14 DAY TRIAL // 
The meteors are coming in thick and fast, and the wild momentum of my lander makes it very easy to mess up my interception trajectory and miss them. The emergency barrier erected by the survivors on the surface is still holding. But the impact rate is high, and they will probably be exposed to the void before the evacuation if I don’t step up my piloting.
So I boost right into the path of an incoming meteor, which obliterates it but also does a number on my limited hull integrity and on the psyche of my pilot. He’ll probably need days of therapy if we make it out alive and accomplish our mission. A good turn and another strong boost and I get a health boost and some extra fuel.
The problem is I gained too much speed, and my lander has now left the screen, which activates a self-destruct countdown. I stabilize and try to get back, while cosmic stones are still pummeling the surface. I make it back in the nick of time and even pick up a special shield along the way, which gets me ten seconds to smash into as many meteors as possible with no consequences. But once that’s gone, I miss two big ones, so it’s time to restart the defense mission and, hopefully, perform better.
Lunar Lander: Beyond is developed by Dreams Uncorporated and published by Atari. I played it on the PC using Steam. It is also on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The title
This might be a modern re-imagining of a classic title but don’t expect it to deliver a deep backstory that will make players invest in characters. Gamers become the newest captain working for a corporation called Pegasus, in charge of managing pilots while making sure they complete missions successfully. A small cast of characters explains game concepts and introduces missions. There are some good jokes thrown in.
Lunar Lander: Beyond is all about flying in 2D, dealing with varied challenges. Players get a briefing and then choose the pilot they want to use, based on skills and psychological state, and the lander, if more than one is unlocked. It is then time to control the lander as it moves through the level, dealing with objectives, and collecting money and power-ups (always get the fuel). For the grand finale, players have to safely land on the designated pad.
This might sound simple. It’s not and the game aims to make sure players perform as close to perfect as possible if they want to actually complete a level. It takes time and experience derived from failure to master the controls. Inertia kills, especially while figuring out how to navigate tight spaces. Stabilizing the ship will help but, unless you have a specific pilot trait, will burn through fuel.
Under pressure, it is easy to forget where in the level you can look for a refueling option. Picking up speed is risky because even a small contact with buildings, objects, or the environment will take a big chunk out of the hull. Sure, a shield upgrade arrives but just watch how quickly the fuel level drops when it is activated.
The challenge level is heightened when players have to deal with a time trial and other unique scenarios. New ships control differently from the starting Bettle, adding a new layer of complexity. This version of Lunar Lander modernizes the mechanics and gives players more options. It’s both a nostalgia play and a game that can be enjoyed on its own. Careful maneuvering and restraint when it comes to acceleration remain crucial if players want to successfully navigate levels and minimize stress levels.
The pilot can be more fragile than the ship. Stress accumulates as players make mistakes and persists between missions. To get rid of it, gamers need to commit to benching their pilots for a few missions so that they can get counseling. The company, in its wisdom, provides, for those willing to pay, more aggressive forms of treatment. Should players ignore mental health, pilots will hallucinate on the job, making it even harder to get through levels in one piece.
I paid for treatment when needed because I couldn’t afford to keep my best pilot sidelined for long and wanted her to become even better by completing more missions. But the system enhances Beyond’s difficulty level and an option to disable it would have been welcomed.
I can understand that Dreams Uncorporated intends the game to be challenging. But given that two ships, the Hoverfly and Mantis, actually make the game somewhat easier, maybe one should have been featured from the start as an alternative to the Bettle. Such a decision would make the game more accessible.
Lunar Lander: Beyond wisely adopts a retro presentation that suggests its origins but does not emphasize them. Humans are stick figures and the landscape isn’t very detailed. The lander designs are decent but unspectacular and players will spend much of their time focused on the radar in the top right.
The menus are slick and easy to use and the story moments use an anime style that works with the theme. Narrative moments are voice-acted. The music is throwback 80s rock and electronica, designed to push nostalgia buttons for gamers of a certain age. The rest of the title’s sound design isn’t as cool but contributes to the immersion level.
The Good
- Hard-to-master flight mechanics
- Pilot mental health
- Colorful presentation
The Bad
- Difficulty spikes
- Narrative tries too hard to be ironic
- Limited level graphics
Conclusion
The core challenge of exerting control over the lander is well-implemented. Some of its purity is undermined by the unlockable upgrades and some of the level design. Lunar Lander: Beyond offers an interesting modern take on a classic but its audience might be limited by the focus on difficulty.
Review key provided by the publisher.
