Beyond Galaxyland Review (Switch)

 

The Switch is packed with RPG’s so it was always going to take something different to standout from the crowd. Most of Square Enix’s back catalogue is here so we are a little surprised to see a fairly low budget indie game step up and give the big boys a run for their money.

Beyond Galaxyland, is a game based on old sci-fi and B movies and has our hero Doug, taken off to the stars in order to save earth. The galaxy he finds himself in is inhabited by not only humans but normal earth animals which have now transformed into walking, talking versions of themselves and an array of other alien life. It’s ok though, as Doug has his newly transformed giant hamster companion to help him through.

Presentation wise, the game is a side scrolling 2.5D affair. You can move in and out of the screen at various points as well to add depth to some of the locations. There are occasional puzzles and sections which require some object placement or basic platforming but it’s mainly about finding your way through the environments.

When you encounter enemies the game switches to a turn-based system not dissimilar to many other games of this genre. You have your basic attack option as well as being able to use special skills, items or summon any of the many creatures you can capture along the way. Combat has a small contextual and timed element to them on attack and defence to keep things a touch more interactive than fully traditional RPG games as well.

The capture mechanic adds a very light pokemon style element where you need to photograph the enemy, then try and entrap them in combat. Once this is done, they bring a special move to the party. Summons can also be levelled up and improved as the game goes on. There are a few other systems in play as well, with a crafting mechanic available for those looking to grind the best equipment.

The game also has an excellent quest and map system. Everything is organised clearly and it’s easy to work out what you are meant to be doing. If you get really stuck, you can have guidance to your next waypoint as well. Occasionally you’ll have some issues working out what level something is on but it isn’t often enough to frustrate for long.

What will likely divide players though is the graphical style used. There’s a heavy, old school, style pixel approach here that can make it hard to identify fine details at times. It’s also just a bit too dark at times, especially in some of the dungeons. Certain areas do look suitably impressive though when the visual clutter clears.

Above everything else though the main thing about Beyond Galaxyland is that it’s incredibly engaging. The characters and dialogue are well written and often humorous, so in your interludes between adventuring you are still keen to push forward and return to continue your adventure after setting the game down.

Overall, Beyond Galaxyland is another indie gem that deserves far more widespread recognition. It may be a touch rough around the edges but there’s so much here that works perfectly it would be remiss of any RPG fan not to give this a go. Those that do will find a fun and rewarding game that gives you hours of planets to explore.

Overall 8/10

The Thing: Remastered Review (Switch)

Of all the remasters of old games we were expecting, The Thing would have been one of our least predicted. Upon release on the PS2 and Xbox it garnered a warm reception from both press and gamers alike with it capturing the tone ands tyle of the John Carpenter’s movie well though so it’s not an unpleasant revisit.

The basic premise is that the game acts as a sequel to the 1982 movie with teams sent in to investigate what has happened at a remote outpost in the Arctic. You lead a team of four people, each of which has different talents such as medic or engineer and move through the facility carrying out various missions. The big gimmick for the time is that you don’t just have to worry about health but also the temperature of the environment and the sanity of your team.

Whenever you are caught outside a temperature gauge will drop. If it reaches zero, then you start to take damage from the extreme cold. On top of this when your teammates encounter weird phenomena they start to react in different ways. Sometimes they will begin to freak out and you’ll need to calm them down. The further in you get the more suspicious they will become when they see strange things and might start accusing other teammates of being infected. It adds a layer of tension to what is already a tight survival horror experience and it’s something different from most other games in the genre.

The Thing was never the best-looking game to begin with so it’s fair to say you are going to have to either forgive or get used to the look of it now. The textures have been cleaned up a bit but the game is pretty barren in terms of colour palette and much of the time you are in a snowstorm, the dark or a fairly generic looking polar base. It doesn’t really matter though as it matches the look of its source material and adds to the creepiness of the whole thing.

While fun and trying new things, the game always had a fair few flaws. The controls are somewhat awkward at best and when this is combined with the tight spaces it can make combat more frustrating than it needs to be. This is of course a trope of survival horror, but it doesn’t quite work as intended. Also, your squad AI is generally rubbish. A lot of the time you’ll just end up leaving them somewhere and trying to move forward on your own. It’s a nice idea which adds the suspicion element but if they were just a touch less annoying it would be much welcomed. The first time one of them mutates into a horrific monster you’ll still likely jump though.

There are other quality of life issues we would have loved to have seen added as well. A map or radar of some kind would have been most welcome. Even in mission one we had issues working out where we needed to go near the end to plant C4 charges. This isn’t helped buy the dim lighting and we must have spent over an hour looking for one of the bomb plant points as it was barely visible. The game also descends into to a bit of a meat grinder blastathon by the end as well, changing too much from the creeping dread of the early levels.

Overall, The Thing is an interesting game that works well enough to still be fun for survival horror fans. It does get a bit repetitive but remains one of the most original takes on the genre. It does the 1982 movie a good service as well so fans of that will find much to enjoy here. We would like to see a few more quality of life adjustments in future releases though. There’s nothing wrong with map after all.

Overall 7/10