Take me to the moon and allow me to collide with the walls.
Lunar Lander Beyond
Platform: PC, also on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox
Developer: Dreams Uncorporated
Publisher: Atari
Release date: April 23rd, 2024
Price: $29.99
Digital availability: Steam
Few game concepts are as old as controlling a teetering spacecraft’s descent. The challenge originated with the 1969 moon landing, though Atari would popularize it with 1979’s Lunar Lander. However, the Atari arcade version was the first to make the task’s visual depiction playable by a large audience. Later, a generation of gamers would try to gently land a spacecraft that was as delicate as an eggshell while fighting gravity and a limited fuel supply.
Atari commissioned a remake of their iconic arcade game as part of their ongoing attempts to explore old properties. It is clear from Lunar Lander Beyond that bringing a 45-year-old back to life cannot be a simple task. Rather than reaching out to regular collaborator Adam Nickerson, the publisher chose to reach out to Dreams Uncorporated, the people behind Cris Tales. The Colombian company certainly has a lot of big ideas. But fundamentally, you’re still controlling a sluggish spaceship with caution, which may dull gamers who were born long after the first humans set foot on the moon.
A Reaction Almost as Gentle as a Lunar Landing
The plot of Beyond puts you in charge of a brand-new captain employed by Pegasus Aerospace. They are an extraterrestrial hybrid of Fed-Ex and Interpol, doing both freight and people rescue. Though dystopian science fiction is a common theme in modern literature, Lunar Lander Beyond’s late capitalization isn’t just another depressing rehash. In this game, you can choose to offer your pilots a four-day reprieve to allow their heads to heal, or you can choose to use shock therapy as a temporary solution.
The pilots are working-class people trying to make ends meet, not wealthy playboys looking for extraterrestrial pleasures like in some of the best science fiction movies of the 1970s. You can thus stress this, despite the fact that their personas are quite flat. If you play on the more difficult setting of the game, you will experience permadeath and be informed that Pegasus will not be providing advantages to the surviving pilot of a crashed aircraft.
Sadly, Lunar Lander does not adhere to the censure of prioritizing profits over people. The title soon turns toward the kind of destructive force found in generic blockbusters. Nevertheless, the plot of Beyond is far better than anyone could have anticipated from a modern take on a 1970s arcade game, and it’s emphasized by your AI companion’s caustic humor. They frequently appear shocked that you survived an assignment.
“Hi, Major Tom. Are you getting this message?”
Naturally, the two-dimensional landing sequences are the main draw of the Lunar Lander. The only ship you’ll have at first is called the Beetle, and it functions exactly like the spacecraft in the previous coin-op. It feels like you’re always up against the forces of momentum, yet you can fire a thruster by rotating your module and burning fuel. You’ll need to keep total control over your module through a series of increasingly difficult stages since hitting objects can destroy your craft and drive its pilot into a state of mental instability. These destructive mental states produce more challenges at every turn, which could make you feel more uneasy in real life.
Thankfully, you can equip your lunar module with a maximum of three different assisting devices. One of the first ones you’ll purchase is a stabilizer, which instantly stops your boat from moving but uses a lot of gasoline in the process. Eleven more tools, from shielding—a vital weapon against defensive turrets—to a tractor beam—a useful tool for item acquisition—will be unlocked for you later on.
However, Lunar Lander Beyond’s piloting can still be challenging despite these helpful tools. In the majority of contemporary games, spaceships respond to your input with lightning speed. However, Beyond makes you plan ahead many seconds, which can be challenging when you’re navigating confined settings and hostile people. Thankfully, the ships you acquire will drastically alter how you fly throughout the game. However, some players will find it laborious to even reach that possibility. Similar to the first game, Lunar Lander aims to make us gasp at space travel and be amazed by a textbook touchdown.
Developing a Case of Space Insanity
After thirty or so stages, docking your spaceships over and over may have easily resulted in boredom. Not only are there many ships with unique flying controls, but there are also various pilots with random characteristics. Some hotshots may have a faster top speed, but others may use gasoline more efficiently. Pilots level up and acquire new skills as they accomplish missions successfully. And losing a seasoned veteran can be suitably devastating, much like in XCOM.
However, the fact that permadeath is optional is definitely a good thing, considering the sporadic spikes in difficulty. A sense of diversity is derived by fighting varied gravity intensities and accomplishing diverse mission objectives. However, occasionally a problem arises that looks best suited for a specific pilot/ship combination. Because you choose before knowing the details of a stage, you may need to retry some levels multiple times. I got so upset at one point that I thought about giving up on the campaign and starting over on the least difficulty level.
In summary
Lunar Lander Beyond is a little rocky, much like most of my craft touchdowns. Dreams Uncorporated is not solely to blame. Softening the experience would not have honored the original Lunar Lander game from Atari. It was an aggressively difficult game. If Beyond had taken after Gravity Crash Ultra (2014), which is a more approachable, arcade-style game, I would have liked it more.
Having said that, the developers aren’t perfect. The plot becomes obvious after a tonal shift, despite the intriguing premise at first. Additionally, there are a few difficulties at launch that should irritate players. Beyond serves as a reminder that while inventiveness may help you take off, safety comes from accuracy. Pilot, get ready for a shaky landing.
The review code for Lunar Lander Beyond was obtained from the publisher and used on a PC.
Review Overview
Gameplay – 65%
Controls – 65%
Aesthetics – 70%
Content – 75%
Accessibility – 65%
Value – 70%
68%
OK
Summary :Lunar Lander Beyond features elements that consider specifics like pilot fatigue and skill, taking the Atari IP to remarkable new heights. However, the 45-year-old arcade game’s foundational use prevents this rebirth from reaching its full potential.