Beyond Galaxyland

Beyond Galaxyland was provided by United Label for review. Thank you!

Beyond Galaxyland has been described as a cinematic space RPG, compared to the likes of the Final Fantasy games of old. While it may not compare to a Final Fantasy game in its length and epic scale, Beyond Galaxyland is definitely a story through space that's worth experiencing.

After encountering a mysterious infection destroying Earth known as "The End " and being saved by a mysterious race of aliens, our protagonist, Doug, and his now-sentient Guinea Pig, Boom Boom, are off on a space adventure together to discover just what happened to their beloved home planet and who, if anyone, was responsible.

Beyond Galaxyland takes place on various planets, each roughly representing its own biome, with deserts, lush forests, snow-capped mountains, and mysterious alien vessels all appearing here. The game keeps things pretty fresh, and if you focus on the story and ignore side quests, you'll probably be traveling between biomes every couple of hours or so, bringing a whole new set of enemies, so the variety is there.

Combat takes place in the form of turn-based battles. Similar to older JRPGs. A turn timer dictates when characters take their turns, with each participant in the battle acting independently (so the turn order may be friend > foe > friend > friend > foe, etc.). You'll have access to your basic attack granted by your weapon but also special abilities to give or remove status effects or deal massive damage. In a somewhat unique move, the game also adds "Summons," previously captured enemies that you can call back to fire off a special ability during battle.

There's also a timed element to the battles, requiring you to time button presses when an enemy attacks you in order to defend. You will also need to press a button to swing your sword or fire your gun when attacking. This makes the combat feel much more involved than it otherwise might if you're just giving orders and leaving your characters to it.

You'll face various foes in your travels, from robots to sandworms, cows to mystical elementals. This again helps the game to feel fresh and requires players to change up their equipment, swapping out trinkets that protect them from poison to ones that help defend against electrical attacks, for example.

You'll also occasionally be confronted with a puzzle. These usually take the form of platforming or figuring out what "generators" to power to put the correct platforms in place to proceed. They're usually fairly simple, and the more difficult ones I encountered eventually gave me a prompt to skip them, which is appreciated.

The highlight of the game is the storyline. The creator wanted to make a space epic, as it were, and I think they've done a pretty good job of it. You'll meet an intriguing cast of characters as you progress through the game, and even several hours after meeting them, you'll still be wondering about their motives and just whose side everyone is on.

The build-up to the big mystery of what happened to Earth and what caused all of these catastrophes to happen to these planets is quite thrilling. The game does a good job of not giving anything away too early while simultaneously not being frustrating with its coyness. There are twists and turns to be experienced, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

The flow of the game is good, and while I think a couple of planets outstay their welcome in the game's design, I rarely found myself getting tired of what I was doing. The main example is that the game has a galaxy map allowing you to travel between planets. But if you follow the storyline, there'll be a point where you play for several hours either on one planet or traveling between planets without interacting with the galaxy map, which is a shame, as it's a nice feature to have in the game, but perhaps slightly overlooked in the game's design.

In terms of the game's visuals, Beyond Galaxyland has a pixel art style mixed with modern visual niceties. The pixel art is nicely done, and the addition of modern techniques such as dynamic shadows, depth of field, and reflections add to the game. The blend of these styles matches beautifully. When walking through the desert, expect the sand to glint in the sun, and in the urban cities, you can see a bloom effect reflecting off the neon lights. It ends up creating a nice-looking game, plus it's easy to meet the system requirements, too, which we'll get to in a bit.

One point I wasn't too keen on in the visual department is that some of the areas in the game can get pretty dark. While it's atmospheric, it can become genuinely difficult to see where you're going at times.

The sound design is also up there, with catchy beats playing in the background but not overwhelming the senses. Sound effects feel more on the traditional side of what you'd expect from the JRPGs that inspired Beyond Galaxyland.

Beyond Galaxyland is a good time. A well-paced storyline is key to an adventure through space like this, and I think it pulls it off really well. The combat is engaging while challenging, and the visuals and sounds all come together to make this game a complete package. While not on the scale of a Final Fantasy game, I think the enjoyment could be on par with one.

Beyond Galaxyland - Steam Deck Performance

Beyond Galaxyland is a great experience on the Steam Deck. ... Oh? Did you want more information? Ok, I guess I can do that.

As far as controls go, there's nothing to complain about here. You should play the game with a controller or gamepad, which works perfectly with the Steam Deck's controller. The game also supports the 1280x800 native resolution of the Steam Deck's display, so you won't have to contend with black bars here.

Beyond Galaxyland also performs well, so I can offer two presets for it: one focusing on quality and another on getting the most out of your battery.

Recommended Settings - 60 FPS

If you want the best visual experience from the game, then you're in luck because the Steam Deck can offer that. You can enable all the graphical settings in the options menu and set your SteamOS settings to 60 FPS / 60 Hz, with a TDP Limit of 11W.

Using these settings, the game looks great. I'm usually not a fan of Depth of Field or Motion Blur, but they add a nice, hazy look to the game, which really adds to the ambient feeling of the game. So, even if you're usually put off by such options, try them out and see what you think. The game holds a pretty consistent 60 FPS, too.

The power draw is around 14-18W, depending on the scene, so it isn't a terrible drain on the battery even with all these settings and a 60 FPS experience. Expect around 2.5 hours of battery life from a Steam Deck LCD, and you might squeeze 3 hours from a Steam Deck OLED.

Temperatures hover around 70-75C, and the fan does ramp up occasionally.

Battery Life Settings - 30 FPS

If you want that extra battery life to stay on your space adventure for as long as possible, I'd recommend lowering the SteamOS Frame Rate Limit to 30 FPS / 60Hz and that TDP Limit down to 5W. Then, in the in-game settings, you can turn on every setting except for Depth of Field and Motion Blur, as they're the two performance hitters.

You lose a couple of nice visual effects, and you're running at 30 FPS now, not 60, but the game still holds up pretty nicely, and given the turn-based nature of the game, 30 FPS isn't a deal breaker at all.

The power draw has dropped to 8-11W now, so even a Steam Deck LCD could manage 4 hours, with Steam Deck OLED owners potentially seeing 5 hours of playing time from a full charge.

Temperatures are cooler on these settings, mostly holding around the 60C mark.

Accessibility:

There are no voiced lines in Beyond Galaxyland, so all dialogue is subtitled. There is also an option to make the racing minigames easier, although you don't play them often. Besides that, there are no accessibility options.

Conclusion:

Beyond Galaxyland is an adventure worth embarking on. The game has an intriguing, well-paced storyline with enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Characters are shrouded in mystery, even ones that you thought you knew could surprise you. This, backed up by solid gameplay, visuals, and sound, combine to make one of the better RPGs I've played in recent memory.

To top it all off, Beyond Galaxyland plays great on the Steam Deck, with great controller support, 16:10 aspect ratio support, and good performance. This allows us to choose between visual niceties and extra battery life. It's worth noting, however, that the game doesn't appear to support Cloud Saving right now, so switching between playing on a PC and your Steam Deck might be an issue.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.