7 March 2026

Planet of Lana 2 Is So Deep You’ll Want to Play It Twice, According to Devs

By newsgame

Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf brings a new chapter to life out of the world that its predecessor introduced back in 2023. This time around, protagonist Lana and her companion Mui have more experience under their belt as they explore and try to navigate their quickly-changing home planet. Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf aims to tell an even deeper story this time around. The first game used environments and puzzles to express what Lana and her world were going through, and its sequel continues this approach. This time, though, developer Wishfully is pushing that storytelling further.

Planet of Lana may not have boasted the most complex game mechanics, but it told a compelling story by using very few words. Lana’s home world of Novo was as much of a main character as she and Mui were. Now that Planet of Lana 2‘s launch has arrived, fans of the first chapter get to see for themselves what awaits Lana and Mui. Wishfully’s Co-Founders Klas Martin Eriksson and Adam Stjarnljus recently revealed some interesting details about Planet of Lana 2 during an interview with GameRant. Klas Martin Eriksson served as the game’s Writer and Co-Director, while Adam Stjarnljus took on the role of Creative Director, and both had some fascinating insight into Lana’s new chapter.

Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf Explores the Cost of Progress

The first Planet of Lana game was all about Lana and the people of Novo dealing with the incoming invasion of mysterious spider-like robots. Now, Planet of Lana 2 reveals what happens to Novo after some have embraced progress through the help of technology. This technological progress can help improve Novo’s quality of life, but like many promising ventures, greed has gotten in the way. Different tribes throughout Novo are using the technology in their own unique ways. Unfortunately, this has paved the way for a tense power struggle. This threatens the harmony that has made Novo such an idyllic planet, and Lana and Mui have to fight to preserve what they can before it’s too late.

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This is a familiar narrative, and it’s sadly one that continues to feel incredibly timely and poignant. In an era where AI’s power usage continues to inflate and ongoing issues like deforestation seem to have no end, Planet of Lana 2 continues the tradition of addressing gnawing questions and anxieties through art. Hurdles like the current RAM shortage that has been caused by the growing popularity of AI pose a similar question to Planet of Lana 2: Is the cost of progress actually worth it?

This technological progress can help improve Novo’s quality of life, but like many promising ventures, greed has gotten in the way.

Lana and Mui find themselves in a world that is quickly beginning to feel like a stranger. This has given Wishfully the opportunity to dive even deeper into the series’ lore and explore darker themes. Planet of Lana 2‘s story is taking Lana down some dark roads that are bound to raise a lot of existential questions in players’ minds. When asked what inspired the sequel’s darker turn, Klas said:

In Planet of Lana 2, both Novo and Lana are in the middle of an identity crisis. The planet has changed a lot since our last visit and robot technology is now part of everyday life. Some Novo tribes embrace it, and others reject it wholesale – causing a lot of inter-tribal conflict. For Lana, the identity crisis is quite personal. During her first journey, she started to uncover hidden secrets about her people’s and the robot invaders’ origins, and when we rejoin her in the sequel, uncovering this mystery has become almost an obsession for her. An obsession that unfortunately often gets her, and her loved ones, into trouble.

The world around Lana isn’t just changing. She is, too. Both her inner and outer worlds are facing an identity crisis that sets the stage for these darker themes to be explored. Planet of Lana‘s first chapter definitely had hints of elements seen in games like Limbo and Inside, but the sequel may feel even more reminiscent of these beautifully bleak stories. Despite the darker themes, the optimistic energy from the first game is still very much intact. Planet of Lana 2 may follow an older and conflicted Lana, but it steers clear of jumping into full-blown nihilism.

Lana is also growing into a more complex character. Planet of Lana 2‘s gameplay reflects her evolving nature, which promises some fun upgrades to the original’s puzzle platforming. The gameplay is its own special kind of storytelling device. Klas offered some great words about what players can expect from this more mature version of Lana:

On the story side, the fact that Lana and Mui are a bit more of a force to be reckoned with (even though they are by no means superheroes with offensive capabilities) creates an interesting coming-of-age dilemma that plays against the identity crisis I mentioned before: Lana is no longer a defenseless child, but she’s also far from an adult – how does her eagerness to grow up and be taken seriously, affect her decision-making in the present? And how does it affect her personal relationships, including her relationship with Mui?

Emotions and themes aren’t the only things that will be deeper this time around. The world of Novo itself will have even more detail and secrets to uncover. Games with hidden secrets and lore details keep players coming back for more, and Wishfully’s devs are teasing plenty of that. Puzzle platformers can be a tricky genre to hide finer details in, but that’s also what makes discovering them so special. After asking Klas and Adam what they hope players feel when the credits roll, they had this to say:

Adam: Wow, that’s tricky… I guess I’d hope they feel a great sense of having gone on an epic adventure that will stay with them long after the credits roll.

Klas: Haha yeah, that’s a tricky one without spoiling it. But we’ve had a few playtesters say that they started a second playthrough almost immediately after the first, in order to try and pick up on things they might have missed during the first playthrough. So, for me, it’s that I think: a mix between a sense that they’ve experienced something deep and meaningful, but that their inner nerd feels ready for a second playthrough to pick up on things they might have missed on a first.

Planet of Lana 2 is using its first chapter as a template to dive into even deeper questions about progress, technology, and how to successfully balance the two. Whether you’re checking out Planet of Lana 2 on Game Pass or interested in buying it outright, it aims to tell a familiar, but unique, story in a breathtaking world that mirrors issues modern humanity is facing every day. If the Planet of Lana series is anything, it’s beautifully sincere, and it’s going to be compelling to see where Lana’s journey takes her next.