attempt to make sense of it.

Set in the very far future, the game depicts a team of astronauts on a mission to a collapsed civilisation on Mars, which appears to be the source of an “evil energy” manifesting on both Mars and Earth. The game’s free association between science fiction and mysticism is initially charming: the opening chapter has the crew navigating a harsh sandstorm, lamenting the deadly Martian atmosphere, before subsequently falling prey to the evil energy one by one. Once the crew reaches their destination—a domed enclosure containing a narrow street—the game’s genre mash-up becomes a source of irritation.

The remainder of the game sees Laika (the player character) walking up and down this street, engaging in idle chitchat with the residents of Mars as they mumble endlessly about magic, metaphysics, and incomprehensible nonsense. Laika possesses a split personality used to solve “puzzles” that require him to gather differently coloured evil energies emitted by characters embodying various sins, allowing him to transform into these alter egos. Disappointingly, most of these interactions involve little more than using an item or simply pressing the O button.

The battle system must be seen to be believed, playing like an unholy mix of Breakout and Pong. A friend of mine aptly described it as resembling the “psychic battles” from South Park, in which the combatants clutch their heads, close their eyes and emit groaning noises.

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