Journey to the Savage Planet first graced us with its presence on the 28th of January 2020, and now, just over three years later, it’s back again with the latest version of this title, Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee Of The Month Edition.

This title includes the base game and also the Hot Garbage DLC, while also being optimized for the current generations of consoles, with 60FPS and 4K graphics for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, whereas the Xbox Series S will boast 1440p and 60FPS, and there’s some good news for anyone that already owns the title on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series S|X; you can get the Employee of the Month Edition for free.

Journey to the Savage Planet starts with you watching a short video from the CEO of Earth’s fourth-best interstellar exploration company, and he lets you know that you have landed heavily on a planet, code-named AR-Y 26. You are told you need to go and find a new fuel source in order to get home, or you’ll be stuck on AR-Y 26, and to do so, you need to explore and research all the plants, animals, and other secrets the planet has to provide. Your assistant, a little robot by the name of EKO, floats around and helps you discover new things, and it has some amazing dialogue.

Back on your downed ship, the Javelin, you have access to a 3D printer and your downed ship that allows you to craft new equipment or upgrade your existing items, but in order to do this, you need to farm natural resources like silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and various other minerals. You can collect these from things like animals, plants, and rocks, and you’ll know you can do it if you see a vein of the specific natural resource.

The cartoonish look of this game has always kept me hooked. For those who never played the original release, it has similar themes to High on Life, and I’ve always loved the type of art style when it’s used. It perfectly suits the less-than-serious nature of the game, with cute and goofy animals, strangely sentient plants, and a vibrantly coloured world; right up until I put my fist through one of the creatures’ heads.

I’ve noticed more and more games using graphics styles that are kind of how you’d expect a CGI episode of Rick and Morty, together with the same sort of dark humour, and it’s something I can get behind one hundred percent. It’s almost like it keeps the game more relevant, which also makes you want to see more of the beautiful planet you landed on.

The simplicity of the controls kept me playing it for longer than I was expecting. Most of the time you are prompted with the different tasks you need to complete, and as you pick up new items, you are prompted on the screen as if the game is an ongoing tutorial. They make great use of the D-Pad, which is something I find most games don’t utilize to its full extent. The fact you can easily scroll through different grenades and throwable items with the click of one button made the overall experience so much better.

Sounds ended up being a big feature in this game and something I enjoyed listening to, with various sounds for simple things like when you’re walking around, you’ll hear the rustle of grass or the crunching of the snow underfoot. The voice acting used for EKO, your assistant, had me laughing most of the game, with condescending one-liners delivered in a way that had you smiling before you realised what was said. Even the sounds that the animals and plants made had you questioning your sanity. There’s also a variety of background tracks that changed when you entered certain areas or come under attack from certain animals.

This is a fantastic title for anyone that loves a good adventure and a game that is a little more laid back with its approach. It’s visually beautiful and a little bit slower in its progression, but it kept me enthused the whole time, but the real draw to Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee Of The Month Edition is the audio. It features some amazing dialogue and had me laughing the whole way through it.

Written by: Hayden Nelson