It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it
Mankind has spent a notinconsiderable amount of time trying to locate Earthlike planets, but if sci-fi films, TV, books and games have taught us anything, it’s that there’s great value in the gazillions of empty, inhospitable ones, too. Not only are you far less likely to be kidnapped by General Zarblog or be eaten by ravenous space weevils, but you get to have a nice wander around an eerie, barren environment without worrying that you might be trespassing. There’s a lot of wandering in the aptly (or is it?) named Lifeless Planet, an adventure-y, platform-y, exploration-y game that touched down on PC last year. It’s also on its way to Xbox One, so we asked developer Stage 2 Studios what it’s all about.
“Lifeless Planet was inspired by old-school adventure games and science fiction stories,” explains designer David Board. I loved the Twilight Zone stories and Cold War-era sci-fi movies. And I also really enjoyed the LucasArts adventures that came out in the ’90s. There was so much story and originality in games back then. I also was just looking for an interesting twist on the space adventure. I came up with the hook about humans on another planet in the context of a modern space mission, and things just clicked from there”.
If you’re wondering why exactly you’ve been stranded on another planet, Board isn’t spoiling much, but he does explain that it begins with your little spaceman waking up on the planet’s surface, minus one shuttle crew he brought with him. Friendly chap that you are, you decide to go looking for them – and that’s when all the weird stuff starts happening.
Weird stuff like otherworldly visions, a strange woman named Aelita who’s able to survive without a spacesuit, and an encounter with an empty, Soviet-era town. “So the first mystery you have to unravel,” Board teases, “is whether you’re really on another planet, or back on Earth. Did you time-travel during your FTL trip to the planet? Or is this another dimension? How could Russians have reached the planet years before you?”
It all sounds a bit Lost – but in a good way of course. From what we’ve seen, we’re reasonably certain that it has nothing to do with purgatory, smoke monsters or the dude from Person of Interest. It is a bit flashback-y, however, with the game employing the hoary old trick of having audio logs and data entries dotted everywhere. Most of these are voiced in Russian for maximum authenticity, with your PDA translating them to written English. New to Xbox One are a few new audio diaries and tunes, along with more detailed terrain and a prettier (lifeless) planet across the board.
If the screenshots have you worried that this life-averse planet might be a bore to explore, don’t be. Board promises that there are “a number of different environments on the planet – it’s not all Mars-like, and it may not be entirely lifeless”. The game’s 20 areas offer a mixture of open and more linear environments, but it’s a far from an open world – there’s always a path, or at least a shining beacony thing or sign of civilisation guiding you. “Most levels also have side areas to explore if you want to learn a little more about the planet and the colonists… if that’s what they were! But yes, in the end it’s all about story. I really want people to play through to the end and experience the full story.”
As sci-fi stories go, Lifeless Planet’s reminds us of a little of 2001 or Solaris, in that all starts a bit science-y before quickly venturing into much weirder territory. Space tends to bring out the philosopher in people, and Board is no exception.
“It starts with actual science. And I think stories like this work because of the contrast of hard science with the fiction elements. I wanted to put the character in this impossible situation and say, ‘What would a scientifically minded astronaut do when presented with the unexplainable?’ I’m a big fan of Lovecraft and his philosophy that the universe is far larger and more unknowable than humans can imagine. Science is still the best tool we have for investigating the world, but there’s a place for stories where science breaks down in the face of human experience, in the presence of the unknown.”
Another – perhaps less ponderous – unknown is the Xbox One release date, but then this does seem to be more than a simple port. Board is “really happy” with how this new version is looking, and if it lives up to its premise, there’s a good chance of us feeling the same way. Tom Sykes