When thinking of the creative inspirations behind HoYoverse’s upcoming cozy lifesim, Petit Planet, there are some things that instantly spring to mind. The development team has already acknowledged whimsical influences such as the children’s fable, The Little Prince, and comparisons to genre titan Animal Crossing: New Horizons follow the game wherever it goes.
However, speaking to GameSpot during HoYoverse’s recent media week in Seoul, South Korea, lead game designer Murphy revealed an artistic inspiration that caught us completely off guard: Amazon Prime’s hit documentary reality series, Clarkson’s Farm.
When asked if the developers had looked at other works of children’s media or childhood nostalgia when creating Petit Planet, Murphy explained that former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson’s agricultural adventures in the British countryside had a heavy influence.
“[Clarkson’s Farm] shares a lot of inspiration about how planting and running a farm can bring pure joy to daily life. So I think that is a huge inspiration,” she explained. For Murphy, watching Clarkson, an older novice, grapple with the reality of soil types, weather, and new machinery provided a glimpse into the human satisfaction that comes from cultivating living things and growing your own food. A genuine, unfiltered experience like that became an essential way that the team wanted farming and planting to feel for players in Petit Planet.
Petit Planet is deliberately stepping away from traditional live-service gaming rhythms, especially the ones seen in some of HoYoverse’s other titles. Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail feature huge conflicts and overpowered protagonists, but Petit Planet is deliberately stripped of those high-stakes experiences in favor of an experience that feels more like everyday routine.
Tending to your land in Petit Planet isn’t a chore to maximize your output. Instead, it’s a relaxing gameplay loop. While you may still associate HoYoverse with celestial gods and intricate lore, Petit Planet is showing the studio’s ability to find inspiration in something more unconventional, like an unreliable tractor and a muddy field in Britain’s Cotswolds.
