Lovely Planet is a challenging first-person shooter with platforming elements. It’s set in a colorful, light-hearted world in contrast with its brutally difficult gameplay. Each map is designed around a handful of relatively simple mechanics, yet the fast pace and unforgiving combat make the various stage hazards more demanding than you would expect. There’s a focus on speedrunning and challenges after defeating a level for the first time, offering solid replay value for the right player. There isn’t any story or even individual characters, but given the type of game the developer was trying to make, it makes sense to sacrifice those elements.
Presentation
Lovely Planet has a distinctive art style that blends minimalist graphics with a soft, pastel color palette. The result is a game that appears to be a relaxed, casual experience. Enemies look like basic polyhedrons with faces rather than monsters or armed men; even your own weapon has a whimsical design. The world itself reinforces this aesthetic with its bright, cheerful setting.
The soundtrack complements the visuals nicely with upbeat music that sounds like it could show up in a Mario game. It didn’t blow me away, and it’s not a score that will stick with me, but it’s simple and does its job well. Once you begin playing and realize that Lovely Planet is much more difficult than it seems, the music almost feels like it’s mocking you with such happy background music as you die over and over again. It’s a fun dichotomy that heightens as you progress through harder and harder levels.
Gameplay
The meat of Lovely Planet is its gameplay. It plays somewhat like a precision platformer, except the focus is on difficult shots rather than jumps. It heavily utilizes platforming tropes but with a shooting-based twist. A platformer will often have traps set up for the player to catch them for not paying enough attention. In Lovely Planet, this takes the form of enemies hiding around corners, allies being caught in the crossfire, or events happening off-screen that you need to react to based on sound. It ventures into unfair territory, but it’s more fun than frustrating due to how short most levels are. When combined with all of the assorted enemies and hazards, you get a complex game that relies more on memorization than reaction time.
Mechanically, the shooting and platforming are exceptionally polished and allow you to flow through each stage smoothly. The developer aptly describes it as “Gun Ballet”; you run and jump through the world while shooting enemies, but it’s mostly about choreographing your actions rather than reacting in the moment. You practice numerous times to perfect your run, and when you finally master a level, you know exactly what to expect and how you should respond. Pulling off a flawless run feels amazing, and that’s where the magic comes from. Even when the game can be annoying, it’s only heightening the payoff when you beat your previous time, complete a challenge, or even just finish a stage for the first time.
Verdict
Lovely Planet falls into a particular genre and won’t appeal to most people. It’s a blend of 3D platforming and first-person shooting that works well but is also extremely challenging, especially near the end of the game. Furthermore, it’s barebones with a complete lack of story and dialogue, so those that enjoy something more than just polished gameplay mechanics will probably be disappointed. As for me, I enjoy it for what it is—a heavily choreographed speedrunning game with a cute aesthetic.
