Revenge of the Savage Planet is taking significant strides from its predecessor, offering a wide range of new tools to unlock, at least four planets to explore, and a strong focus on dynamic splitscreen couch co-op. While the addition of fresh content and mechanics is exciting for fans of the Metroidvania sleeper hit, the lessons learned from Journey to the Savage Planet have contributed to some notable improvements this time.
Game design director Steven Masters and co-founder and creative director Alex Hutchinson of Raccoon Logic recently spoke with Game Rant about some of the game’s main elements that are meant to streamline its unstructured Metroidvania adventure. Revenge of the Savage Planet completionists will greatly benefit from a new map feature, and players will always have a somewhere to go if they’re not sure what to do next because it keeps them focused on the main goals.
Revenge of the Savage Planet’s Map Is Perfect For Completionists
A common criticism among Journey to the Savage Planet players was that, although the main game could be completed relatively quickly, the hours could really rack up when shooting for 100% completion. This was largely attributed to the lack of a map or useful ways to track progress on undiscovered secrets, leading to a lot of guide consulting and hunting for that final unchecked box. Revenge of the Savage Planet addresses this by including an informative map that allows players to track their progress, added specifically for completionist players who encountered these issues. Detailing the map functions, Masters said,
Now, every area you enter has a stat pool that shows you all the tasks you can complete in that area for the completionist goals. As you roam around, you can scan the world by clicking the right stick, and it will highlight all the chests you can collect. If you get an upgrade, those get recorded on the map, and they’ll inform you whether or not you have the right upgrades to collect them…As you get toward the end, after you’ve played out the narrative, you can shift into “Okay, I want to get everything.” The map becomes a really useful way to scrub the world and get it all done.
Initially, there was a lot of back-and-forth on the idea, since Raccoon Logic didn’t want people to be “playing the map” as they might in activity-heavy open world RPGs like The Witcher series. After some iterations, they landed on an implementation that should ease frustration for completionist players without interfering with the fluid exploration that defines the Metroidvania genre.
Metroidvania games can take the open-ended exploration a little too far for the tastes of some players, with beloved games like Hollow Knight dropping players into a massive world after just a slight nudge in the right direction. Revenge of the Savage Planet has several large planets to explore that are each littered with secrets and side content, but Hutchinson points out that players will always know where to tackle the next story beat. This aids in pacing and helps players explore the width of the game, without ever losing sight of the main objective.
Another thing to consider is the pacing—like, when does something become frustrating and annoying versus satisfying? You don’t want to keep a mental “checklist” going for too long. But I think, building on Steve’s point, you have this central goal. If you use the area scan, you can see where it is. Those level design goals are meant to distract you, so you should be trying to go there and thinking, “But wait, what’s that? I’m going to check over there.” If we do that right, we’re luring you into the width of the game, as Steve was saying.
Players will unavoidably encounter a plethora of distractions to interact with as they traverse the territory en route to the primary goal. The pain of discovering a hidden chest and not knowing if it’s accessible at all is eliminated by Revenge of the Savage Planet’s more informed approach, which makes it simple for players to determine whether they have the resources to finish that side content or not. Revenge of the Savage Planet is proving to be an approachable Metroidvania for both story-focused players and discriminating explorers by maintaining a loosely led path and implying adjacent curiosity.
