Review Planetarian (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Planetarian
Genre: visual novel, sc-fi
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam)
Developer: Key/VISUAL ARTS
Publisher: PROTOTYPE
Age Rating: 12+ (UK & EU) | T (US)
Price: £8.99 | €9,99 | $9.99
Release Date: 31st January 2019

Review Code kindly provided by PROTOTYPE

“The beautiful twinkling of eternity…”

Set in Sarcophagus city, thirty years after a biological weapon attack; a planetarium stands abandoned and in disrepair. What was once a wondrous place to gaze upon the stars, hasn’t seen a visitor in over thirty years. Only a robot girl named Yumemi resides in the planetarium – continuing to wait for customers she was programmed to guide.

For thirty years Yumemi continued preparing for customers without anyone arriving. Then one fateful day; a Junker seeking refuge from fighter drones and the rain, enters the planetarium. To celebrate, Yumemi plans to take “Mr.Customer” (the Junker) on a journey through the stars…

Gameplay & Controls

Planetarian is a great little sci-fi visual novel. There are no multiple endings or choices to make; it’s a straight forward story that lasts about 4 hours (depending on reading speed).

The novel focuses mainly on the companionship between the Junker and Yumemi, while also touching upon: problems in the world, the belief of heaven and what robots would do after humans were no longer in control. It’s rather thought provoking, especially if you take the time to think about the different aspects and ideas presented in the novel.

I won’t say too much about the story itself (as that would spoil it), but it unfolds nicely and is really well written. It starts off calmly and has many light moments of hopefulness and belief, but (as with most stories) drama happens – which will likely grip the reader and stir emotions (as any good story should 😀 ).

The reader isn’t expected to remember lots of details, but there is an option to look back at previous points in the story if you do need reminding – very handy if it ends up being a week or two between reads.

Hmm….Where’s my dictionary?…

I was surprised by some of the English words in the game, as most developers opt to use terms spoken/written in everyday English, rather than lesser used ones. Variegated, verbose and erstwhile are just three words in planetarian that aren’t commonly spoken or written. They work perfectly in the context of the game, but some players may find themselves searching up a few words here and there. 

There are several language options available for the text, but the dubbing is only available in Japanese – you can change the volume of the characters’ voices in the options if you prefer no voices.

Plenty of options

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to reading and the developers definitely took that into account for planetarian.

There are plenty of customisable options to make the experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. You can: adjust rumble strength, disable auto-sleep (for auto play mode), change button inputs, touch screen gestures, language and font type, alter the speed of the text and waiting times, as well as adjust the volume of the music, sound effects and voices. (There are even more options than that!)

Planetarian uses the joy-cons and has pro-controller support, while also having full touch screen functionality and allowing you to activate auto play when ever you like (for when you just want to sit back, relax, and have a nice cuppa while you read). 😀

Art & Soundtrack

Planetarian has great artwork; there may not be loads of various locations,etc, but they all fit the scenes perfectly and add so much to the story – especially in key moments!

Yumemi’s expressions are often subtle but cute, and add a lot to the character/story – making it a lot more entertaining.

The soundtrack evokes emotion and a sense of wonder, while also bringing a lighthearted touch (making the novel all the more enjoyable to read). On the other hand; the sound effects (such as rain and gun fire) really add to the mood/atmosphere, and add impact to significant scenes – certainly don’t have that happening while reading a book! 😀

There is a nice added bonus of being able to view the artwork as well as listen to the game’s music (once you’ve reached the corresponding sections of the novel). They can be found via the “CG Mode” and “Music Mode” options on the main menu.

Additional Comments

The usual price of planetarian (HD version) is £6.99 on Steam, while £8.99 on Switch. Not sure why it’s more expensive, but the portability of the Switch makes it brilliant for visual novels – so £2 more isn’t too bad when it allows you to read it in your hands like a physical book. Of course it’s always good to keep an eye out for sales!

Since the original release of planetarian back in 2004, the visual novel has been adapted into light novels as well as animations – so if visual novels aren’t your “cup of tea” then there’s always the adaptations to check out instead.

Overall Opinion

Planetarian’s story, artwork, soundtrack and sound effects, all work brilliantly together and make for a great experience. It would be nice if it was a bit longer or included other stories based in the same world, but it’s a great little visual novel none the less. 😀

When I first started planetarian, I expected it to have a nice story with some drama, but it became so much more! I enjoyed exploring some of the ideas presented, especially the robots naively doing the duties they were programmed to do, even though the world around them had drastically changed. There were several moments that got me thinking, and some of the comments by Yumemi shared similarities to thoughts people have – it was very intriguing I found.

Robots aren’t living beings and yet, somehow planetarian humanizes them in such a way, that I actually felt sorry for them – even the destructive ones! It certainly got me to think in a different perspective (which is brilliant 😀 ).

Planetarian’s story is like a snapshot of a moment in time which the Junker experienced; giving details here and there about the state of the world,etc, while not bogging the reader down with too many details. I really like that way of story telling, it leaves unanswered questions (which some may not like), but it makes it a journey of discovery! 😀

Would I recommend planetarian?

If you like post-apocalyptic sci-fi stories, cute robots and thought provoking elements; I certainly recommend planetarian! The visual novel isn’t particularly long, but still a great read. 😀