It's also leaving Google Stadia where it lived as an exclusive updated version of the already brilliant OG release for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Come mid February, however, Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition will land on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S sporting new visual upgrades and options as well as collected downloadable content.

Check out the original Google Stadia trailer for the Employee of the Month Edition below.

That’s right, Valued Employee, your journey to ARY-26 as part of the Pioneer Program is now even better (improving on perfection has been hard!) with juicy DLC, new ads, bonus chats with Martin Tweed and an enhanced photo mode! Even better, the game is now fully optimized for new consoles AND features a Performance vs. Graphics option. Honestly, you barely deserve it, but you’re welcome. We’ll give you a moment to collect yourself and digest that amazing news.

Digested? Good. Experience planets ARY-26 and DLC-1 with support for up to 4K (native or upscale) on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. And if you previously bought the game, you get the upgrade for free! What a time to be alive!

As you might already know, Kindred Aerospace is responsible for determining the viability of human life on planet ARY-26. Data suggests the planet’s atmosphere may have hallucinogenic properties, but as you know, we have a strong anti-drug policy. Learn about the planet’s undiscovered flora and fauna and document the bizarre life forms our researchers have scientifically classified as “icky.” Conduct research with the standard tools of the trade: laser pistols, bombs, acid, and other explosives or requisition ARY-26’s resources to create tools using 3D printing technology. Just remember that your benefits don’t include health insurance. You die, it’s your fault, Valued Employee.

“We’ve been through an acquisition, we’ve been made redundant, we’ve formed a new company, and reacquired our IP, but some way, somehow, the Employee of the Month Edition of our wacky game is finally coming to new consoles,” said Alex Hutchinson, Creative Director, Raccoon Logic, weeping only a little. “Thanks to everyone who supported us, especially you, Value Employee. You’re my favorite, whatever your name is.”

The updated version of the game releases on February 14 and will be a free upgrade to anyone who already owned it on a previous-gen machine. New buyers will find the game for less than $60 AUD.

We sit down with Typhoon Studios’ Alex Hutchinson to talk about the studio’s first game, comedy, co-op, and striving to be the fourth-best. In our review we noted that Journey to the Savage Planet has "A keen sense of discovery is a key part of what makes Journey to the Savage Planet engaging, but how this discovery then goes on to inform exploration in a very classic videogame-like ‘treasure hunt’ sense – well, that’s what makes the overall experience memorable."

Plus, it's funny!

“There's not enough humour in games,” Alex Hutchinson, Creative Director at Typhoon Studios, tells me. We’re discussing the studio’s first game, the vibrant space adventure Journey to the Savage Planet. A comedic and vibrant look at space travel and exploring the unknown reaches of space – for profit.

Playing the game ahead of our discussion, one of the main takeaways or revelations was that you could describe Journey to the Savage Planet (or, JTTSP for short) as a comedy long before you began thinking about its mechanics. Or how it might fit into a certain mould or type. “The idea of creating a satire was one of our earliest touch points,” Alex continues. “It came out of a desire to make something upbeat and optimistic - to make something earnest and different to what’s out there.”

Click Here to Read Our Full Journey to the Savage Planet Interview

From developer Typhoon Studios, Journey to the Savage Planet is an excellent dose of sci-fi adventuring that is genuinely funny in ways games rarely are - in addition to featuring a style and progression similar to greats like Metroid Prime. As a follow-up to our full review, friend of the site Adam 'GrizGaming' Mathew has put up some pure gameplay footage covering the opening moments of the game.

Captured in 4K on Xbox One X. So, if you're still unsure what it's all about be sure to check it out.

At a glance Journey to the Savage Planet might have the air of an action or survival game, which is a fair assumption to make when seeing its first-person viewpoint and main character walking around with ray-gun in hand. And sure, this is a well we visit far too often at AusGamers, but Journey to the Savage Planet is more Metroid Prime with light combat or even Super Mario 64 than No Man’s Sky.

As an explorer for the fourth-best name in space exploration, Kindred Aerospace, it’s up to you to catalog the fauna and alien life found across a strange new planet. The mission? To collect enough data to figure out if it’s suitable for colonisation. Human colonisation. Soon you discover a mysterious tower floating in the air in what looks like a sky fortress adorned by waterfalls.

Oh, and we still have 5 copies of the game on Xbox One up for grabs so be sure to enter for your chance to join the fine folk at Kindred Aerospace. Head here for the competition page.

To celebrate the launch of Journey to the Savage Planet from Typhoon Studios and 505 Games we've got five Xbox One copies (game codes) to give away!

For a taste of the hilarious sci-fi adventure that is part Metroid Prime part it's own very cool thing, check out the launch trailer.



Click Here for the Competition Page

The first game from indie studio Typhoon Studios is a new genuinely funny sci-fi adventure that offers up classic exploration that can be played solo or co-op. Called Journey to the Savage Planet you're tasked with visiting a strange and possibly hostile alien world to catalog its plants and animals for potential colonisation.

A snippet.

Once you begin to visit new biomes and stumble upon strange statues and alien structures both natural and built by some form of intelligence, the world of AR-Y 26 quickly becomes the star of the show. Discovery is here in spades and it’s also matched by some excellent writing that never falters in the comedic sense or that of the alien-world awe you want from a good sci-fi. Level design, and we’re talking classic level design on display, grows in scope and complexity and verticality in a way that one can’t help but think about some of the great platformers and adventure games of the last few decades.

Click Here to Read Our Full Journey to the Savage Planet Review