Planet RIX-13 review for PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, Switch, PC, Xbox One
Publisher: Sometimes You
Developer: 9 Eyes Game Studio
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+

Planet RIX-13 reminds me of something I wrote several months ago: plenty of publishers put out better games than Sometimes You, but few put out games that are quite as interesting.

In this case, with Planet RIX-13, they?ve put out a short point-and-click adventure about a spaceman trying to find his way off a planet. Along the way he encounters monsters, explosives, corpses, and a number of computers that reveal bits and pieces of plot.

True, it?s not the most original setting. Nor is it particularly challenging — the whole thing can easily be beaten in well under an hour. But, for that short time, it succeeds in being fairly entertaining. It?s got a spooky vibe, with a couple of creepy locations to explore, some well-timed sounds and visual effects to up the unsettling feeling,and a general air of mystery hanging over the whole thing.

Even more importantly, its puzzles flow together well. Again, they?re rarely difficult, but they make up for it by being relatively logical. In other words, there?s no ?goofy? randomness here; you don?t have to combine, like, a coin, a stick, and a piece of gum to make a lightning rod or anything. Instead, you search through those aforementioned creepy locations, find bits and pieces of computers and machines, and you use them to fix computers and machines. It may not tax your brain, but it keeps things simple in service of a simple story.

To be clear, Planet RIX-13 isn?t going to blow your mind, and it?s not going to occupy much more than an hour of your time. But for that short time, and within its limited scope, it provides decent entertainment, and that makes it worth checking out at its relatively cheap price.

Sometimes You provided us with a Planet RIX-13 PS Vita code for review purposes.

Grade: B