Pretty Platformer Sequel Planet of Lana II Gets a Pretty Good Steam Demo Tomorrow, Ahead of Its Surprise March Release

Why It Matters

The surprise release window and early demo give Wishful a strong marketing push, positioning the sequel to capture attention ahead of Steam Next Fest and capitalize on growing demand for premium indie puzzle platformers.

Key Takeaways

• Demo releases Feb 11 on Steam.
• Full game launches March 5, 2026.
• Puzzle scale expanded, larger environments.
• Mui now controls wildlife thralls.
• Underwater segment introduces shark enemies.

Pulse Analysis

The indie puzzle‑platformer genre has seen a surge in consumer interest, driven by titles that blend striking art with cerebral challenges. Wishful’s original Planet of Lana set a high bar with its hand‑painted aesthetic and balanced difficulty, earning critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base. By announcing a March 5, 2026 launch and pairing it with a February 11 Steam demo, the studio taps into the seasonal hype of Steam Next Fest, ensuring maximum visibility among gamers actively seeking fresh experiences.

The demo itself reveals several design evolutions that signal a more ambitious sequel. Visual fidelity is heightened, preserving the painterly charm while expanding level dimensions, allowing for vertical traversal and broader puzzle arenas. The introduction of Mui’s wildlife‑thrall mechanic adds a layer of strategic control, especially evident in the underwater warren where players must avoid shark‑like predators. This shift not only diversifies gameplay but also raises the cognitive load, promising a steeper learning curve that could challenge even seasoned puzzlers.

From a business perspective, the timing and marketing approach are calculated moves. Releasing the demo a week before the Next Fest window keeps the title top‑of‑mind, while the surprise March release compresses the promotional runway, reducing the risk of hype fatigue. Such a strategy can translate into stronger launch week sales, higher Steam visibility, and potential for award nominations in indie categories. If the sequel delivers on its expanded scope, it could reinforce Wishful’s reputation and set a benchmark for future premium indie releases, influencing both consumer expectations and publisher investment patterns.

Pretty platformer sequel Planet of Lana II gets a pretty good Steam demo tomorrow, ahead of its surprise March release

Image: Lana and Mui allow a mysterious deer‑like animal to approach in Planet of Lana 2. · Image credit: Thunderful Publishing

Planet of Lana II, Wishfully’s follow‑up to their tremendous puzzle‑platformer original, punched our news mouths with a double hit of announcements last week. First, it has a release date of March 5 2026, a mere three weeks from now, and second, there’s a Steam demo coming even sooner, on February 11. An embargo lift means I’m now at liberty to share my thoughts on the demo, and I can report that it’s exactly the same as the demo given to press last year, so you can already read what I said about it in earlier coverage.

In any event, I’d encourage playing the Steam version once it releases tomorrow (it’ll stay available at least through the next Steam Next Fest, which runs between Feb 23 and March 2). Skipping across multiple scenarios from five different points in the game, it’s a good demonstration of both how the sequel maintains Planet of Lana’s gorgeous, hand‑painterly style, and how the scale of its puzzles has grown. You’re still controlling both Lana and friendly alien cat/monkey plushie Mui, except the latter is no longer afraid to venture beyond Lana’s immediate vicinity, opening up taller and wider opportunities for crate‑pushing and button‑prodding.

Mui’s power to hypnotise local wildlife has also been expanded to allow for direct control over thralls, something that’s crucial to the demo’s highlight: an underwater warren, patrolled by shark‑life beasts, that Mui and a newly diving‑trained Lana must navigate without getting chomped. This, on its own, is bigger than any individual puzzle I can recall from the original, while an especially vexing machine‑manipulation challenge at the demo’s end suggests that Planet of Lana II’s thinky tests will get tougher as well as larger.

I’m still a little unsure of this, given just how well Planet of Lana judged its difficulty – rare is the puzzle game that can consistently put your brain to work without inflicting a potentially fatal case of getting stuck. I absolutely enjoyed the demo, though, both on the first go last summer and this past week. March 5 really ain’t a long wait for the whole thing, to boot.