Gaia Beyond
- August 20, 2020
- Warp Turtle
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"Gaia Beyond" is a 2D action-RPG set in a hand-drawn, dynamic solar system. Engage in fighting, mining, and trading as you navigate numerous factions and interact with hundreds of NPCs. With over 100 sidequests and the consequences of your choices shaping the world, uncover the truth behind the Ganymede Flu in this immersive space exploration game.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique art style and a great soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- There is a vast universe to explore with a variety of ships, weapons, and crafting options, providing a lot of content for players.
- The developers are active in the community, regularly updating the game and addressing bugs, which shows their commitment to improving the game.
- The game feels incomplete, with many quests being buggy or unfinished, leading to a frustrating experience.
- The combat and controls can be clunky, making it difficult to engage effectively in battles.
- The pacing of the story is slow, with excessive dialogue that can detract from the gameplay experience.
- story334 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in "Gaia Beyond" is described as intriguing but ultimately incomplete, with many players expressing frustration over its abrupt ending and numerous loose ends. While some appreciate the engaging narrative and side quests, others criticize the disjointed nature of the main storyline and the presence of bugs that hinder quest progression. Overall, the game shows potential, but many reviewers recommend waiting for further updates to expand and polish the story content.
“Great game, interesting story worth reading and not skipping :)”
“The story is well written and I enjoyed it.”
“You fly around the solar system doing missions, mining, trading, shooting all the while upgrading modules and ships while the story unravels.”
“The story feels very disjointed and weird, almost as if it's not even finished (it's not).”
“The story is so incomplete and ends so suddenly, on a cliffhanger no less, that I spent quite a while just flying around visiting previous quest givers in an attempt to figure out how to continue it, before I realized that there's nothing more.”
“Main story feels on rails, you have no real agency or reason to be on the other side of the screen.”
- gameplay54 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Gameplay in "Gaia Beyond" is generally praised for its freedom and exploration, allowing players to engage in various quests and activities without restrictions. While some find the mechanics straightforward and enjoyable, others criticize aspects like flight controls and combat clarity, noting that the game can feel cartoonish or underutilized in certain areas. Overall, the game offers a mix of engaging story elements and expansive gameplay, though some players express disappointment with specific mechanics and the pacing of progression.
“Gaia Beyond introduced a world with characters I actually cared about, and combat gameplay I could get behind.”
“If you loved space pirates and zombies, but lamented the fact that it was very restricted in map, the story was on rails and the way to evolve and grow was always capped until you've reached the next part of the story, then Gaia Beyond is definitely for you - it offers the same fun gameplay of Spaz but with no restrictions - you can fly anywhere on the map, try any questline, earn money however you want, fight pirates, collect space junk, join a trading guild, explore space and discover ancient derelicts you can plunder or follow the main questline and just enjoy the story - it's all up to you.”
“The gameplay is straightforward, with combat being easier to learn and trickier to master.”
“This game is like if somebody designed a spaceship action RPG just by watching gameplay videos but without ever playing one themselves.”
“Despite the promising concept for the 2D action mechanics, they're horribly unutilized.”
“I bought this game like a year ago, didn't like it, thought I'd come back to it after the devs had done some work on it only to find the same gameplay issues I had the first time around.”
- music42 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. It features a diverse range of styles, from soaring classical strings to grungy electric and synth instruments, effectively fitting the game's sci-fi setting. While some players noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, the immersive quality and high production value of the music have left a lasting positive impression.
“It's a game that does two things well: its unique art style and a great soundtrack.”
“Incredible space music (Star Wars epic) to the smooth jams (jazz) in the bar.”
“So often games have super terrible or just plain boring music that sounds better muted.”
“The music really fits the setting, what little I've heard so far consisting of soaring classical strings and grungy electric and synth instruments.”
“Smooth transitions into battle music.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style, beautiful hand-drawn visuals, and fluid animations, contributing to an immersive experience. However, some users noted inconsistencies in the art, particularly with NPC and character portraits, which detracted from their overall enjoyment. Despite these critiques, the audio-visual design, including the soundtrack, is highlighted as a standout feature that enhances the game's appeal.
“What makes Gaia Beyond stand out is the audio-visual design (amazing artwork and effects and one of the best OSTs in the genre), but especially the writing.”
“Really fun space shooter with hand-drawn graphics.”
“The flight model is possibly my favorite out of any 2D space game I've played; the art style is distinctive and high quality.”
“I could forgive the art if it were consistent, but it's a mix of rough drawings and vectorized photographs of the staff with no common style or aesthetic.”
- grinding24 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is described as somewhat tedious, with players often feeling overwhelmed by the amount of resource gathering required for upgrades and equipment. While some find satisfaction in mining and the progression tied to grinding, many express frustration with the lack of engaging side missions and the slow pace of resource respawning. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable and repetitive tasks, but it may not appeal to those who dislike grinding.
“Looks like a better than average spaceship action RPG, but plays poorly and is surprisingly tedious.”
“They've created a somewhat interesting system to explore, and grinding for better ships was fun for a while, but this game severely lacks content in both main and side story departments.”
“I farmed diamonds, sold them, and then bought the best possible gear - but of course, you can't ever get overpowered no matter how much farming you do because of progression locks.”
- stability14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches rendering it nearly unplayable. Many users note that quests are frequently broken and that there is a significant lack of polish, indicating that the game requires substantial work before it can be considered finished. However, some reviewers express optimism about the developers' commitment to addressing these issues.
“Unplayable buggy garbage.”
“There's a lot of quests that are buggy/broken, and everything just feels like it needs much more work done before it's in a finished playable state.”
“That being said, between spelling errors, mission glitches, etc, there's clearly a lack of polish here.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of intentional and unintentional comedy, with some players finding the story amusing despite its poor writing quality, including spelling and grammatical errors. The dialogue is noted to be particularly humorous, contributing to the overall comedic experience.
“The text-based storyline is interesting and funny at times.”
“Dialogue can be quite humorous.”
“The story is hilariously bad, and the writing is strewn with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers a vibrant world filled with active NPCs and an affinity system, contributing to a lively experience; however, some players feel that these elements result in somewhat limited replayability.
“The game is otherwise very open and alive with a multitude of NPCs just doing their thing and an affinity system to keep track of it all, which enhances replayability.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes in the game encourages players to experience different paths, significantly boosting its replayability.”
“With numerous side quests and character interactions, each playthrough feels unique, making the game highly replayable.”
“Combining the last few points makes for somewhat limited replayability, but the game is otherwise very open and alive with a multitude of NPCs just doing their thing and an affinity system to keep track of it all.”
