Lunar Lander Beyond Review
Summary: Lunar Lander Beyond is a great example of to revive an old game with todays' standards.
3.8
Great Modernizing
Lunar Lander was one of the earliest games that I managed to get my hands on when I was a kid. The tricky control of the spaceship frustrated me a lot, but, eventually, I got the hang of it and it was the game that I would beat on a regular basis. Now, as an adult, a flash of memories came back to the moment I had my first crash in Lunar Lander Beyond. This game is what a modernized Lunar Lander would and should look like.
Firstly, the story section of the game took me by surprise. I was not expecting any kind of story or lore to the world of Lunar Lander. As much as that was a plus point, it is obvious there wasn’t much effort put into creating unique characters with good character-building. Still, I do praise the team of writers for their effort in creating a good enough story and also the voice actors who did an amazing job.
The gameplay of Lunar Lander Beyond was everything I imagined it would be. The new management system of energy and health is very well designed, and really liked the psychological trauma that was added to the game as well. The best thing about these elements of gameplay was how they were balanced.
Depending on what your strength is and what type of mission you play, you have to choose different spacecraft and pilots. Mixing these two aspects with the whole management mechanisms has given the game a decent and complex gameplay that is easy to understand. There are different factors to keep your eyes on during and before the mission, but it is so easy to understand and make a strategy for it.
This has made Lunar Lander Beyond a game of logic and skills. You need to learn how to navigate each spacecraft for different missions and also know which interstellar vehicle to choose depending on the task and map of your mission. This leaves room for trial and error as well to test different combos to get better scores in each mission.
The only thing that bugged me about the gameplay of Lunar Lander Beyond was the lack of surprises. As I was playing and progressing, the game moved in the correct direction of progression. Yet, the predictability of it made the lack of unique and surprising gameplay elements bolder. I wished there was something that could make me say “Wow, that’s such a cool and interesting idea.”
The art style of Lunar Lander Beyond has a unique taste to it. It is nostalgic in many ways if you have played the first game. Yet, it is modern and elegant at the same time. The artists of the game have done a great job of not making the kind of art that would be too alienated from the original game.
One of the things that has evolved from the first Lunar game is music in video games. A fine tone or a couple of dramatic soundtracks has become one of the main pillars of modern games. The lack of it in Lunar Lander Beyond can sense more than I wished.
Final Thought
Lunar Lander Beyond is a good example of how to modernize a classic game. Many great things can be found in the gameplay mechanisms of the game, especially the simplicity of its complexity. Wished there were at least some mechanisms that would surprise me.
About the Author
S. Masoud Kazemi An admirer of art that doesn't stop talking about films and games.
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