Primal Planet Review - A Dino Metroidvania with Crafting & Co-Op!?

Primal Planet Review Written by Ole Gamer Joe:

Growing up, I loved prehistorically themed video games. Whether it was bashing dinosaurs in the face with a friend whilst playing Joe and Mac, or platforming through jungles in Chuck Rock, even a mediocre game within a Dinotopia was memorable. Primal Planet, coming to us from Seethingswarm, is interesting in that not only does it look straight out of the Stone Age, but it's a Metroidvania game with survival elements and a co-op feature. This is certainly an appealing prospect, but does the game control like a fossil? Or does it roar like a mighty T-Rex? Let’s find out in our full review!

I mentioned that Primal Planet, just as its title implies, is set in a prehistoric world, and while that’s true, it also mixes in elements of science fiction. I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you!? The game takes more of a “show, don’t tell” approach with its narrative as opposed to offering voice acting or written words, putting players in control of a caveman attempting to protect his family in a land ruled by dinosaurs. Our lead character is eventually separated from his family, and for some reason, there are aliens, UFOs, and other supernatural happenings taking place. As odd as that sounds, this mix of prehistoric and futuristic elements is one of the best aspects of this entire experience.

From the offset, Primal Planet won’t feel like your typical Metroidvania experience. The first hour or two are rather linear, designed to show you the ropes. You’ll run, jump, swim, and do most of the traditional actions that the genre is known for, but you are also followed by a dinosaur companion that will accompany you throughout gameplay. The dinosaur’s AI will do a decent job of helping you fight off foes should you be playing in single-player, but a second player can also grab a controller at any time and drop in or drop out at the press of a button. The dino even has its own unique skill set, so it doesn’t end up feeling like a throwaway character. Should player 2 fall in battle, it will take a bit, but they can eventually respawn back into the action.

After a pleasant intro that ends in a rather surprising manner, Primal Planet opens up in a big way, allowing you to freely explore a massive jungle full of unique locations. Players will have a traditional Metroidvania map, but it isn’t particularly great. At first, it did a fine job of giving me a good idea of where to go next, but the further I got, the more aimless my wandering became. You’ll hit the usual bumps in the road such as dead ends that you would have sworn were the right way to go, frustrating switches that require the one relic or item you don’t have, or overpowered enemies that will take you out in a few hits. Point being, Primal Planet fails to solve the issue that so many Metroidvania games suffer from, aimless wandering.

What’s different here, though, is that Primal Planet is rather grindy. Sometimes, where you need to get to next is a matter of leveling up. Experience is gained through defeating enemies, which results in earning skill points. These points can be used to increase various stats, such as movement speed or how long you can hold your breath underwater. I CAN HOLD MY BREATH A LONG TIME! Sorry, Creepshow fans—I had to do it. Anyways, there were multiple times throughout the game where I had to traverse vast underwater areas that only occasionally offered air. This meant not only an insane amount of aimless swimming, but also needing to level up my “breath” stat if I had any hope of swimming far enough along. I’ll just say it: these underwater sections were infuriating and killed much of my early enthusiasm for the game.

Thankfully, on land, Primal Planet is a much better game. The combat is decent, platforming solid, and an inventory system which allows you to switch between usable items gets the job done. Expect to come across rest points from time to time, where you can cook up some meat and craft new weapons and items that will help you survive. There’s plenty of crafting to be done, but sometimes your inventory can also lead to some creative thinking, as tossing out raw meat as one example, can distract enemies, allowing you to strike them while they feast or even sneak by them entirely. Creative moments like this are very welcome.

From time to time, you’ll also come across villages. Here, you can choose to rest up (yes, there is a day-night cycle) or even recruit people to tag along on your adventure. Doing so will give you additional assistance in combat, which is more often than not welcome. There are also times where your family will tag along with you, and, adorably, you have the option of hugging your wife, aww…. Expect plenty of boss battles throughout your adventures, too, which vary in quality. Overall, the gameplay of Primal Planet succeeds more often than it fails, as the combat, crafting, and grinding are mostly entertaining affairs, though poor map implementation and some truly dreadful underwater sequences can steal a good deal of the fun.

Primal Planet’s visuals and sound design impress. The soundtrack is quite a mood, fitting the prehistoric vibe of the game perfectly. Much of the music wouldn’t feel out of place in The Lion King or The Jungle Book—the games, anyways—and the sound effects, such as flowing waterfalls and squawking birds, are very impressive. Pixel art is strong too, with a surprising amount of blood and violence! Most of the environments are impressive, assuming you like retro visuals, full of setting suns, swaying grass, and other fine details that will have you scratching your head, wondering how a solo developer was able to create such a beautifully artistic world on their own. Performance was great too, with no major technical bugs, though I will say that the autosave system did sometimes have the bad habit of setting you back in some pretty rough situations. The game runs well on Steam Deck, making it a nice way to experience the game on the go or while lying in bed.

While Primal Planet can’t quite overcome many of the inherent flaws that exist in so many other Metroidvanias, its inviting world, interesting premise, and mix of crafting and survival elements make it well worth giving a go. Who knows, you may even be willing to see it through its 15–20 hours of gameplay. I loved the visual and audio design of the game enough to make me look past some of the more serious flaws, such as the poor map, aimless wandering, and the biggest offender—those awful underwater areas. But with enough patience and perseverance, players will find a fun Metroidvania game in Primal Planet that just might get you up off the floor and doing the dinosaur.

BRONZE - GOOD