Revenge of the Savage Planetis a lighthearted adventure that revels in not taking itself seriously, but it also fits into the rare sub-subgenre of 3D Metroidvanias. While 2D Metroidvanias are hard to miss, the 3D variety is much trickier to track down if you’re a fan.
Thanks to this rare subgenre, as well as the unique tone Revenge of the Savage Planet goes for, it’s pretty hard to find games to compare it to. While nothing comes close to exactly what Savage Planet goes for (with one obvious example), there are a handful of games that have a similar gameplay style, tone, or aesthetic that are worth seeking out if you’re a fan.
10Sunset Overdrive
Similarly to Revenge of the Savage Planet, Sunset Overdrive places you in pretty dire circumstances but refuses to take the situation seriously. Stuck in a mutant-infested city, you wouldn’t think that it’s the end of the world since everything is so bright and full of character.
The bouncy physics will have you rocketing throughout the colourful city, using a creative assortment of weapons to enact revenge against the corporation that created the catastrophe and trapped all witnesses inside the city. If you wish Revenge of the Savage Planet gave you a wider arsenal of weapons, then Sunset Overdrive is the perfect step up.
The tones of Pseudoregalia and Revenge of the Savage Planet couldn’t be any further apart, but their approach to platforming-centric 3D Metroidvania gameplay makes playing them both feel relatively similar.
Pseuderegalia’s low-poly style and sombre atmosphere are strangely immersive, and its tight pacing makes it a satisfying journey to blast through in a couple of sittings. Gradually building up your platforming skills throughout the game is consistently empowering, but you never feel so overpowered that there isn’t a challenge.
8Nubby’s Number Factory
The roguelike-style Plinko game utilizes an early-internetY2K flash-game aesthetic, and it strangely works. The more-ish gameplay will keep you coming back for just one more run, and the strange aesthetic will be a perfect reminder of Revenge of the Savage Planet’s unnerving cutscenes.
Revenge of the Savage Planet has a fantastic sense of humour, and while comedy games are tough to pull off, it manages thanks to solid gameplay holding it together. Another game characterized by its comedic charm, while still having engaging gameplay, is Pikuniku.
The short sidescroller will have you exploring a flat world, solving puzzles, using Piku’s leg to catapult him around, and eventually taking down the entrepreneurial evildoer, Mr. Sunshine. It’s a perfect palette-cleanser between longer games with its adorable style and funny NPCs.
Traditional3D Zelda gamesteeter on the borderline of Metroidvania categorization, since even though they have a more linear structure, the style of using new abilities to further explore is reminiscent of a Metroidvania format. The Zelda game that feels closest to Revenge of the Savage Planet, in its style of presentation, personality and gameplay, is Wind Waker.
Exploring different islands feels similar to the different locales of Revenge of the Savage Planet, and the creative methods of platforming around bright environments using dungeon items are reminiscent of it too. If you want something more structured and story-driven, Wind Waker is the perfect choice, and a great starter Zelda game if you’ve never explored the series before.
Of course, the game that feels closest to Revenge of the Savage Planet is its predecessor, Journey to the Savage Planet. Only taking place on one planet, the most obvious difference is its first-person perspective. Aside from this, the two games are clearly related.
It might not be a good choice to try the prequel straight after, since the various upgrades in the sequel and similar gameplay style, might make the original feel a little draining in comparison. However, it’s still the next best thing if you want something just like it.
Being stranded on an alien planet, and stuck wrangling with local fauna and scavenging to survive, the original Pikmin and Revenge of the Savage Planet have quite similar premises, as well as a reminiscent atmosphere too.
Where they stand apart is the gameplay structure. Pikmin will have you working with a time schedule to manage your supplies of the eponymous Pikmin, to rebuild your spaceship in 30 in-game days. If you loved the sense of alien adventure and discovery in Savage Planet, but you want something with a more strategic element, then the first Pikmin is perfect.
Exploring the alien planets of Revenge of the Savage Planet gives you a great sense of adventure, but it can often be a little overwhelming thanks to narrative interruptions. If you want a calmer and more open-ended alien exploration, then discovering the mysterious and atmospheric open planes of Sable is a great next option.
You’ll be traversing the beautifully cell-shaded world as Sable, equipped with her hoverbike, platforming abilities, and tasked with learning about the different professions in the world, and choosing one for herself. It’s the perfect game to take at your own pace and chill, especially after a game as fast-paced as Savage Planet.
If you enjoyed Revenge of the Savage Planet but felt frustrated with the strict map-border limits and want a more open-ended take on an interplanetary adventure, then Outer Wilds is the best choice.
Letting you explore every corner ofits detailed solar system, you’ll discover a litany of secrets, all while working within the tight (but never claustrophobic) 22-minute time loop. It even has a similar-feeling scanner, so if you loved that aspect of Revenge of the Savage Planet, then it’s back here in full force.
It’s the blueprint for every other 3D Metroidvania for a reason, but even considering that, the original Metroid Prime still has a surprising amount in common with Savage Planet. From the sci-fi aesthetic to the heavy use of a scanner to learn about the alien world around you, Metroid Prime is the perfect step up if you want something longer and a little more serious.
While you could argue that the third title in the Metroid Prime trilogy would be a better fit for Savage Planet thanks to its multiple planets, the first ends up feeling more similar thanks to how heavily it sticks to a classic Metroidvania looping map structure.
