Beyond Galaxyland could be something truly remarkable | Hands-on preview
I’ve only played under an hour of Beyond Galaxyland, but I already have the feeling that there’s something special about it. From the trailer, it feels like it could be an epic space opera with a thrilling tale across a sprawling galaxy. It has humour and heart, some gorgeous visuals and simple yet effective mechanics, and characters you can really get behind. That’s just from the trailer, though, but sixty minutes of gameplay has convinced me that I am going to get stuck into this in a big way.
After witnessing some shady goings on at the start of the preview featuring mysterious characters I know very little about, I was given the chance to take on a side mission from later on in the game. In my spaceship, I ventured across the galaxy map and found the planet where I was supposed to go. There were various other planets I’ll get to explore in the main game, and seeing them all and knowing that is an option got me excited. Beyond Galaxyland looks like it could be quite a big game.
When I dropped onto the jungle planet, I fought some little raptors and creatures with hard shells that liked to charge at me. Combat is pretty straightforward based on what I played. Each of your characters can attack or use special abilities that consume a mana-type gauge. You can also use potions that replenish health or revive allies, which all feels similar to plenty of other RPGs. The one big difference is the Summons, where everyone has a pool of them to choose from, and they can do everything from buffing the entire party, to attacking every creature you’re up against.
Our game of the year from 2023 was Sea of Stars, and the turn-based combat shares a particular mechanic with Beyond Galaxyland. When you’re about to get attacked, you can press a button to defend at the last moment to try and mitigate the damage. Fail to do so, and some of the enemies can dish out significant damage, so it pays to telegraph them if you’re going to stand a chance. While only having a handful of battles in the preview, I didn’t even get to scratch the surface, but I can’t wait to see more.
The end of the preview saw me take on a massive version of the raptors I’d been wiping out, and while a tough battle, it was fun to switch up attacks and plan the best way to take it out. Beyond Galaxyland has tons of potential, and if you do get to explore lots of different worlds and meet new characters all the time, I cannot wait. The world looked lovely with its vintage pixel charm, and the level design featured a verticality that worked well with the movement mechanics that allowed you to take different paths on one level of the 2.5D environments.
Beyond Galaxyland could easily be a Game of the Year contender if it follows through on its promise from the trailer, and with the combat I experienced, it takes all the best things from the likes of Seas of Stars and Octopath Traveller 2, with some wonderful characters and punchy dialogue, it merges the best of 80s science fiction with the likes of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Red Dwarf. Roll on release date, because I am so excited to play more of this.
Beyond Galaxyland is “coming soon” to PC.
