Reviewed on: PS4

Freedom Planet was conceived as a Sonic the Hedgehog game as envisioned by a group of fans of the blue hedgehog. Over the course of its development, the addition of original ideas and mechanics moved the game further and further from its source of inspiration – until its creators decided to turn the whole project into a brand-new Intellectual Property.

The studio Galaxy Trail Games knew how to balance the combination of original elements and those borrowed from Sega’s franchise, and the result is a lovely tribute to speed-focused platformers – one that still has charm and personality to spare!

Narrative: 8.5

One of the factors that most sets Freedom Planet apart from classic Sonic the Hedgehog games is the presence of cutscenes. The game features voiced and subtitled narrative sequences to tell the story of an alien invasion and its impact on tensions between two rival kingdoms.

The main characters are the dragon Sash Lilac, the cat Carol Tea and the dog Milla Basset. Throughout the game, we follow the trio of heroines on their adventures to keep each other safe, prevent a war between two enemy nations and also repel the alien race that invaded the planet to steal its main energy source.

The story isn’t impressive, but manages to be interesting, motivates us to keep going and gives a deeper look at the heroines’ personalities – making them even more charismatic.
In fact, all the game’s characters have distinct and well-defined personalities. Their way of thinking and acting, besides being convincing, doesn’t follow predefined stereotypes – which makes them interesting and likable.

Mechanics: 9.5

The gameplay is the biggest highlight of Freedom Planet. The platformer focuses on speed, but has slower passages for combat, precise jumps, exploration and/or solving simple puzzles. It sounds like a lot, and it really is!

Variety, in fact, is the game’s middle name: each level presents countless new and exclusive elements. In the span of 15 minutes (the average time of a level), several new ideas are introduced, explored and then abandoned. This format ensures the game never gets monotonous or repetitive.

Of course the game has some core ideas that stay constant across all levels. At its core, Freedom Planet is a game about speed: there is even a dedicated button for a high-speed dash in the desired direction, even bouncing off surfaces without slowing down. There are also some combat moments: the heroines have hit points and various attack options. Besides adding an extra level of depth when approaching enemies, these mechanics allow for quite intense boss battles, which are generally all creative, challenging and epic.

Audiovisual: 9

The game tries to stay faithful to its 16-bit generation inspiration. But of course it brings countless technical improvements over what a game of the time could do… And special mention must go to the sound.

Besides a varied and energetic soundtrack, Freedom Planet has impressive voice acting. All the cutscenes are fully voiced, and there are quite a few of them! The voice work is surprising for an indie game, competently covering a vast range of characters with the most varied voices and personalities.

The game uses countless small details to enhance and beautify its visuals far beyond what a 90s game could produce. There are countless sprites, effects and particles on screen at every moment, and we also have several animations prepared specifically for the cutscenes – including facial animations for expressions and speech. It’s an impressive level of attention to detail!

Final thoughts

Freedom Planet was born as one among countless Sonic fangames, but evolved and became something of its own. The game is full of charisma, good ideas and attention to detail. A gem for any fan of the blue hedgehog, but also a solid game for all audiences.

SCORE

Narrative = 8.5
Mechanics = 9.5
Audiovisual = 9

OVERALL : 9

PlayStation 4 version