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With the release of The Mandalorian on Disney+ and the critical success of Obsidian’s Outer Worlds, the revival of the space western has never seemed more in demand and fans of the sub-genre will have plenty to sink their teeth into with Journey To The Savage Planet.

Developed by Typhoon Studios and published by 505 Games, Journey To The Savage Planet is one such game that promises to take players back to the exploratory nature of sci fi games with a colourful array of wildlife to discover and a sense of humour to reflect it.

It is a first person co-op adventure game which means that players can pair up with other would-be explorers online and explore the area as they delve further into the planet’s ecosystem.

Players take control of an employee of Kindred Aerospace, the fourth best interstellar exploration company in the galaxy, as they are dropped onto an uncharted planet in a far corner of the universe with the task of researching the area to see if it can be colonised.

Materials can be analysed for their components, gathered and used to craft new equipment that allow players to access new areas. While crafting equipment is nothing new, creating jetpacks, grappling hooks and the rest gives Journey To The Savage Planet a satisfying sense of momentum and mobility as players are granted access to dizzying new heights through the game’s core mechanic.

Different fauna on the planet can also have different uses that can benefit the player such as health restoration and bait for the planet’s more docile creatures. Equipment is controlled by the player’s left and right hands with the shoulder buttons mapped to each one accordingly.

There are no maps to chart which means players have to discover points of interest through exploration rather than relying on amateur cartography in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Not only does this make Journey To The Savage Planet feel less constrained by a bloated table of map markers, it encourages players to use their surroundings to navigate.

As players discover these new areas, plants and mysterious artefacts, quest markers are updated and can be followed in the games menu. Objectives can then be tracked with a compass at the top of the screen.

This unintrusive interface lends itself well to the concept of an exploration game designed around player curiosity while compelling them to advance forward.

According to the game’s director Alex Hutchinson, Journey To The Savage Planet takes approximately 10-12 hours to complete the main questline.

This may seem short but Alex has said that this game is “designed for people with jobs” who lack the free time to sink 100 hours into a game.

With a reasonable price tag to match, Journey To The Savage Planet is set to be a fun exploration game for sci fi fans looking for an itch to scratch after the holiday season is over.

Journey To The Savage Planet is released on January 31st 2020 with a RRP of £24.99 and is available on PS4, Xbox One and the Epic Games Store.

The Daily Mirror previewed an early version of the game on the PS4 Pro.