Beyond Galaxyland is a perfect fusion of action, exploration, and heart | Hands-on preview

I think Beyond Galaxyland is really special. The last preview I played was only a small taste of what to expect, but this time around I got to spend a solid three-hour chunk with it, and I’m in love. It has everything I want from an RPG with the perfect kind of tone and humour, but still manages to feel like an epic space opera with a lot at stake. If the rest of it is as engaging as what I’ve already played, we are all in for a treat. Combat is addictive, the puzzles are smart, and the writing is exceptional. Strap in, folks!

Seeing how Beyond Galaxyland gets going from the beginning, watching Doug and his pet hamster end up in this huge universe called Galaxyland, and exploring the first few planets got me so excited. One of the things I wanted to see when I first played it was how each planet felt, how big they were, what quests and adventures awaited, and how travelling between them happened. There’s a natural flow to exploration, but when you’re on a planet, there’s no arbitrary wandering. Everything has its place.

The first main planet of Beyond Galaxyland is Erros, a world that feels like Earth, with plenty of interesting characters and a beautiful bustling environment. It was here I got to explore sewers, get a grasp on the combat, solve environmental puzzles, and take charge of my first spaceship. I met Meela, a scientist with aspirations to leave Erros and explore the cosmos, and found a power cell after defeating a giant ape, and bumped into a mysterious being known as the Malefactor. It’s all so damn cool.

There’s plenty of humour in Beyond Galaxyland, and I adored the interactions between Doug, Boom Boom, and MartyBot. You’re just a kid who’s been told Earth is gone, but you’ve been “saved” by DreamCore, a shady organisation. Boom Boom, your hamster on Earth is now anthropomorphic and carries a blaster, and MartyBot is a robot who works for DreamCore but isn’t as bad as you first think he is. The comradery brings you closer together as the game progresses, and while it can be funny at times, there’s also a lot of heart at its core.

All Doug wants to do is go home – to see if Earth really is gone – and find his parents. As your adventure takes you away from Erros and to the capital planet of Neo, you learn that there’s something much darker at stake. In one scene which I’m positive was inspired by Metal Gear Solid, you find a corridor in some facility with dead bodies strewn across the floor with blood smeared across the walls. Grey Fox Malefactor is responsible, but why? What the hell is going on? I’m afraid I never got to know as that’s where the preview ended, but wow, what a rush of adrenaline it was.

I touched on the combat in the last preview, but this time around I got to see how Summons work properly. Battles are turn-based and follow the same kind of pattern as most JRPGs. One of the coolest features of Beyond Galaxyland is the ability to photograph creatures to show you an enemy’s stats, but also capture them and use them as summons in battle. They all have unique abilities and elemental properties, so you can equip a range of them and mix up how you attack, buff your party, or restore HP.

I’m pretty sure I could have captured the aforementioned giant ape but I was too trigger happy with my blade and Boom Boom’s blaster. There are so many species, all originally designed, and I’m so excited to see what’s possible within the capture mechanic. Combat is snappy and always fun, much like how Sea of Stars was last year. In fact, this filled me with the same excitement SoS did, except this time I’m going to play through Beyond Galaxyland in its entirety when it releases. It could honestly be one of the best games of 2024 if it continues to offer the same high calibre it has already shown.

Beyond Galaxyland feels like it could be a huge game and I’m all for it. I’m so excited to venture to every planet and see what awaits me there. Aside from Erros and Neo, I headed to an ice planet where I was able to help the inhabitants in exchange for a new summon which was a penguin! It’s ridiculous in the best way, and while the adventure feels vast and exciting, it’s planets are beautifully designed. The art style allows for a bigger scope, and I’m positive I’ve barely scratched the surface.

It might not be on your radar right now, but I hope after reading this you’ll pay it more attention. It could genuinely be a contender for GOTY, and I know I have a habit of getting over excited after a preview, but I’ve played two areas of Beyond Galaxyland now and haven’t seen a single thing I don’t like. With shades of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Pokémon, there’s so much to love about Sam Enright’s RPG that I’m more than ready to keep on exploring Galaxyland.