Beyond the Grove

About

Beyond the Grove is a single player tactical management game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Not a Duck and was released on November 4, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Beyond the Grove is a charming RTS-inspired autobattler where you, a young Grove Keeper, must venture out to face a mysterious corruption. With a steady stream of summoned mushroom warriors and crafted elemental golems by your side, rally your forces to victory and discover the fate of the world beyond your grove. Command your army in a cycle of strategy and action. Take time to place rally …

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80%Audience ScoreBased on 15 reviews

graphics3 positive mentions

Cute and charming art style with adorable characters and animations.
Unique blend of RTS, roguelike, and auto-battler mechanics offering a fresh gameplay experience.
Engaging strategic decisions in building golems and managing elements, with fun discovery and combo experimentation.

Game is relatively short with limited content and replayability at early access stage.
Several bugs cause units to get stuck or not attack, impacting gameplay experience negatively.
Balance issues and occasional artificial difficulty related to enemy advantage and pathing problems.

graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The graphics feature a charming, cute art style reminiscent of classic 90s games, with delightful visuals that enhance the game's endearing theme. Players particularly enjoy discovering the various golem designs, which add to the overall appeal.
- “You can see from the pictures, but the classic nature of the art style really does it for me, and this feels like an elevated game from the 90s.”
- “The game has cute graphics with an endearing theme.”
- “The artstyle is cute and it's exciting discovering new golem types.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The gameplay is engaging with easy-to-understand mechanics and challenging levels that offer satisfying progression. The build and discovery elements, reminiscent of classic alchemy-style games, add depth and enjoyment. Additionally, different starting characters provide varied strategies, enhancing replayability with numerous new mechanics and features.
- “The gameplay loop is fun and the mechanics are easy to understand, but the levels are still challenging enough to enjoy the progression.”
- “The build/discover aspect of the golems is delightful and evokes that classic 'alchemy' style gameplay where you realize 'ah, of course earth and water make a mud elemental.'”
- “Different starting characters (grovekeepers) change the gameplay and force you to find new strategies for beating levels.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is praised for its dynamic quality, changing in response to on-screen action, and is complemented by charming battle sound effects and live instrument performances, enhancing the overall adorable and immersive experience.
- “Battle sound effects are adorable and I believe the background music was all done in-house with live instruments.”
- “The visuals are absolutely adorable, but what truly captivates is the fantastic dynamic music.”
- “I love how the music changes based on what is showing on the screen.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is enhanced by the challenge mode with ascension difficulty levels that introduce penalties and debuffs, offering more varied challenges. Additionally, the inclusion of diverse elements, golem types, element-specific power-ups, and permanent upgrades significantly boosts the game's replay value.
- “The addition of a challenge mode (ascension difficulty levels that add penalties or debuffs to your run) have added replayability and more challenges to overcome.”
- “Not only more elements and golem types but also element-specific power-ups and permanent upgrades really increase the replay value.”