Planet of the Eyes is a very short 2D platformer game. It takes less than an hour and a half to complete this game and acquire all the achievements – indeed, I did so on my first run-through.
So what is it like?
Unlike a lot of 2D platformers, the protagonist of this game – a robot – cannot jump very high or very far. There is no parkour in this game. Indeed, I would say that the robot’s physical capabilities are almost realistic. This means that your jumps are not exactly spectacular. You swim some, there are some bouncy pads, and you pull stuff around and stand on buttons at times. There are some timing elements, and some moving platform elements in a few places, but not many.
That said, the platforming is not dissatisfying; it is okay. But that’s really the problem with this game; it is… okay. It isn’t anything special. It never really goes above and beyond. You find some voice logs over the course of the game which have fairly decent voiceovers and which gradually hint at some sort of plot, but in the end, you are just trying to get from point A to point B, and there’s not much more to it than that. The visuals of the game are clean and attractive, and don’t look cheap, instead having an almost art deco quality to them.
But all of the game is adequate; it never makes the jump to the extraordinary. I can’t say that it wasted my time, but I can’t say that it particularly felt fulfilling either; it was just kind there.
I would not buy this game. But if you happen to already own it, as part of a bundle or something, it isn’t a terrible thing to play through. But it isn’t something you should go out of your way to pursue, either – it is basically a “replacement level platformer”, for want of a better term. It is okay. Unexceptional. Mediocre.
2.0