Others - Planet Lust [Demo] [Skullgear]

Those three 5 star review really putting the cart before the horse. As stated in the reviews that actually analyze the work presented, this demo has barely anything. It gives a shallow intro to the story which goes from 0 to 100 at break neck pace, and only the minimum basic functions of controls. The demo provides no proof of concept of any of the core promises of the game as it just ends right at the rising action of the story.

The default controls are REALLY awkward thankfully one of the first features up is the ability to modify keybinds. WASD works way better feeling than arrow keys and you can confine all actions within the single hand space really easy which I don't understand why its not the default. I also encourage enabling auto run and/or rebinding run to Shift and jump to space.

Aside from the controls one of the other issues i have is it being really difficult to figure out what you can and cannot interact with. You don't get a prompt to activate or interact with something until you are already up against it which only comes up with your interact button and is finicky as all get out. Just as well making every single pole and tree climbable is an odd choice. Conservative assessment says that might be a feature in the farming portion of the game to climb any tree for randomly generating resources but for general navigation its kind of annoying. Giving an object a proximity highlight or a texture that blends in less with the background goes a long way and anything climbable should also come with a prompt so I'm not stuck on something while just trying to explore.

Last issue is the H scene, which was excellent described in the other review on here, the interact until bar fills to a certain point is really archaic. I don't mind it too much but it should really just be click and hold in the spot instead of click and rub to fill. The area acceptable is really small compared to the cursor and it just becomes frustrating trying to get to the next bit. Just as well the insert button when you get to the sex really need to change, my first thought was also it was the button to exit the animation. Lastly hitting the climax button on the scene only gives you the option to either exit the scene in its entirety or restart THE WHOLE THING from the beginning bar filling and all. Thats really obnoxious if I want to see all the climax scenes, the player already got this far just let them muck about the gallery as much as they want.

Sure the game shows a LOT of potential, but as much as I like all the visuals and design and write off the story as "charmingly silly" this demo has not sold me on the concept its putting up. There could be a lot of work up front only to be a nothing burger when the game gets going.

Gameplay feels like it was rushed, as a pixel art fan the art in this demo is below average comparing it to other games including DBA, the story is dumb and not funny, the fact the dev is trying to make money yet releasing the game in "chapters" is a big red flag and majority of steam buyers do not like that. So good luck.

This is a tough thing to review, I feel like the releasing of a demo / game too early is starting to become a staple in the adult gaming genre. The massive TL: DR is this is not what you think it is and come back after 3-4 new releases maybe?

There’s really only three things to address in this game, that being the write up, thumbnail pictures, and demo. All three feel disjointed and don’t have much to do with each other.

The write up sounds very interesting, it's basically Stardew Valley in space, the preview pictures confirm that as a lot of the assets used in them are 1 for 1 rips directly from Stardew Valley. But it falls directly on its face with this demo. It doesn’t showcase anything from the description; “Planet Lust is a story-driven sci-fi eroge game with tight gameplay, mild horror, with action rpg and farming sim elements”.

- Sci-fi, there’s no elements of this at all, instead it’s just a simple top down take on what the Dev has already released.
- Tight game play, you constantly get stuck on light posts in the demo due to the weird climb mechanic, key mapping is more of a 2d side scroller style then a top down, and the adult scene viewer is taken from the 2000s flash Meet and Fuck games where you have to rub a nipple for 30 seconds to move on. This is not “tight” at all.
- Mild horror, there is none in the demo, something you could easily show off in a demo too mind you.
- Action RPG, there are currently no RPG elements shown off, another thing you would expect from a Demo.
- Farming Sim, also nothing to do with farming? It sounds interesting though? Are we talking like the book/movie The Martian, where the MC has to balance water and oxygen levels to make potatoes on a planet that has no atmosphere? Who knows!
- Dating Sim, The only dating sim we get to see is apparently within 20 text boxes we find a dog, get a coffee and 2 minutes later get to plow a girl's butt in the washroom… so yeah… Not a great example of deep dating sim.

I can’t help but be spooked by this game. Between telling players it’s a game on Mars with farming and monsters but the Demo showcases 0 of that. Releasing some still gameplay screenshots that use Stardew Valley assets. And recycling character models from the Devs past game. It's giving me a very uneasy feeling... Like is this supposed to be the intro to getting on a spaceship for Mars? After you bang Lost Dog Bathroom Girl you are conscripted into space? Is there any actual asset, tilemaps, or gameplay of Mars? If this is the start of the real game it’s like getting a Demo for Stardew Valley and in it you walk around the office you work at before you get grandpa's letter for the farm, why in gods name would that be compelling?

All in all I guess wait and see? I see the other reviews are saying “what a cool concept” but that is truly all that's here, a short write up of a concept. I'll update this review when or more importantly IF this ever becomes a game that matches the description but until then the only 2 things this Demo shares with the description and pictures is the top down camera and the stolen assets. I almost feel guilted into giving it a 2 star review for “what a cool concept” but then I would be getting trapped in the same thing other reviewers have done.

Edit/TL;DR: was very impressed when I first saw it, but after literally touching grass for a while and coming back for second look the flaws become hard to look past. It's very easy to start hyping oneself up and reviewing one's expectations rather than what's actually in front of you (people were doing that with Lord Goblin etc). What we have right now is something that looks very nice, but has little if any substantial relation to the project people are supposed to spend real money on. Dev should release some 1h demo of space farming etc, no context needed.

Looks and feels really professional, lots of fun little details to interact with just in the demo - the drapes fluttering when you walk past them etc. Wish I wouldn't get stuck on a lamp post half the time though, there's a point about some things not being intractable even when it would "break immersion" or something.

Good to have a early showcase of the sex system as well, this is an eroge after all. Sadly it's not very engaging, animation is very smooth and that's a huge plus but does anyone actually like these Meet and Fuck click-games?The insert button looking like an exit is also confusing.

Most of the actual gameplay systems aren't in the demo however, seeing as this is supposed to be Stardew Valley in space. This is a really big minus, a demo is supposed to showcase the gameplay right? Now we have a walking simulator.

Other gripes right now is that I'd like an click-to-walk option and an proper save system, especially if they're promising multiple endings.

Would give an extra star for brown tomboy abs, when we get them.

@irreverent69's review above is more in-depth, I agree with most of it.

This game already has so much potential to become one of the greatest, doesnt surprise because it is made by Skullgear, if you know they are one of the GOATS in here, i desire them the best and hope they continue their other game soon.

Demo alone feels and looks better than most of the games on here. Game looks amazing and just from the single sex scene in this demo. If they implement future sex scenes with more characters and poses this game would actually be great. Hopefully they can consistently deliver like they did for this demo

this looks and plays very promising! the controls might be a bit whacky, but other then that, this demo demoes - can't wait to play the full release.
I would like to know, when the release date might to be expected, for it states at the end of the demo 90% progress of development, anybody?