SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29 — We’ve already had an accomplished Pokémon homage in last week’s Temtem. Now it’s time to see what happens when you splice Sesame Street with a 1950s sci-fi adventure.

Adorable creatures that contain scarce resources, colorful visual design that references 1950s American sci-fi, and plenty of gunk, slime and goo typify Journey to the Savage Planet.

It wouldn’t be too surprising to see Sesame Street staples Big Bird or Mr Snuffleupagus pop up in Typhoon Studios’ first release, filled as it is with strangely squeaking aliens on a bright and bizarre otherworld.

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Naturally, as a recruit of ambitious exploration company Kindred Aerospace, you’d have to put your feelings of delight aside and harvest them at the earliest opportunity.

No need to feel bad though (well, maybe a little bit.) It’s all part of the corporate verification process — and who else but you can tell us whether ARY-26 supports human life?

Eye-catching visuals, funny live-action videos, a snarky AI minder and light environmental puzzling punctuate its mission arc, while collectibles are strewn throughout ARY-26’s surroundings.

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In terms of running time, Journey to the Savage Planet is fairly short — especially compared to sci-fi games known for their explorative or humorous nature (think No Man’s Sky, The Outer Worlds or the Borderlands franchise, for example).

Early adopters have been blasting through the game’s contents in anywhere between six to 16 hours, depending on how keen they are on completing its various collect-a-thons.

Even so, and despite reviewing well in general — it’s got a very silly sense of humour and the colorful, welcoming world is a refreshing twist on first-person action — some critics noted that repetitive activities and a lack of challenge weakened the overall experience.

It’s just as well, then, that Journey... debuts at a lower price than many of its contemporaries; it also allows two players to pair up online and take part in Kindred missions for the whole game.

That, combined with its comparative lack of difficulty, suggests Journey... is especially well suited to relaxed sessions — as long as everyone’s OK with beating up walking, squawking plushies.

Journey to the Savage Planet is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC (Epic Game Store at launch). — AFP-Relaxnews