Beyond Galaxyland – PS5 Review

I do love being impressed. In this job, almost everything is new to me but I never get tired of seeing new ideas work brilliantly. Coming from a single developer, Sam Enright has managed to pull together a visually impressive and cohesive universe whilst also providing a smart role-playing experience. It’s not perfect but there’s enough cleverness on offer to make Beyond Galaxyland a game worth writing about.

The story follows Doug, a boy who is suddenly cast into an intergalactic adventure after a mysterious stranger asks him for help. It abruptly kicks into gear after a very brief introduction involving our hero, his guinea pig and his friend. Doug is quickly taken from Earth after a cataclysm called The End strikes the planet. His immediate concern is of home but a return simply isn’t easy to arrange.

From the fish-out-of-water template, Doug seems to adapt relatively well. The story is paced swiftly so there isn’t much time to mull on disaster. New crew members arrive fast and Doug has a fairly canny ability to get on with most of the people he finds. It’s played very light and, as a result, there’s rarely a sense of peril. Urgency is plentiful with the game preferring a swift pace. The writing is fine, mostly playing up the absurd alien locales and citizens. It doesn’t always land for me but it results in something inoffensive.

Beyond Galaxyland has a striking visual style. Despite the side-scrolling perspective, everything looks to have been modelled in 3D, allowing for some great lighting. It’s surprisingly cohesive, despite the pixelated characters appearing, at times, at odds with the effects going on around them. It really helps sell the sci-fi backdrops. Part of that is also due with just how well-directed some scenes can be. The player has a little agency in tampering with the camera, although that seems mostly rigid. I haven’t felt the need to tilt things much as some shots are just well framed.

The longer it goes on, the novelty does start to wear thin but, to the game’s credit, they change up the palette to keep things interesting. There’s a great sense of scale with our characters very much held at ground level. The areas might not be the most interactive, but there’s the impression of a galaxy worth exploring. The one thing it maybe misses is the chance to bring the camera in closer. I don’t get a lot of emotion out of it when the cast are rigidly retained at the bottom of the screen.

The soundtrack compliments it well. It focuses more on piano and electronic tunes that don’t quite scratch that sci-fi itch. The score implies a more playful tone which fits fine for the adventure they’re trying to portray. Battle sounds have a good punch to them and the presentation does great to let you know what phases are coming up. Counters and timed blocks come with a flourish that lets you know you’ve nailed something.

The gameplay tends to mix things up frequently. At it’s heart, Beyond Galaxyland is a traditional, turn-based role playing game. It’s a familiar structure but there are some borrowed aspects that work in the game’s favour. The party is primarily only capable of melee strikes but you can acquire magic by capturing in-game critters. Rather than finish them off in battle, catching them allows you to call upon their abilities in a fight.

There’s chances for pre-emptive strikes and, despite being turn-based, there’s active elements that keep the fights engaging. Defending requires a timed button press to negate part of the damage. Should you become strong enough, a pre-emptive strike can be enough to win the fight outright. I don’t think you get experience for those situations but it does make revisiting old areas a lot easier. Photography also allows you to gain intel on enemies before you engage them.

There’s over leniencies like dead party members being revived after an encounter and you do recover a little bit of health. Loot seems plentiful and I never felt short of gold. Gear does seem like something that’s rarely bought. I tended to find all of mine from crates or as rewards for beating enemies. Items can also be stolen from foes. In-keeping with the game’s friendlier approach, steals are 100% successful and every enemy has one item to steal.

Your available party members is a small group. Typically you’re fighting in a duo but occasionally a third will join. They each have their own unique abilities but there’s not a lot of cross-skilling between the crew. If you need someone with a specific ability to finish a fight, you best keep them alive. I think ranged options are slim. Boom Boom is the only one with a firearm so I typically attempted to add some options with summons.

That said, I didn’t find the battles, at least within the main quest, to be a problem. I found plenty of consumables out in the world and plenty of them could be crafted. There’s not a real need to grind which really helps keep the pacing nice and focused. Areas are usually tight and side quests don’t tend to pull you that far from the main path. I’ll admit, it’s refreshing to have a role playing game that is very low fat.

I could perhaps see that as a detriment for some players. It’s a mostly driven, linear effort in a genre that tends to enjoy procrastination. For me, I enjoy the forward momentum, even if the story doesn’t quite deliver. What intrigues me is the lovely mix of mechanics that make battles enjoyable, if a little easy. The visuals remain fantastic but I’m glad Beyond Galaxland has more to offer than a striking look.