Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf is a very short game – you could probably beat it in one sitting if you wanted to – but somehow I still feel like I haven't really, fully absorbed it. Part of this is due to Planet of Lana 2s bold creative decisions, such as having all dialogue in a fictional language with no subtitles, but the game's rich art design and musical compositions are also simply too grand, too rich, to be truly appreciated in a single playthrough.
Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf follows the 2023 century Lana's planeta calm side-scroller from Swedish outfit Wishfully. The first game received much-deserved praise for its stylish and breathtaking atmosphere, and its gameplay and puzzles, while not revolutionary, were largely considered sufficient for the experience. That is, no one exactly expected Metroid-level exploration or Mario-quality 2D platformer from Lana.
The question I'm sure many original Lana's planet fans have in mind is, how much does Planet of Lana 2 build on its predecessor? This question applies to the aforementioned puzzle platformer, of course, but also to Lanas undeniably strong world building and atmosphere. Although I don't imagine it Planet of Lana 2 will subvert too many expectations in these regards, I think it's a clear improvement over the first game in almost every way, even if this growth is linear, not iterative.
Planet of Lana 2's visuals and music are the main course
I don't want to be too dismissive Planet of Lana 2s gameplay, but it's clear that it's not the main event. Rather, Planet of Lana 2 is about telling a compelling story in a way that only a video game can: through thoughtful interactivity. Each level i Lana 2 is like an art gallery, each new area a perfectly composed painting whose visual depth and variety demand constant scrutiny. During Lana 2s more fast-paced platforming sequences, it was painful to move so quickly through its stunning hand-painted world, and it felt like I was missing out on frames that would provide new insight into a given level's visual splendor.
I would guess so Planet of Lana 2 it took me about five or six hours to complete, but my playtime is massively inflated by simply leaving the game running on my TV for extended periods – its art and sound design are so good that I regularly left it running in the background for the mood.
On almost all counts, Planet of Lana 2s striking graphic style is enhanced by its sweeping orchestral soundtrack. The game's music is characterized by blaring horns and grand string sections. Lana 2s long future environment. The game's score was composed by Takeshi Furukawa, who previously worked on The Last Guardians soundtrack, and while you can definitely hear the parallels, Lana 2s music also has shades of classical Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odysseycreating a truly complex and epic auditory landscape.
Planet of Lana 2's story moves despite its vagueness and brevity
I have already mentioned how Planet of Lana 2 does not have dialogue in any existing language, and chooses to tell its story with a ready-made set of fictional linguistic tools. Lana 2 is far from the first game to try this narrative trick, but I'd argue it's easily among the best.
The story of the game is quite simple: Lana needs to find different ingredients to make medicine for someone in need, discovering centuries-old mysteries along the way. However, this simplicity is enhanced by several factors, one of which is some surprisingly good voice acting. Lana 2The actors' actors may talk gibberish, but through masterful inflection, pacing and tone, it's not hard to understand what they're saying, at least in a broad sense. You'll probably even determine the meaning of some basic words in this fictional language before too long.
Like the rest of Planet of Lana 2the storytelling is supported by visual effects, with the direction of cutscenes doing a lot of heavy lifting at times. Character animations, camera movements, and framing work together to communicate emotion or seriousness in a given scene, which goes a long way to making Lana 2 a more coherent and comprehensible storytelling experience. It's funny, AAA studios spend millions of dollars to make Hollywood quality movies, but these smaller, more aesthetically distinct projects are so much more effective at making my eyes misty.
To be perfectly honest, you shouldn't come to Planet of Lana 2 for deep or multifaceted play. It is not necessarily an indictment of the project: Lana 2 is about the aforementioned narrative, musical and visual offerings, more so than any finely-tuned system, high skill caps and white-hot moments. Had the game leaned further into its interactive elements, it might have undermined its other strengths.
Even under Lana 2s fast-paced chase sequences, it was painful to move so quickly through its fantastically painted world, it felt like I was missing out on frames that would provide new insight into a given level's visual splendor.
What can I say about Planet of Lana 2s game is that, while not revolutionary by any means, it is certainly varied. You'll run into familiar tools and templates, but for the most part, it feels like Wishfully tried very hard not to retread old ground with its puzzles and platforming passages. One moment you'll be piloting an airplane with a super-powerful magnetic mount, and the next you'll be navigating the depths of the ocean, dodging electrocuted creatures and searching for air bubbles to replenish your oxygen supply.
This variation is facilitated by some suitably underspecified powers. Mui, the player's cat-like companion, can emit a pulse that temporarily neutralizes the electronics and also allows the player to possess certain life forms. Likewise, Lana herself can take control of certain electronics, like flying drones, with some hacking capabilities of her own. While this leads to some delightful and unexpected moments, the biggest criticism I can level about Planet of Lana 2 is that these ideas do not go far enough. I was hoping for some culmination of these abilities – maybe you'd end up owning a particularly large creature at one point, for example – but they ended up being disappointingly limited. In such a short game as Lana 2more meaningful development of such promising mechanics could go a long way.
Planet of Lana 2 won't tickle the dopamine centers of your gamer brain, but there's a very good chance it will tug at your heartstrings. More than this, it will engage your imagination like few other games can, presenting its unique world with utmost confidence and panache. And with best-in-class art direction and poignant musical compositions to boot, Lana 2 is more than deserving of a place on the narrative platformer Mount Rushmore, alongside the likes of Inside and Pig.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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All 10+ / Fantasy Violence
- Developer
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Wishes
- Publisher
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Thunderful Publishing
- Amazing art design
- A fantastic original score
- A gripping, unique story
- Satisfactory game variety
- Basic mechanics
- Not much of a creative evolution from the first Planet of Lana
Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf launches on March 5, 2026 for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S. Game Rant received a PS5 download code for this review.
