Planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~ is a visual novel developed by Key. The developers have defined as a “kinetic novel”. As a result, Planetarian removes even the most basic of gameplay of visual novels. There are no choices, decisions or any other gimmicks that pause the story; instead, it is literally a visual novel. You read the story from start to finish with no player input at all. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, where the majority of the human population has been wiped out in a senseless war. Giant killer robots were unleashed and still roam around to this day, while the remaining humans are scavengers and everyday is a struggle to even just live. The world has turned into hell, with sunlight gone, constant acid rain, and uninhabitable lands as a result of the bio-weapons used.
Following a Junker, as someone who scavenges for parts to sell in order to survive, he enters a promising city. The city was wiped out in the early days of the war with a bio-weapon and after 30 years, the bacteria have died and the place has become safe enough for humans. “Safe” is a subjective word though, as the killer robots still roam. However, it attracts Junkers due to the alluring promise of a goldmine of parts.
The Junker chances upon what used to be a planetarium. There, he meets a robot attendant, who has the appearance of a teenage girl. Robots back in the heyday were physically near indistinguishable from humans. With her introducing herself as Hoshino Yumemi, she is still running through the routines, patiently waiting for a customer to arrive. When the Junker showed up, she immediately persuades him to sit down and watch the show.
Despite the Junker being wary, he doesn’t immediately destroy the robot. As he stays, we learn more about the world and the whole time where Yumemi has been waiting here, dutifully performing her role. She is immediately likeable, and you can’t help but feel sad when you realize that every day she is patiently waiting, and certain, of customers arriving. Whether she stands out in the rain calling, or happily reciting her lines, she oozes a sense of childlike innocence and naivety. You just don’t want to see the moment, which is surely coming, when she is disappointed as nothing works anymore. It is actually a miracle that she functions at all.
Despite that, time has not treated her well as she is not designed to last this long. Her parts are becoming aged, she is slowly malfunctioning. As a robot, she has no concept of the war, and all the non-responses she encounters when requesting help and creating support tickets to other departments are glossed over. Yumemi is steadfast in her beliefs. She truly believes that people will return to the planetarium again, and that the shows will continue. Due to the limitations of her programming, she cannot comprehend the effects of no electricity, or seeing the streets flooded and void of people.
For reasons that even he doesn’t fully understand himself, the Junker stays at the planetarium, even though his finds Yumemi annoying. Yumemi is constantly chattering but her devotion to her task is one of her charms. That scene when we see the show that Yumemi has been clamoring on up until that time was magical. It is really surprising at how easily the writers managed to make you care for the characters in such a short amount of time.
Just as you are wondering what direction the story will go, the second half moves at a brisk pace. While it never feels rushed and it is well fleshed out, the events flies by and you can have to stop for a moment or two just to process what has happened. The ending kicks you in the guts and you’ll be surprised at how much you care for the characters at this point. It’s a good ending in terms of the emotional impact and it creates a sense of self-awareness, and some deeper themes like the meaning of life itself.
Overall, Planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~ is a fantastic visual novel that should be a must read. Despite being short enough that it’ll only take two to four hours to complete (dependent on your reading speed), it packs a surprisingly big emotional impact. Since it only focuses on two characters the whole time, it does a superb job at building them up and having the player care for them very much. You end up invested in them and their future, and it’s just so sad to think of what had happened before the events of this game and what is going to happen after it.
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