'Little Planet' is like 'Animal Crossing' meets 'The Little Prince'
Blog Andrew Joseph 07 Nov , 2025 0
Little Planet isn't the first game to imitate Animal Crossing, and it won't be the last. Developer HoYoverse doesn't shy away from acknowledging the similarities – one character even balks at the idea of new planet owners falling into debt just for owning a home – although they don't deny upgrades will There is a price. In the short five hours I spent previewing the closed beta, Petit Planet delivered a fascinating, “The Little Prince”——Animal Crossing: New Horizons' theme emphasizes clear progression and multiplayer. While these two things that some seem to be craving are left vacant in ACNH, the Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact studio may have an answer – but there are potential caveats.
As much as I enjoyed Little Planet, I began to feel disappointed in its beginning, as its character creator was underwhelming. The range of skin tones is limited, and the hairstyle options are terrible, although more hair and eye styles and colors are available later via in-game currency. I admit this isn't the final version of Little Planet, so I'm hoping this will be a game that promotes customization, limiting its global players to four skin tones, only one of which looks darker than a light brush in the sun.
The general setup of Little Planet is that you work with three anthropomorphic animal members of a company called Loomi Co to develop a fledgling planet and explore the surrounding galaxy. You can choose between two planets with different environments and different starting planets. I chose a spot described as “hot and dry” with golden savannah. As you complete the tasks assigned by Mobai, Isabelle and Tom Nook, you provide special water to an equally special tree, which is the heart and in a way the control center of the earth. With new levels and upgrades, the game area gradually evolved into multi-level venues, larger rivers, beaches, and oceans. I like that after a while I can look at the various upgrades ahead, like mountains and new kinds of trees.
The first hour was a killer for my playtime, as the tutorial was limited and there was limited room for any kind of exploration or creativity, but after that it relaxed considerably while still introducing new mechanics. The next three or four hours are where upgrades start to be locked behind daily progress. Not like a mobile game countdown, but a real day similar to ACNH. Since accessing Petit Planet is tied to logging into the HoYoverse server, you can't force forward by changing your device clock. That being said, I didn’t run out of fun things to do while I waited.
I spent my time doing familiar activities; banging trees for fruit, catching bugs, picking flowers, smashing rocks for ore, fishing, and a wonderful and very different experience – collecting tide pool creatures using shellfish pincers. There's crafting and cooking, of course, all the things you'd expect, but with a touch of glamor in the starry circular design and consistent, clear direction. Activities involving tools require strength, or basically replenishing energy through the consumption of fruits or food. Fruit and food-making resources were plentiful when I played, so this wasn't much of a hassle.
I also enjoyed meeting the three neighbors I met, or NPC residents of the small planet you invite to live on your planet and develop relationships with. What I particularly like is that, like HoYoverse's other games, each character has a unique identity that goes deeper than their aesthetics and catchphrases. Everyone has a backstory, and more information about them and their personal tastes can be discovered over time. The first two serve as an introduction to the core mechanics, but I'm excited to see who else I encounter on my space travels.
As I played, I unlocked a car of my own, allowing me to explore the stars in limited circumstances. The car uses batteries that are earned and purchasable (using in-game currency). One of them lasted me about two or three trips to random planets, or asteroids in the sea of stars that had limited and sometimes unique resources or potential new neighbors. I found one on these planets and convinced her to move to my larger planet.
The other place I was able to go to is called the Galactic Bazaar, or an online multiplayer hub with two simple mini-games and plenty of places to sit and chat with other players. More than any other game produced by HoYoverse, Little Planet seems to be trying to capture the attention of a younger audience. The player characters even look like children. However, when you arrive at Galaxy Bazaar, you are immediately encouraged to sit down and talk to strangers. I've tested it, and the in-game text chat seems to have no restrictions on mild profanity. you do have Sitting in certain locations in the Galaxy Bazaar and chatting with other people, but I don't actually see any other way to limit other player interactions in this space have Visited as part of the main mission.
Child-safe online spaces are another topic entirely, but I do hope HoYoverse has a plan in place to ensure I don't invade young people's space when I just want to play a game like Animal Crossing with my friends. In summary, Official beta FAQs My concerns were calmed a bit by seeing that this beta test is limited to “users 18 and older,” so I'd like to imagine more serious security features are coming in addition to blocking others.
Another thing I worry about is pricing: How much does it cost to play this free game? As with any game in HoYoverse, there seem to be plenty of ways to earn the several currencies I saw in the game, but it's hard to see exactly how that will work in the future. I suspect we'll see HoYoverse abandon its gacha approach of random rewards mixed in with slim chances of getting what you want, but it's hard to say whether characters, cosmetics, or both will be their targets. It’s also worth noting that I found two different AI chatbots in Petit Planet. One is an on-demand source of in-game help, and the other is a barista you can chat with in the Galactic Bazaar. It's easy to avoid them if you don't like using them.
That being said, Petit Planet has potentially huge advantages as an online HoYoverse game. Progress so far is clear and interesting, and knowing how well HoYoverse supports its other big games, we'll likely see it get plenty of updates, events, and regular quality of life support. Mo Bai mentioned that we don't have a “restaurant” yet, and I'm already eyeing up the cute cosmetics I want to save up for and the entire furniture set I want to make. My playtime data will all be deleted, but I still can't help but be excited about what the upgrades I've earned will bring to my planet tomorrow.