Next week, an enhanced version of Journey to the Savage Planet will arrive exclusively at Stadia. First launched on PS4, Xbox One and Epic Game Store in January 2020, Journey to the Savage Planet is a unique first-person Metroidvania that delights in exuberant and vibrant locations and quirky and irreverent humor. Savage Planet was one of TheGamer’s most revised games in 2020 because it offers a well-focused campaign filled with fascinating enemies, smart puzzles and some of the best first-person platforms on this side of Mirror’s Edge. The expansion, Hot Garbage DLC, added a ton of variety to the game with an interesting new planet to explore, new enemies to defeat and, most importantly, a damn jetpack.
If you lost this rough diamond last year, you will have the chance to play a new all-in-one package at Stadia next week. The Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month edition includes the base game and Hot Garbage DLC, as well as new messages from Kindred Aerospace CEO Martin Tweed and new ads for counterfeit products like the infamous Meat Buddy. Stadia Pro subscribers will be able to play the special edition for free on February 1st.
In December 2019, the developer of Savage Planet Typhoon Studios was purchased by Google and integrated into Stadia’s first in-house studio, Stadia Games and Entertainment. Before the launch of Journey to the Savage Planet at Stadia, we spoke with Reid Schneider, co-founder of Typhoon Studios and senior executive producer at Stadia about Savage Planet, his love for Star Wars and Ghostbusters and his vision for the future of cloud games.
TheGamer: Do you consider Journey to the Savage Planet to be a Metroid Prime?
Reid Schneider: Metroid Prime was definitely an inspiration for the team. This is especially true considering how long we’ve been waiting for a new release! That said, we felt that there was a great opportunity to add our own touch on this, focusing on humor, tone, charm and CO-OP.
Did any of the players’ reactions to the game surprise you or stay with you?
LOL: Overall, we are very happy with the reactions of the players and the strange / crazy things they did with the game. The humor really seemed to resonate with the players, and we appreciate their support.
The team also enjoyed watching fast races and watching players use the systemic aspect of the game to create their own jokes. I remember when it was released, there was a video of some friends playing together. One person created his own claw seed path to reach his friend on a high ledge. You could see that he was working hard for this. When he finally reached the top, he was greeted with a backhand slap from his partner (which we internally call “Italian Grandma” in honor of our Animation Director, Mike Mennillo). The slap was so perfectly synchronized that it sent him straight to the edge, plunging to death and the final reprint. That kind of physical comedy is gold!
Did you take any particular lessons from the development of Savage Planet?
LOL: I think it has solidified our central belief that a small team of VERY TALENT people can create incredible work. The Savage Planet team was made up of just 28 developers and some incredible contractors. In today’s AAA games, they have grown to become these gigantic productions and what our Creative Director calls the “Vegas Buffet” of games. This means that they are built to have something for everyone. Our goal was to create something focused, unique, elaborate AND a game that players can finish without taking control of their lives.
Considering your work on games like Arkham Knight and Mad Max, what do you think of the impending ‘renaissance of licensed games’ with games like IO Interactives 007 and MachineGames Indiana Jones on the way?
LOL: Working on licensed games can be an incredible experience or extremely difficult. What it really comes down to is twofold. 1) Does the licensor understand the medium of games, since it is 100% different from a film or traditional consumer product? 2) Is the development team really passionate about IP and do they have experience in the genre? If both of the above factors are a resounding “YES”, you can expect surprising results. Personally, I’m really excited to see what MachineGames does with Indiana Jones. Their work on Wolfenstein is really inspiring! They clearly hate the Nazis. 😉
Are there any licensed games that you would like to make?
LOL: Definitely! I’ve always been a big fan of Star Wars and Ghostbusters. It would be incredible to do something in these universes at some point. On the Typhoon side, we always love the idea of injecting humor and charm into the work we do. It seems that these franchises have opportunities for both.
Are there any plans for Journey to the Savage Planet 2?
LOL: Obviously, we can’t say much about something like that, but I can say that the team is really passionate about the universe we created and we would really like to do more with it. We put some subtle (or not so subtle) tips in the Employee of the Month issue that arrives at Stadia, so hopefully people will check it out and tell us what they think.
Can you tell me about your next project at Stadia?
Again, I can’t say much about it, but what I can say is that the team really likes to build content that is ‘systemic, with strong flavors and charm’. Ultimately, we want to continue to focus our work in that direction. Inherently, what this means is that some people will love what we do and others will not. It’s fine with us. We used to say that the opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference. If we show the players something and they are indifferent to it, it means that we have failed as a team. We always want to have a swing, which means we hope to win, but we can also be knocked down occasionally.
How well did you sell Journey to the Savage Planet?
LOL: The game sold very well and we know that our partners at 505 are happy with the results. In our conversations with them, this has exceeded their expectations in some cases. It is also worth mentioning that the game will be released on Steam on January 28 for those PC gamers who are not yet ready to dive into the Epic store ecosystem. Another thing we saw is that the Game Pass has been a great amplifier for us in terms of users. The team is always excited to have more people playing!
How did you make that horrible meat friend?
LOL: All credit for that goes to the incredible Davy Force that we work with in all the ads. He’s a creative genius and a meat buddy is really the stuff of nightmares. Also, if you liked his work on the original game, Stadia Version (Employee of the Month) has some even more crazy ads. We are very excited to see what people think of them.
Why do you think that a large part of the audience still turns a nose at streaming technology, but is the dominant force in film and television? What needs to change to change the climate?
LOL: IMHO, it’s only a matter of time before streaming becomes the dominant way of consuming game content. If you think about the rise of OTT services like Netflix, Disney +, Spotify, the choice in the hands of the consumer is unbelievable. As a parent, I also think our house is already full of children’s stuff, so not having to buy more CDs, DVDs / etc is a big win.
Obviously, traditional media like TV / movies / music is strictly “one-sided” rather than the necessary “bidirectional” action of games. The change takes time, but once it does, it can quickly become the dominant way of consuming content. Nobody can say for sure how long or when it will last, but I think it’s coming. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that change can happen very quickly and condense what should take years into months.
TG: Are you the IRL Martin Tweed?
LOL: Unfortunately not, but the guy who plays him is a badass. He is a local Montreal actor named Adrian Burhop. Every time we recorded his pieces he also “went ahead” and left nothing on the court. During filming, we discovered that he is not a big fan of animals, so it just made us want to put more into his scenes to add to the ridicule! If you like Martin Tweed, be sure to check out the Employee of the Month edition at Stadia, as he has a lot more time on screen!
Journey to the Savage Planet: the Employee of the Month edition will be released exclusively for Stadia on February 1st. Stadia Pro subscribers can play for free. Check out our full review of Journey to the Savage Planet and the Hot Garbage DLC expansion.
About the author
