Way early in 1979, the original Lunar Lander came out at the arcades. It wasn’t particularly the most fleshed-out game—far from it. The concept, though, back when our excursions in space were kicking off, was revolutionary enough to inspire more extraordinary games like Asteroids. Perhaps for that reason, Atari saw it fit to reimagine the traditional game for a modern audience. They recruited developer Dreams Uncorporated for the venture, and the rest is, as they say, history. So, just how worthwhile is Lunar Lander: Beyond? Let’s find out in our Lunar Lander: Beyond review.
Beefier Now
The original Lunar Lander was barebones—too barebones to feature a story worth mentioning. Yet, Lunar Lander: Beyond rectifies that issue, much to your satisfaction, engaging you and giving you purpose. It’s the most significant change the new game brings to the table, with the original gameplay remaining mostly intact. In any case, the story goes that you’re a part of the Pegasus Corporation, the captain, if you will. It’s a courier service delivering packaged goods across futuristic space. However, a mysterious portal wreaks havoc among the stars, brewing black holes in the fabric of space and making your courier services a little bit more complicated.
If you can remember, 1979’s Lunar Lander majorly focused on carefully landing your spacecraft on unstable, shaky, alien ground. Lunar Lander: Beyond, however, takes it up a notch, requiring that you commandeer your spacecraft through obstacle courses, avoid enemy fire, and deliver your packages safely to your destination planet. Moreover, you engage in a ton more mission objectives, including but not limited to delivering help to ravaged planets, rescuing any survivors, and avoiding volcanic eruptions, among many more. Indeed, Lunar Lander: Beyond paints a more fully fleshed-out world and game, throwing a fresh coat of paint on the barebones visuals of the original. It’s breathtaking at several junctures and bursts with vibrant color palettes, even amid its sci-fi leanings.
Heavy on the Plot
You have to applaud Atari and Dream Uncorporated’s efforts to infuse an in-depth story in the original Lunar Lander. You now have a reason for the bouts of sweat and stress the intense difficulty of the gameplay brings. Even as you struggle to keep your spacecraft and crew in shape, you’re constantly treated to story beats via cutscenes that inform you why you do what you do. It also helps that characters now have impressive voice acting, which is always highly welcome in story-focused games. That, along with genuinely engaging storylines complete with clever dialogue and ingenious character development.
That said, some may find the story a bit heavier than necessary, especially in comparison to the gameplay. You essentially get cutscenes in between missions, and the very stillness and, sometimes, animated passive delivery of it can start to feel frustrating. No one wants to always sit in the co*ckpit, taking in story beat after story beat—certainly not when you can, instead, shoot some bad guys and lay waste to entire planets. On the action front, Lunar Lander: Beyond can definitely use more combat sequences or a ranked competitive mode. For now, besides digesting its story, you’ll be steering your spacecraft, traversing five hostile planets, and completing the objectives each mission has. And, well, padded-like dialogue, loading screens, and menus you have to contend with.
Fly to the Moon
In the original, the gameplay centered entirely on carefully landing your spacecraft. Now, though, you have lots of tools and controls with which to tinker. As the law of gravity dictates, in the depths of space, you’ll constantly be forced to precisely and timely maneuver your spacecraft through obstacles and hostile terrain. You’ll be dodging meteoroids and using speed boosts to avoid rising volcanoes. Thanks to your spacecraft’s thrusters, you can effectively defy gravity, although it is often challenging to master. Effective landing, too, matters, but less so compared to using your thrusters to steer your ship along safe courses.
Atari and Dreams Uncorporated have also put commendable effort into crafting deep gameplay systems. For instance, you not only get one spacecraft but four by credits roll. Each spacecraft differs in technique and style. Some are more bulky than others. Some consume more fuel. The handling varies, and based on the different planets you’ll navigate, you’ll have to master commanding all ships to succeed. Alongside different ships are different pilots, each with varying personality and technique. Like the ships, you have no choice but to level up all the pilots at your disposal since they’ll all come in handy at certain points of the game.
Losing It
See, Atari and Dreams Uncorporated don’t just stop at variety. They also add a neat insanity meter system that pushes you to manage your crew. Sure, whenever you collide and crash into obstacles, your ship will take up some damage. However, the crashes will have the most impact on your pilot, who will continually sustain stress on their mental health. Eventually, they’ll start to lose it, to the point of having psychedelic hallucinations and being deemed unfit to fly. Oh, and the effects on your pilots’ mental health carry forward to the next mission. So, it’s best to tend to them before they run amok.
At this point, you will have collected credits along your travels, somewhat via breadcrumb trails to keep you on track. You can spend your hard-earned credits to shock pilots back to sanity. Alternatively, you’ll want to schedule time off for your pilots to rest and regain composure, forcing you to constantly switch between characters. This adds so much depth because, in addition to different pilots, you also learn to maximize their strengths and weaknesses. Some pilots consume less fuel, for example. Some earn credits quickly.
Hold Steady
Perhaps the only con Lunar Lander: Beyond has is its high difficulty. Even in the original, carefully landing your ship on unstable ground wasn’t a piece of cake. And now, with the added layers to gameplay, it can prove a ton more difficult to beat. The more ships and pilots you rotate, the more difficult the game gets. At certain points, you grapple with permadeath for your pilots, which transforms it into a rogue-like, must-die run-through. Well, that, along with the strictness of solely flying, which some gamers may dislike, especially when you’re looking for a more combat-intensive game.
Fret not, though. Lunar Lander: Beyond almost never gets boring. It has all the ingredients for a worthy reimagining of a classic arcade. Variety in the missions, ships, and characters is top-notch. Meanwhile, the story is captivating enough to stick with it till the end. I have to say that if you’re looking for a brand new concept, Lunar Lander: Beyond isn’t it. Sure, it's much beefier than the original arcade game. However, much of its gameplay is either based on the original or draws inspiration from other games, particularly Gravitar. Performance-wise, Lunar Lander: Beyond runs smoothly. It maintains a consistent frame rate, which is prime for the high level of precision and timing the game demands. While the controls can take a bit of time to get used to, particularly feeling slow and cumbersome in the beginning, they quickly latch on and transition into a fun retro romp.
Verdict
In their efforts to revive a lost-but-not-forgotten era in gaming, Atari continues to reimagine classic arcade games you may remember. Their latest, Lunar Lander: Beyond, is a more than solid attempt to capture the Gen Z age. Sure, the core gameplay remains intact. However, Lunar Lander: Beyond adds plenty of new mechanics, storylines, and overall gameplay to warrant checking out. It adds a fleshed-out story, complete with captivating voice acting and clever dialogue. You genuinely follow along as the mission unwinds and pleasantly embark on the mission to fulfill your objectives.
Speaking of objectives, they vary enough to keep the gameplay fresh and engaging. Unlike the original, you're often grappling with many scenarios, including rescuing survivors, delivering a key item, and navigating collision courses. You’re also not only carefully landing your ship on shaky ground but also learning to steer across hurdles and using thrusters to defy gravity. In truth, the control can take a bit of time to master. You require absolute precision and timing. However, the visuals and framerate are almost always stellar. You’re often admiring the planetary wonders the game presents in a top-notch sci-fi palette.
Bottom line, Lunar Lander: Beyond turns out to be a blast of an experience, perhaps even more than you imagined it to be. It’s incredibly fun to jump through black hole hoops and juggle a mini-management system. You have several ship upgrades and can max out your pilots’ skill levels. Furthermore, you constantly rotate between ships and pilots, carefully strategizing and assigning resources to the missions they’re most needed. The only con is that some gamers may want a more combat-intensive experience, while newcomers may find better space-flying options elsewhere. For nostalgic folks, though, and fans of Atari, Lunar Lander: Beyond delivers “beyond” expectations.
