Back in 2007, I would play my Brother’s Xbox 360 while he was at work. One of the games he had downloaded was a demo for some game called Lost Planet. I played it, and my young mind was blown. Unfortunately, it’s a franchise that has been lost through time. But with Capcom’s recent hot streak combined with having one of the best game engines in the industry, Capcom… It’s time to bring back Lost Planet
Lost Planet is… Lost
Lost Planet was a third-person-shooter published by Capcom with legendary industry talent such as Keiji Inafune attached to the project. In the game you play as Wayne Holden, as you attempt to take down NEVEC and the alien race known as the Akrid, in hopes of freeing the human race and to colonize the planet E.D.N. lll.
When I played the demo back in 2007, and quite frankly, I couldn’t believe that it was real. Up until that point, I mostly played sports games and platformers, and I had never experienced something as real as Lost Planet. As I walked in knee deep snow, my character struggled. The snow itself stuck to his pants. I would go over to the snowy cliff and grapple hook onto the ledge, then proceed to pull myself up.
That demo kind of became a tool for my young imagination as I’d pretend I was some action hero, caught in a monstrous blizzard, having to fight my way out.
It was the kind of game that took your breath away, but yet left so much on the table. Capcom abandoned the franchise after Lost Planet 3 in 2013, but I’m here to say that It’s time for Capcom to Bring the franchise back.
RE Engine & Lost Planet
Since 2017, Capcom has been on an undeniable hot streak. Resident Evil 7 brought the series back to it’s roots while introducing the world to their new engine called RE Engine. Since then, Capcom has launched Devil May Cry 5, Remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4, Monster Hunter: World, and the more recent Street Fighter 6. All of these games have been met with critical acclaim and right now, Capcom can do no wrong.
With a powerful engine, talented devs, and a surplus of cash, it’s time to bring back some dormant franchises. We’re already seeing Capcom finally give fans a sequel to 2012’s Dragon’s Dogma, which should launch in the next year or two. But in my opinion, the franchise most primed for a reboot is Lost Planet.
There’s just so much potential for that world and lore to be expanded and made more visceral with today’s cutting edge graphics.
My Pitch for a Lost Planet Reboot
Time to flex my creative muscles for a bit. It’s my dream to work in the games industry as a creative director anyway, so let me write an open letter to Capcom myself. Capcom, I’ll direct the Lost Planet Reboot for you, and here’s how I’d do it.
Firstly, It would be a full reboot of the series. New timeline, new characters, new setting. We would stay faithful to some landmarks from the first game of course, like for instance, snow would be a major factor. Secondly, to give Capcom something unique that they don’t already have, this would be an action adventure style game, drawing inspiration from games such as Uncharted from Naughty Dog. You play as a young soldier, who’s apart of a team sent to this icy planet to mine for resources. Unknowingly, your team unearths an ancient alien race, living below the icy earth. Traversal would be a major emphasis using tools such as your grapple hook from the first game.
As you progress in the story, you uncover dark secrets your government kept from you about what this planet used to be, why it was abandoned, and what they didn’t want you finding out, hence the title… Lost Planet.
Closing
Capcom, if you’re reading this, send me a message and we’ll get started on this Lost Planet Reboot : ).
Lost Planet deserves to come back. I believe it’s something different from all of Capcom’s IP and it can be made into so much more than it was before. The potential is there, it just needs to be unlocked.
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