Chumps Preview is a special kind of post where we unofficially preview games in Early Access, Beta, or are otherwise “unfinished.” This kind of preview is meant to be a first impression rather than a definitive review where we provide a rating to determine a game’s value. As such, we fully expect a game covered in a Chumps Preview to have room for improvement, some bugginess/incompleteness, and other features associated with similar games in the category.
Earlier this month, DigitalChumps was granted access to a private test of Hoyoverse’s new game, Petit Planet. If you’ve been wanting to try out a cozy game like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley (both of which are fantastic, mind you) without the initial price commitment, Petit Planet might be your cup of tea. This little game will task you with building your own personal planet in a galaxy of your own choosing. It’ll be heading to PC, Android, and iOS soon!
Right from the jump, Petit Planet felt innately familiar, as if I was playing a hybrid of Animal Crossing meets Super Mario Galaxy. I felt like Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, but without the baobabs. Thankfully, I wasn’t indebted to a raccoon in the first few minutes…something that game seemed to recognize, as well. A giant fish creature, Oumuamua, transported me to my own planet that I could nurture and grow all on my own.
A fluffy dog, Mobai, was my initial narrator and guide during my planet building. When he wasn’t making tea and drinking it out of a gaiwan, Mobai sent me off to do the typical chores of cozy games – think growing plants, building furniture, making friends and inviting them to my planet.
Accomplishing tasks (harvesting crops, fishing, bugcatching) yields Luca, which helps boost the planet’s size. I was taught how to do these things in a hand-holdy fashion. To its credit, it doesn’t leave me stranded with hardly described mechanics and an open world to figure out. Instead, each mechanic is given its own introduction so that players aren’t overloaded. Some might find this too hand-holdy, but it’s a refreshing change from the snail’s pace of an introduction from other competitors.
Once I had my Hobbit hole of a home properly built, I was basically set free to do whatever I wanted in Hoyoverse’s beautifully designed cosmic space. I had some main story-esque quests involving growing the Luca tree, making some deliveries, and endless tasks that changed from day to day. I didn’t think that completing tasks was “rewarding” in the sense that I was making noticeable progress, but I also didn’t feel like I was racing against the clock too much. Even the timed deliveries gave me enough time to harvest and find what I needed with a significant amount of time to spare. It was delightfully relaxing.
Just like Hoyoverse’s other games (namely, Zenless Zone Zero), they’ve gone all out with adorable voice acting to lean into Petit Planet’s charming allure. Yunguo, a fox-like farmhand, guides the player to harvesting crops and snooping out seeds with her southern belle charm while Mors, a shark-like ecologist, sounds professional yet mature. I appreciate the wide range of character archetypes and appropriately selected VAs, as the game feels like the characters are distinct enough from each other and keep things charming.
Petit Planet wastes no time in getting the player connected with its cast of characters., Right from the “Starcove App,” the player can access important details like NPCs’ likes, dislikes, and personal stories with additional hand-drawn icons. Reading through these stories and flipping through the profiles rewards the player with coins, as well. As I progressed through my playthrough, I was able to unlock additional bits of information about these characters, improving my “bonds” with these characters over time. For those who’ve played Zenless Zone Zero, this bonding system feels less grindy and more rewarding. Increasing Yunguo’s bond, for instance, spurs a conversation where the player invites her to move in to the plane as the newest neighbor.
Seeing as this is a pre-beta experience, I encountered some content that was rough around the edges or otherwise unfinished. Controller support on PC was the main persistent issue I encountered, as some features lacked proper mapping to the controller (despite attempting to hardbind them to my DualSense). There were some incomplete and buggy textures, such as the grassy terrain disappearing during Isaki’s cutscene, as well. I’m not too concerned about these minor bugs, though – this was a closed beta realm that was intending to be wiped when the game launched. I’m curious to see how things are going in a few weeks once more players pick up and play on their computers and phones.
Now there’s some of you probably wondering: This is a live service game…does this mean gacha? I’m inclined to say yes, but I wasn’t able to confirm or deny the presence of rare content during my test. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was some form of feature in the future, such as a way of obtaining a unique home or set of clothing. It also wouldn’t surprise me if there were timed content drops similar to ZZZ in the form of collaborations with other titles or story-driven events. You and I will have to wait until the game launches to be sure.
I also was not able to test out the multiplayer elements in the game’s Galactic Bazaar, a hub that contained an NPC that registered my planet along with showing me a glimpse of some events that others could enjoy together. Some players on Reddit shared their thoughts on the feature and said that there was a hangout section, but when I visited the space it was empty. Let’s see what it looks like at launch!
I’m generally pleased with what I played during my short preview of Petit Planet. While I wish that my progress would carry over so I don’t have to retrace my steps when the game launches, I’m excited for players to test out a slice of life game that mirrors the charm, depth, and coziness of Animal Crossing.
