Lunar Lander Beyond
- April 23, 2024
- Dreams Uncorporated
Lunar Lander: Beyond is a loving reimagining of the Atari classic, with some seriously cool mechanics and a whole lot of variety.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreAs a newly appointed captain of the Pegasus corporation, you must guide a roster of colorful pilots, eclectic advisors and state-of-the-art landers through a taxing series of missions. Deliver cargo, retrieve resources, and rescue stranded pilots as you navigate a mysterious universe of moons and planets. It’s a thankless job, replete with tension and danger, and it takes a psychological toll …
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The gameplay is engaging and offers a variety of ways to play with different ships, keeping the experience fresh.
- The graphics and presentation are impressive, with a strong art style and animated cinematics.
- The game performs well on platforms like Steam Deck and Switch, with no significant frame rate issues.
- The controls are frustrating and lack precision, making the game feel unplayable for many players.
- The campaign structure is criticized for being too short and tightly packed with narrative, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
- The emphasis on story and pacing issues may alienate players who prefer a more straightforward arcade experience.
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is widely praised for its variety and innovation, offering three distinct play styles and a reimagined experience of the classic Lunar Lander. Players appreciate the engaging mechanics, diverse mission objectives, and strong visual presentation, though some criticize the campaign's pacing and limited replayability options. Overall, the gameplay successfully blends retro inspirations with modern twists, though its emphasis on story may not appeal to everyone.
“The gameplay is the strong point, and it does a great job at keeping things fresh by giving you three different ways to play the game with the ships.”
“Lunar Lander: Beyond is a loving reimagining of the Atari classic, with some seriously cool mechanics and a whole lot of variety.”
“[Movement and physics feel true to retro inspirations with optional modifiers aplenty, 30 missions with varied objectives, visually distinct sci-fi settings, secrets, difficulty options ranging from relatively forgiving to pure masochism, strong presentation with stunning art style and animated cinematics, stress management mechanics and trippy visuals offer a unique twist.]”
“The issue is not its gameplay mechanics, but the strictures of its campaign structure.”
“Pacing issues with dialogue interludes longer than some missions, lack of gameplay modes outside the main, relatively short campaign, omission of online leaderboards arguably disincentivizes replayability, emphasis on storyline will be off-putting to some players.”
“Movement and physics feel true to retro inspirations with optional modifiers aplenty, 30 missions with varied objectives, visually distinct sci-fi settings, secrets, difficulty options ranging from relatively forgiving to pure masochism, strong presentation with stunning art style and animated cinematics, stress management mechanics and trippy visuals offer a unique twist.”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underwhelming and feeling that the introduction of a second ship diminishes the overall experience. While some appreciate the unique twists and strong presentation, others criticize the pacing and brevity of missions, suggesting that the narrative often overshadows gameplay. Overall, the emphasis on story may not resonate with all players, leading to a lack of replayability.
“[movement and physics feel true to retro inspirations with optional modifiers aplenty, 30 missions with varied objectives, visually distinct sci-fi settings, secrets, difficulty options ranging from relatively forgiving to pure masochism, strong presentation with stunning art style and animated cinematics, stress management mechanics and trippy visuals offer a unique twist].”
“[a large abundance of levels, classic gameplay with new twists and tricks, emphasis on story, mental health handled well].”
“The story is meh, and the second ship trivializes the rest of the game; the missions where you can't use it are the best.”
“But as it stands, its missions too often feel abbreviated at around three to six minutes and too tightly sandwiched between narrative.”
“Pacing issues with dialogue interludes longer than some missions, lack of gameplay modes outside the main campaign, relatively short campaign, and omission of online leaderboards arguably disincentivizes replayability; the emphasis on storyline will be off-putting to some players.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for being visually distinct and well-executed, with a strong art style and animated cinematics that enhance the overall presentation. However, some players find the controls and physics frustrating, which detracts from the enjoyment despite the appealing visuals. Overall, while the graphics are on point, they are overshadowed by gameplay issues that hinder the experience.
“Graphics are neat.”
“The graphics of the game are pretty much on point for what I have observed with the revamped games.”
“Strong presentation with stunning art style and animated cinematics.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers decent replayability, but some players may find it limited due to pacing issues, a short campaign, and a lack of additional gameplay modes or online leaderboards. The strong emphasis on storyline may also deter those seeking varied gameplay experiences.
“Seems to have a good bit of replayability.”
“Pacing issues with dialogue interludes longer than some missions hinder the overall experience.”
“The lack of gameplay modes outside the main campaign limits the variety and reduces replayability.”
“The omission of online leaderboards arguably disincentivizes players from replaying the game.”
Critic Reviews
Lunar Lander: Beyond review
Lunar Lander: Beyond is a loving reimagining of the Atari classic, with some seriously cool mechanics and a whole lot of variety.
90%Lunar Lander Beyond Review
While Lunar Lander Beyond requires a delicate touch, the feeling that comes from mastering a perfect run and ship-shape crew cannot be beat. For the management fiends and skill-driven fans among us, get ready to kick the tires and light the fires during this Cosmic Event.
76%Lunar Lander Beyond Review
Lunar Lander Beyond is a solid recommendation for fans of the lander sim genre. It performs well on the Switch with no discernible frame rate issues and looks great. But as it stands, its missions too often feel abbreviated at around three to six minutes and too tightly sandwiched between narrative. The issue is not its gameplay mechanics, but the strictures of its campaign structure. It’s a problem the developers could solve by staying the course and creating a mode focused squarely on what made the original compelling: flying, landing, and scoring better than everyone else.
70%
