Freedom Planet is a platform video game created by indie studio GalaxyTrail. It was first unveiled as a demo for Microsoft Windows in 2012, and it was released for personal computers running Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on July 21, 2014. The game stars an anthropomorphic dragon, wildcat, and basset hound respectively named Sash Lilac, Carol Tea, and Milla Basset, who are on a quest together to defeat the evil Lord Brevon. Its fast-paced 2D platforming gameplay has been frequently compared to that of the Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games. Mostly as a result of these similarities, the game has been well-received by critics.
Freedom Planet is a 2D platform/action game. The player controls any of the three playable characters—Lilac, Carol, or Milla—while running and jumping through levels and destroying robotic enemies. These levels involve environmental features such as corkscrews, loop-the-loops, hills, ramps, and rock walls. The player fights a miniboss in the middle of each level and a main boss at the end. As a result of pervasive gameplay, aesthetic, and level design similarities, Freedom Planet has been frequently compared to the Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis in the early 1990s.
One significant difference from Sonic is that the player has a standard health meter instead of Sonic's ring-based health system. The player collects red leaves scattered throughout the levels and occasionally dropped by enemies to regain health. Lilac's maximum health is seven leaves, Carol's six, and Milla's four. Being hit by common enemies and bosses' attacks chips away at the player's health; when the player is attacked with no remaining health, they lose a life. Losing all lives gets the player a game over; however, they can restart from the last checkpoint with little consequence. Extra lives can be found occasionally within levels.
Each of the playable characters has a basic attack and a special attack. The basic attack can be used repeatedly with no penalty, but the more powerful special attack depletes an energy gauge shown on the game's heads-up display and cannot be performed before the gauge has sufficiently recharged. The basic attacks are similar, but Lilac's special attack is a rapid air dash, Carol's is a series of rapid kicks, and Milla's involves launching a gelatinous energy cube. Carol can also wall-jump, and she periodically finds motorcycles throughout her levels that allow her to scale walls smoothly. Lilac can also perform a twirling, tornado-like double jump.
The player can complete the game in either the "Adventure" or "Classic" mode. Classic Mode omits the game's cutscenes, but allows the player to choose Milla; she is not playable in Adventure. In Adventure Mode, the player does not select a character from the beginning, but early on when Lilac and Carol temporarily split up. After a stage has been cleared, the player can complete it as a time attack. The game features numerous achievements such as defeating an end-of-level boss with a certain move or clearing all of a certain character's stages. There are also collectible tablets that are dispersed throughout levels and place artwork in a gallery that can be viewed later.
Source: Wikipedia, "Freedom Planet", available under the CC-BY-SA License.