Many gamers of a certain age will have a favourite RPG from the ‘90s. Coming home from school, or work, and diving headfirst into these 30-hour plus epics that spanned multiple discs. With games this long, the characters became almost your friends, but there had to be plenty of things to see and do to keep things interesting.
Beyond Galaxyland is an homage to those games of old, but in a more condensed game and without the bloat that sometimes came as a byproduct. It doesn’t lose any of the charm and adventure though, proving itself to be one of the best RPGs of the year.
You play as Doug and we meet him returning home one evening. Talking to his friend Rosie, he goes inside to bring out his pet guinea pig, Boom Boom. But when he returns outside, she is missing, with only her shoe left behind. Doug is then approached by a strange man covered in something odd, but it is when he is running away that things turn weird. He falls down a hole and is then sucked through a portal. Said portal whisks him off to a completely new universe.
This strange new universe is managed by a company called Galaxycore. They claim to be altruistic, and their reason for abducting Doug is because Earth has been the latest victim of a life vanquishing smoke cloud known as The End. But Doug just misses his parents, and doesn’t necessarily believe Galaxycore. Whether they are right or wrong, there is something fishy about them…
So, Doug is determined to get back home and find out for himself. Along with a floating robot called MartyBot and of course, Boom Boom (now a sentient bipedal guinea pig) along for the ride, it is up to you to get Doug the instruments he needs to get home.
But first he needs to navigate a new universe full of characters and charm. Beyond Galaxyland tends to follow a standard RPG in that party members will join Doug on his quest as he progresses. There are also supporting cast members that can’t actually be controlled in battle but are there to help in other ways. One of those is the enigmatic Malefactor whose intentions aren’t immediately obvious. But they need Doug as much as Doug needs them.
Beyond Galaxyland is a 2.5D Sci-Fi RPG that is all about the sum of its parts. By that I mean that whilst the story isn’t the most original, and the turn-based RPG is most definitely retro, it throws in plenty of other features that make it a very enjoyable game.
And none of the additional stuff makes it bloaty. Beyond Galaxyland doesn’t fall into a trap that many modern games do with bloat and unnecessary extensions just to run the clock up. Everything from the dungeons to the in-between character interactions are perfectly paced. It is far from a 30-hour RPG, but it doesn’t need or want to be either.
When not searching for power cells and warp drives, Beyond Galaxyland has a plethora of things to see and do. How about a spot of photography where you can take pictures of all the new fauna to discover? Actually, in doing so gives you a benefit if you find yourself in combat with them, allowing you to see their HP and element type. And, many enemies that you face in combat can be captured and then used as summons to exploit enemy weaknesses. Let’s hope Nintendo don’t get wind of this game as well.
There are also races to be had, secret characters to find, and a lot of loot to discover. If you find yourself at a platforming section, let yourself fall down to platforms that maybe aren’t the correct way through. You’ll be richly rewarded.
But always be on the lookout for enemies too. Jumping into battle whilst exploring, attacking an enemy before they attack you, will see a large portion of their health wiped off before the battle even starts.
Even if you can’t always manage this however, combat isn’t too taxing in Beyond Galaxyland. The party has access to some pretty cool abilities that can be executed providing you have the requisite number of Ability Points available. Regular attacks increase this pool, whilst a miss will decrease it. But you can also end a turn earlier to store up additional points.
Also, when being attacked by an enemy’s regular attack, timing your defence activation at the right moment can significantly reduce the incoming damage. All this, along with the summons and the very generous XP rewards for winning a fight mean that things never get too dicey.
There are some fantastic areas and worlds to explore, but sometimes the pixel art style of Beyond Galaxyland doesn’t always give them the justice that these environments deserve. Main party character models are a bit below par, as are some of the more decorative elements of the environments too. Locations you can enter are clearly marked, as are the areas which you can move forwards or backwards into. But all the time when playing I had this constantly nagging feeling that almost everything could have been perhaps created, and designed, a little bit better. And it was a feeling that never disappeared throughout my time.
Looks aside though and Beyond Galaxyland is a triumph. It is a perfectly paced game with plenty to see and do, none of which feels bloated or elongated. The story itself isn’t breaking any new ground, but the way it is told, with a major shift halfway through, feels really fresh. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but isn’t afraid to be serious when it needs to be and so if you are a fan of ‘90s turn-based RPGs, Beyond Good & Evil’s photography mode or just a fan of games in general, there is a lot of fun to be had with Beyond Galaxyland.
Go to infinity and Beyond Galaxyland! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/go-to-infinity-and-beyond-galaxyland/
Buy Beyond Galaxyland – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/beyond-galaxyland/9p41gc4t6bjg
