Beyond Contact – Review
In Beyond Contact, we tag along on a rescue operation gone wrong when an astronaut scientist gets stranded on a planet. As may be expected, complications arise as a result of Katern’s mysterious past. You get to choose your character at the start of the campaign, and they all have their own set of unique skills and things you can make. In the game’s story mode, players can explore the realm and uncover its history by completing tasks. Since survival games typically focus more on exploration and constructing bases, it’s difficult to keep track of the pacing of the story. Beautiful as the scenery is, each of the area’s biomes presents its own set of difficulties and opportunities.
The variety and uniqueness of the creatures’ designs are intriguing. Meanwhile, the scenery, which can range from stunning to desolate, gives players a good idea of what they can expect if they decide to explore further. Visually stunning and meticulously designed, the game’s setting compels players to venture ever further into it in search of alien life and technology. The sci-fi atmosphere is emphasised by an excellent soundtrack of electronic music. Sadly, this is where the acclaim for Beyond Contact ends, and the film’s many flaws begin to show. Although the atmosphere and visuals are impressive, the gameplay falls short.
Using a controller to navigate the UI is awkward and often fails altogether when specific menus are displayed. Using a mouse solves many of these difficulties, but it introduces others, such as the inefficiency of picking up items. The terrible and awkward combat remains unchanged, however. Even though it’s more difficult while using a controller, avoiding assaults that are too obvious to ignore comes down to a lot of dodging. Then, once a hit has been landed, the opening is punished and the process is repeated.
Because I felt like I was hitting the controls more often than the enemies, I switched to using the keyboard. The bright side is that battle is rarely required, offering players freedom of choice as they discover the world. Exploring this planet has some potential for fascination. The planet Ketern serves as the setting for the novel, although there are others in the works as well. Many of the game’s biomes will be affected by this. They vary from deserts and grassy plains to icy arctic landscapes and radioactive wasteland. The former are far riskier than the latter. The suit will not hesitate to sound an alarm if it detects that you are in a potentially fatal area. Which gets annoying as you explore areas where the deadly gas is dispersed across the field rather than concentrated in one spot.
A large number of places are likewise too dangerous to just walk through. Which include, but are not limited to, the aforementioned, as well as corrosive acid and poisonous spores. To put it plainly, there are numerous methods for players to perish in this universe. However, death isn’t viewed as a major setback in Beyond Contact. If you die while playing on the game’s usual difficulty setting, you will not lose any of your possessions. which is a staple in a lot of other survival games with an open world.
When a player dies, they respawn at one of the magical pillars that are also used as fast travel hubs. These pillars serve an important function, and, later in the game, players gain the power to programme their own teleportation hotspots. The research system in Beyond Contact is important to gaining access to the game’s essential tools for survival, exploration, and progression, and this is directly related to it. Players need to gather specific resources in order to accumulate data points for their study. It’s quite simplistic and arduous to play on your own. When playing a cooperative game, players can decide how to divide up their time, making the expansion much more manageable. In addition, investing work into establishing a solid foundation helps ensure an ongoing supply of resources.
When playing alone, players must constantly strike a balance between surviving and making progress in their research if they want to beat the game. They have to find a way to get oxygen while they’re out looking for food. These athletes don’t have a lot of free time. It doesn’t help that night is perilous due to the chance of freezing, necessitating certain equipment or armour. There are numerous dangers to keep players on their toes, but they become a hindrance when trying to advance in the game. Despite its visual appeal, Beyond Contact’s gameplay loop, controls, and overall balance hold it behind. Compared to its competitors, who are content with the same dark and drab settings, it offers a good look and an exciting universe to explore.
However, it’s all style and no substance, thanks to a terrible user interface that doesn’t handle well in any way. It’s much more of a chore for lone players, but grouping up with others can make the experience more enjoyable. Beyond Contact, if you can stand the controls, already has a decent amount of material and more is on the way, so there’s plenty of time to sink your teeth into it. Console players should stay far away from this title because of its pervasive and unavoidable problems.
