Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

 PC
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1084 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 343 out of 1084
  2. Mixed: 374 out of 1084
  3. Negative: 367 out of 1084
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  1. Varyag
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    I was very much looking forward to this game, seeing as how Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games of all time. As more of Beyond Earth was revealed however, it seemed that the ideas featured in SMAC are no more than window dressing for another Civ V game. This is more significant than it seems at first glance. SMAC was, mechanically, Civ II. But the story, setting,I was very much looking forward to this game, seeing as how Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is one of my favorite games of all time. As more of Beyond Earth was revealed however, it seemed that the ideas featured in SMAC are no more than window dressing for another Civ V game. This is more significant than it seems at first glance. SMAC was, mechanically, Civ II. But the story, setting, semi-plausible technology, secret projects, quotes, factions and the overall cornucopia of ideas, went so far beyond any Civ game that Alpha Centauri ended up being unique.
    Beyond Earth is superficially the same thing, but look closer and the technologies are more akin to techno babble, the factions are merely the nations of Civ, without character or a recognizable ideology that drove the ones in SMAC, the resources border on epic fantasy (firaxite? floatstone? really?), the victory conditions specific to this game are all variations of Civ's "man in space". There is no back story, the quests are repetitive and fail to feel relevant (more on them later). There is no soul to this game, for the lack of a better term, nothing to set it apart - its Civ V in space in a SMAC costume that's falling apart at the seams and Chairman Yang is not amused.
    Failing to innovate while being bad at imitation is a sin but the real problem is the fundamental issues that Civ V has. The maps are small, curtailing expansion, the research is slow, you're not likely to have more than a few cities at any time unless you take more by conquest, the troops need constant shuffling around the tight maps, city management is trivial, social engineering is non existent (present only in constant buffs that you can buy with culture - there is no give and take) and that leaves a vacuum where the player simply has nothing to do from turn to turn. They tried to fill this void with quests that the game gives you but they're repetitive and there's little motivation to do them. At most they lead to a little blurb about some changes in your civilization and a small permanent bonus.
    Its shallow and plodding, and probably the worst overall game design in the Civ series. The addictive flow of a slow start but rapid expansion, of large scale warfare, of massive civilizations clashing for supremacy - there's none of it here. There was none of it in Civ V, but here things feel even more constrained, smaller scale and meaningless.
    This is the Civ equivalent of Diet Coke with Colonel Santiago on the label. Civ V fans will gobble it up, claiming its the next best thing since pre sliced bread... and for them, it might be. For me, its merely an above average 4x game that will fade from memory in a month or so with none of the genius one has come to expect from the Civ series.    … Expand
  2. Yesname
    Oct 25, 2014
    6
    Almost nothing new. Worse than any predecessor almost in every aspect. Factions and aliens have no personality. Awkward UI. Dumb, illogical AI. It is just a scam. A DLC, a reskinned Civilization 5. Not worth more than $10. I am very disappointed.
  3. Ahkhsteamuun
    Oct 24, 2014
    5
    I was never particularly excited for Beyond Earth, I set my expectations lower than I usually would for a Civ series. I watched a lot of lets plays before the game came out as well, so I knew what to expect. Even so, I'm still left disappointed. The game isn't awful by any means, but it's certainly not deserving of some of the high scores I've seen.

    The game is just... boring.    I was never particularly excited for Beyond Earth, I set my expectations lower than I usually would for a Civ series. I watched a lot of lets plays before the game came out as well, so I knew what to expect. Even so, I'm still left disappointed. The game isn't awful by any means, but it's certainly not deserving of some of the high scores I've seen.

    The game is just... boring. Progression feels extremely slow and doesn't have the same energy as advancing through the eras in Civ V. The tech web is okay, but it's still quite linear since you have to specialize. Affinities give a sense of progression, but it isn't as rewarding as going from warriors to mechanized infantry in traditional Civ. You start with slightly futuristic looking units and cities... And you end with slightly more futuristic looking units and cities. The new victory types are almost all passive, and this encourages the AI to be more passive, and this makes the game feel a lot less eventful than it should. The UI also needs work. It's unnecessarily time consuming to set up a queue, it's hard to pick out where the wonders are on the tech web, you can't lock tiles without disabling the AI governors, and frankly it just looks bland.

    But by far my biggest complaint is the AI. Others have said it here, but it's even worse than Civ V AI. Civ V's AI was pretty stupid, but it could at least settle cities somewhat decently with the BNW expansion. I've seen maybe a few AI cities in BE not 3 tiles away from another city. It's infuriating to look at the AI just spam useless cities all over the place and then ruining the landscape with generator spam. Aren't you glad generators always have the exact same model? It's as if they designed the AI to troll you. The military AI is just as bad as in Civ V, but I don't think many people were expecting an improvement there.

    Diplomacy feels a lot less interesting in BE, since the AI rarely seems to have anything useful to offer you. The favor system is somewhat interesting, but with diplomacy this weak it doesn't come into play often. Right now the whole game just has a lot of problems, including balance issues I didn't really go into. It adds a lot of interesting features like satellites, quests, and aliens, but these don't really make BE better than Civ V or even its equal.    … Expand
  4. Escherichia
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    Beyond Earth constantly forces you to continually pick between small numbers and fixed percentages, I did not like to be spammed by all these constant, meaningless decisions that do not seem to affect the gameplay at all. The factions are bland and soulless, and the tech quotes make me cringe.
    The only thing this game has that reminds me of Alpha Centauri is the inconsistency in its    Beyond Earth constantly forces you to continually pick between small numbers and fixed percentages, I did not like to be spammed by all these constant, meaningless decisions that do not seem to affect the gameplay at all. The factions are bland and soulless, and the tech quotes make me cringe.
    The only thing this game has that reminds me of Alpha Centauri is the inconsistency in its leader's motivations: In my first game, 3 different factions kept praising me for not engaging in combat with the aliens. Suddenly, 2 of them declared war to me for no reason. Not that it matters, the combat AI is as dumb as ever. Enemy units will just go back and forth, struggle with the terrain and camp on damaging miasma hexes, just to beg for peace a few turns later and start praising you all over again. Somehow, enemy factions are dumber than in the previous civ games.
    The new tech web is a nice addition, altough I dont think it will help newcomers find their way, and the affinity system is alright, but it does take ages to truly kick in.
    All in all, It still is a Sid Meier's game, a 6 is as low as it gets.    … Expand
  5. TUHD
    Oct 24, 2014
    5
    What. The. Hell.
    - Majorly imbalanced. Some of those victory conditions are idiotic (like, really. Play ARC and you'll be able to pretty fast snatch up all the cap cities without even having a wardec, making it an domination victory. While other victories take a long time).
    - Normal is way too easy - only thing the AI is good at is throwing out a lot of military and somehow never    What. The. Hell.
    - Majorly imbalanced. Some of those victory conditions are idiotic (like, really. Play ARC and you'll be able to pretty fast snatch up all the cap cities without even having a wardec, making it an domination victory. While other victories take a long time).
    - Normal is way too easy - only thing the AI is good at is throwing out a lot of military and somehow never suffering health problems. If you want a real challenge as even just an mediocre Civ/player, start at Hard or higher.
    - The techweb is interesting, but headache worthy when it comes to searching for what´s recommendable.
    - Try to understand the numbers vs %, and you´ll get an guaranteed headache. The overview is bad and not really intuitive.
    - Etc. It could be a good game. But due to cheap reskinning, wrong setup of new stuff and really bad balancing - it´s just not worth the money atm.    … Expand
  6. Verdan
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    All i can say is that Sid Meier set new record for an expansion. Making a new skin for an all ready working game is pretty bad and i personally was expecting bit more than new theme.
    Game looks good but then again. I just played this game for a lot of hours under different title.

    9 points for the CIV V
    - 3 points for going for "shake my money makers" strategy
  7. Calendyr
    Oct 24, 2014
    5
    I am writting this rewiew after 5 hours of play.

    Been awaiting this game for months now. I am a Civ 5 veteran with over 1000 hours of play. My first impression of Beyond Earth is one of deep disapointment, I will cover my major issues with the game if I don't mention something it's either because I like it or don't find anything wrong with it. Tech Web: I like the idea of a web    I am writting this rewiew after 5 hours of play.

    Been awaiting this game for months now. I am a Civ 5 veteran with over 1000 hours of play.

    My first impression of Beyond Earth is one of deep disapointment, I will cover my major issues with the game if I don't mention something it's either because I like it or don't find anything wrong with it.

    Tech Web: I like the idea of a web instead of a tree. What I don't like is that you are completelly lost when you look at it. It's hard to try to make a plan when nothing stands out. Would it have been so hard to color code the items of put the category icons in there? You look at the icons and you can't tell what is a Wonder or what does what unless you read every single description. I am sure with time it will be ok because I will learn what everything does but for my first game it's seriously tedious!

    Alien life: So after watchching countless hours of prelauch videos, I know I should not attack the aliens. Here is ny issue: While I can't attack them, they sure don't have any reservation about attacking me, I have lost 2 explorers and 2 drone units in the past hour and I never made any agressive move towards the aliens. I am exploring and BAM! 4 of them jump on my unit and kill it. So Firaxis tie both my arms behind my back by sayong that if I attack the aliens siege worms will come kill my cities and other nations will go to war with me and then punch me in the face repetedly when I cannot defend myself... just great!

    Map clarity: When you look at the map I find it really hard to understand what is what, Very unclear what is a luxury resource, what is a production bonus. In Civ 5 you could press ALT-R and have all the resources show up with nice Icons, it's not the case in BE, Alsp in CiV5 you could press Y and have all the tiles yields show up,.. yep gone as well... WHY?

    Health: Health basically replaces happiness in BE. With only 2 cities I am at minus 5 health and I see no easy way to fix that, Very frustrating!

    Purchases: In Civ5 you had a production/purchase toggle in the city build window, They removed it. Now you have to go in the city manamenent screen and press the purchase buttin to open the purchase window, Not only is it less conveniant but I have been doing purchases in the build window for years, why are you forcing me to change the way I do things for something that is less intuitive and less efficient?

    Blocking: Tbere are several blocks in the game that are contre-intuitive, For exemple: A trade post appeared close to my city so I researched the trading unit, Try to send it there and I can't because there is Miasma in the way. So I research the miasma removing satellite and try to put it in orbit but again I can;t because there is already a satellite there,,,, so I research the trade vessel so I can go to it by sea.... but it won't let me without giving a reason, I read all I could find in the Civ help menu but could not find any answer, So now I have spent a ton of research on trade and can.t trade, Same with other nations, I normally am a heavy trader in Civ5, but in this game there is nothing to trade, All it shows is you research and production. No resouces strategic or luxury in there, Really annoying and frustrating,

    The last thing is the way I feel when playing, So far it has been boring with nothing to do most of the time and frustrating (with all the issues listed above). I hope with time and experience this will change that but my first impression is very negative.    … Expand
  8. Amstaad
    Oct 25, 2014
    6
    Beyond Earth is basically Civ5: Space Edition. There is only token innovation in the game with the inclusion of an orbital layer and the tech web. Every thing else is basically just Civ5 concepts and mechanics with different names (i.e. aliens are barbarians, energy is money, health is happiness, etc). This in itself isn't so bad as I liked Civ5 but there just isn't much depth orBeyond Earth is basically Civ5: Space Edition. There is only token innovation in the game with the inclusion of an orbital layer and the tech web. Every thing else is basically just Civ5 concepts and mechanics with different names (i.e. aliens are barbarians, energy is money, health is happiness, etc). This in itself isn't so bad as I liked Civ5 but there just isn't much depth or flavour to the game. One issue is that it's hard to identify things quickly on the tech web or in a cities production queue as there is no clear visual indicator for what's a wonder, a buff, unit or building in the tech web so you need to spend a fair bit of time reading through each entry to try and figure out what every thing does. The AI seemed awfully weak on my play through on normal setting and didn't even defend itself when I attacked it on normal difficulty. If you have Civ5 your better off just playing that until Firaxis patches the game and rolls out its DLC. On a side note my play experience is closer to 4 out of 10 due to Firaxis deciding not to support DX10 in this game. If you're using an older graphics card (I'm using a GT330M) you can play the game but won't be able to use the mini-map, see the leaders animations and will have some minor screen pixelation. I didn't dock the game any negative points because it only effects a few people but it's annoying never the less because this game isn't exactly a graphical power house and my card would work fine if they had bothered to include DX10 support.… Expand
  9. ChunkySaurus
    Oct 25, 2014
    5
    This was a disappointing wasted opportunity to do something really cool. Instead it comes off like a mediocre mod for Civ 5. The elements of an exciting game are there, they just weren't put together very well. I am hopeful that this can be patched to something better but it is more likely that this will be fixed with an expansion.

    I can see what they wanted to do with the aliens and    This was a disappointing wasted opportunity to do something really cool. Instead it comes off like a mediocre mod for Civ 5. The elements of an exciting game are there, they just weren't put together very well. I am hopeful that this can be patched to something better but it is more likely that this will be fixed with an expansion.

    I can see what they wanted to do with the aliens and the miasma. They wanted to make YOU feel like the alien, like this was a hostile world. So you would build outposts slowly and close together until you could tech up to deal with the hostile environment. This mechanic was pretty exciting until trading stations just appeared out of nowhere all around my first city, in the first 25 turns. These stations block you from building new cities nearby so you have to over-extend yourself. I didn't feel like a pioneer when the space version of WalMart opened up next door.

    In the end, the Alien mechanic is just bad. They spawn like crazy and actually become more of a nuisance by clogging the map. Seriously, 10-15 units moving one space to the left and then one space to the right. Getting from point A to B is more like playing Frogger. Eventually they just reach a saturation point and you need to cull them just to get around. This mechanic could have been done so much better. Alien nests scattered throughout the map, preventing you from expanding or accessing resources until you destroy, domesticate or learn to understand them (as per your affinity) would have been so much better.

    The addition of quests had great potential but it was wasted on dozens of pick option A or B quests. Every time you build a building for the first time, something "exciting" happens and you get to pick a bonus. Trivial stuff like +1 food or +1 energy. The dialog and choice are both pointless. They happen all the time so they don't feel special at all. The victory conditions are not well-defined either. They don't feel immersive at all. If they were going to put in quests, they should have been tied into the victory conditions.

    The new tech web hides most of the details of what you are researching. The icons are all the same color so you have to mouse over everything to have any idea what you are going to get from a tech. The whole thing is at odds with how you are actually expected to perform research. You will realize partway through your first play through that you are supposed to exclusively pick technologies that advance one of the three Affinities. I don't understand why they bury Affinities within Technologies. A choice between Solar, Petrol and Xenomass generators is much more immersive than being able to research all three.

    The UI and city management is worse than Civ 5. A lot of little irritating things like cities not telling you the last project they completed or the trade micromanagement. Seriously, by mid-game you will be resetting 5-6 trade convoys each turn. They reset very quickly and you will have 2-3 per city. This would have been much better without auto-reset.

    The leader interactions and voice-overs are dull and lifeless. Half the time there is no voice over or a message is interrupted by another.

    I'd recommend it on sale, but not at full price.    … Expand
  10. titannet
    Oct 25, 2014
    5
    Alpha Centauri went above and beyond Civilization II by bringing new ideas and and engaging story to the table. Beyond Earth does not. It is Civ 5 on another planet with Barbarians switched out for aliens.
    New additions are the tech web and the quests. The quests are mostly stupid.. mostly stuff you would have done anyway and nothing really interesting.
    Same as civ 5 the game is crippled    Alpha Centauri went above and beyond Civilization II by bringing new ideas and and engaging story to the table. Beyond Earth does not. It is Civ 5 on another planet with Barbarians switched out for aliens.
    New additions are the tech web and the quests. The quests are mostly stupid.. mostly stuff you would have done anyway and nothing really interesting.
    Same as civ 5 the game is crippled by penalties for having citys. What do I need an army for if the next city will make tech discovery even slower?
    But enough said, all the 0-6 reviews are basically saying the same. The game is a soulless mod for Civ 5, shallow, slow and boring. Next turn. Nothing happening.    … Expand
  11. Spoodey
    Oct 26, 2014
    6
    Loved Civ V. This one (so far) feels like a lifeless version of Civ V with some changes to game mechanics and a science theme. Factions are bland and boring, and progressing in the game just feels... not fun...
  12. m0nitor
    Oct 25, 2014
    6
    The AI is frustrating. It's been said 1,394,934,022 times of Civ V so I don't know why they would build on Civ V in making this game without addressing it. Automated workers wander into stupidity and die, enemy units behave illogically. The issues I have with AI are literally identical to the ones I had with Civ V.

    The game is beautiful and I like the atmosphere. The tech web is    The AI is frustrating. It's been said 1,394,934,022 times of Civ V so I don't know why they would build on Civ V in making this game without addressing it. Automated workers wander into stupidity and die, enemy units behave illogically. The issues I have with AI are literally identical to the ones I had with Civ V.

    The game is beautiful and I like the atmosphere. The tech web is nice and while the UI is strange to me I don't mind learning it. I don't need to play the same exact game over and over - I'm capable of learning new things.

    Some of the concepts don't feel fully fleshed out, though. If this is because they're playing at future DLC then I wish they'd stop that crap and build and sell a complete game instead of piecing a complete game out for additional money. But whatever.

    This game isn't horrible and over time (like when they decide to get around to selling me the rest of the game) I'm pretty sure it'll improve greatly.    … Expand
  13. luster
    Oct 24, 2014
    5
    A competent entry in the Civ franchise but dissapointing overall

    This really feels like a mediocre expansion to Civ 5. Despite taking place on a bizarre alien world, the setting feels quite lifeless and dull. The leaders and factions have zero personality. The quotes (that might give some insight into their personalities) are bland and generic and all voiced by the same actor. It's like    A competent entry in the Civ franchise but dissapointing overall

    This really feels like a mediocre expansion to Civ 5. Despite taking place on a bizarre alien world, the setting feels quite lifeless and dull. The leaders and factions have zero personality. The quotes (that might give some insight into their personalities) are bland and generic and all voiced by the same actor. It's like they took everything that was so flavourful and unique about Alpha Centauri and turned it on its head.

    Other than this, the engine is almost identical to civ 5, albeit less polished and balanced mechanics. The affinities are an interesting innovation. The AI presented very little challenge (I was able to win my very first game on the 2nd hardest difficulty without much difficulty). The tech tree is diverse and seems to be based on 'Endless Space' to a large extent. However, it's quite hard to learn what each tech does since they all have baffling (albeit generic) sci-tech names like 'gene harmonics' and 'alien splicing'. Again, unlike previous Civ installments the tech advancements provide very little colour to the world. The AI is also EXTREMELY passive - on hardest difficulty it never attacked me once. This made the game very easy - I just spammed trade units so that I was earning a fortune each turn. It became so easy/tedious that I didn't bother to finish the game.

    There isn't much else to say about this game really. If it was a free fan-made mod for Civ 5 I would call it 'impressive'. However, considering how expensive it is it's hard not to feel dissapointed and a bit ripped off. Perhaps I'm holding it to a higher standard than most games since it's part of the Civ franchise but I don't think that's unreasonable. This will be the last time I pre-order from Firaxis and if you haven't ordered yet I recommend you wait till it's on sale before throwing away your money!    … Expand
  14. JackPaladin
    Oct 26, 2014
    5
    I am reviewing this game on it's own merits, and not comparing it to SMAC.

    It has a couple new twist and additions to Civ 5 engine, but it in no way justifies the outrageous price. I would think $29 would have been a far better price. It has the feel of an unfinished and unpolished beta. With bugs and missing features that seem impossible to have just been "unnoticed" before    I am reviewing this game on it's own merits, and not comparing it to SMAC.

    It has a couple new twist and additions to Civ 5 engine, but it in no way justifies the outrageous price. I would think $29 would have been a far better price.

    It has the feel of an unfinished and unpolished beta. With bugs and missing features that seem impossible to have just been "unnoticed" before release.

    I would highly suggest you wait till a couple more patches, at the very least, before buying. And even better, waiting until the price is dropped by a least half before buying also even after patching/updates.    … Expand
  15. Doc_Hopwood
    Nov 20, 2014
    5
    I buy pretty much every Civilization game at some point. This one I bought at release and I was pretty satisfied with it until I realized that it's pretty much a single play through game.

    I had it in my head that this was going to be a bit grander than it actually is. The units are all identical and only vary a little bit based off which affinity you choose. Maybe it was just that I had    I buy pretty much every Civilization game at some point. This one I bought at release and I was pretty satisfied with it until I realized that it's pretty much a single play through game.

    I had it in my head that this was going to be a bit grander than it actually is. The units are all identical and only vary a little bit based off which affinity you choose. Maybe it was just that I had it in my head this was going to be an updated version of Alpha Centauri and really it's like a watered down Civ 5.

    The factions are all pretty much the same. The units are literally the same no matter your faction. The entire universe is populated by the exact same insect like creatures and every planet is just a shuffled around version of every other planet.

    I guess there's a chance it's just me getting tired of the same game over and over again but I don't feel like there were any improvements made here. Pretty disappointed.    … Expand
  16. TomSEA
    Oct 27, 2014
    6
    Enough here to keep you engaged for 3 or 4 run-throughs, but after that - it amounts to a re-skinned Civ 5. Aside from the space theme, the similarities are obvious. The voice-overs for the various leaders are very lack-luster and the tech-tree can be overwhelming at the beginning. The graphics don't seem to be as refined or crisp as Civ 5. The monsters don't seem to be worth the timeEnough here to keep you engaged for 3 or 4 run-throughs, but after that - it amounts to a re-skinned Civ 5. Aside from the space theme, the similarities are obvious. The voice-overs for the various leaders are very lack-luster and the tech-tree can be overwhelming at the beginning. The graphics don't seem to be as refined or crisp as Civ 5. The monsters don't seem to be worth the time or reward to fight. Easier just to avoid them.

    Having said that, it's still a decent Civilization game - it's not awful, just what we've seen before. The average Civ fan will get dozens of hours out of it. I'd wait until it hits the $20 (or lower) mark before buying as there's not enough there to differentiate it from Civ 5..    … Expand
  17. Sjalka
    Oct 27, 2014
    6
    I will compare that game to the old Alpha Centauri (hopefully that is fair to do)

    Beyond Earth feels just different enough from Cvilization not to be confused as a mod - however - the planet and playstyle is still too similar to civilization so you never really get the feeling to be on an alien planet. ( could as well be earth with a mutant mod ) Alpha Centauri felt much more alien -    I will compare that game to the old Alpha Centauri (hopefully that is fair to do)

    Beyond Earth feels just different enough from Cvilization not to be confused as a mod - however - the planet and playstyle is still too similar to civilization so you never really get the feeling to be on an alien planet. ( could as well be earth with a mutant mod )

    Alpha Centauri felt much more alien - landscape and design was so different from civilization that it was never confused for something earth-like.

    Where Alpha Centauri scored big time was the technologies AND how they were delivered. Starting with future tech and getting more and more trancendent - Beyond Earth fails in that department. The commentary by the factions upon reaching a tech was kept, but the voice acting is worse than in Alpha Centauri - also what they say about the tech is less interesting ( mostly due to the factions being a lot less fundamental/extreme )

    The graphics seem to be a little worse than Civ 5 - not so much in quality, but in design; but not by a greatly significant margin. The sound and music can only be described as average.

    Personally, i find it a little sad that the "original" .. Alpha Centauri beats this remake in terms of atmosphere a hundred times.

    However - Beyond Earth is not a bad game. It is very playable - it just feels like the dumbed down junior version of a much more mature Alpha Centauri.    … Expand
  18. Truth_
    Nov 5, 2014
    5
    It's about what I, and so many others, were expecting: A Civ V reskin with little to offer than Civ V had, and taking nearly nothing from its inspiration, Alpha Centauri.

    There was quite the crowd of complainers that Civilization V was lacking compared to IV, however, an at least somewhat valid excuse was that Firaxis had to design and create a new engine as well as update all the    It's about what I, and so many others, were expecting: A Civ V reskin with little to offer than Civ V had, and taking nearly nothing from its inspiration, Alpha Centauri.

    There was quite the crowd of complainers that Civilization V was lacking compared to IV, however, an at least somewhat valid excuse was that Firaxis had to design and create a new engine as well as update all the graphics. What was the excuse this time? It is the same engine, and the graphics and art style have not been changed. It looks like many assets were slightly altered and plugged back in, too. So what did we get in exchange for this time savings?

    Exploration, aliens/barbarians, the tech tree, factions, and unit upgrades were changed. But the exploration is still largely bland, the aliens are uninspired and otherwise in fact worse functionally than barbarians, the tech tree is refreshing yet convoluted and seemingly random (as opposed to Endless Space's themed branches), the factions have no character, and unit upgrades are simple, boring, and unbalanced. Adding in quests like Endless Legend and a bit of story was nice, but the choices are the same every game and lead to nothing in the future.

    Additionally, the strategic resources were made irrelevant until the late game, luxury goods were removed, health was made easy to manage, and the UI is missing critical options and information (that existed in Civ V). Finally, the AI is incredibly passive and dumber than a sack of potatoes. Again Civ V's removal of the Giant Stack of Death meets its flaws: inability to move armies and attack cities as well as the AI's inability to functionally attack in most instances.

    I wrote a large essay on another website that exceeds my limit here, and plenty of other reviews go into detail about many of my points and more. All I would like to add is that although I was not expecting much, Civilization: Beyond Earth is still a disappointment. It is somehow worse than its predecessor, Civilization V, takes nothing from Alpha Centauri (a game lauded by a loving fanbase), and puts no effort into a truly interesting and fun science-fiction setting (no creativity in units, aliens, resources, terrain types, map effects, map design, factions, or mechanics).

    Ultimately the game is okay from an objective, stand-alone perspective. But when I know it's from a long-standing series and was inspired by Alpha Centauri, and now has competitors like Sins of a Solar Empire, Endless Space, and others... I can't help but rate the game poorly.

    I have little doubt interesting things will be sold later as DLC, but it disheartens me greatly to think we must pay extra to get a game we wanted in the first place. Perhaps next time, Firaxis... but I doubt it.    … Expand
  19. Archontos
    Nov 13, 2014
    6
    Civilization 5 with graphics mod. These two or three additional features are much much smaller than any DLC to earlier Civ games. Classical rip-off, nevertheless just as good as normal Civ5. If you have Civ5 - don't buy. You already saw 95% of the game and new graphics can be watched in demo version on Steam.
  20. Cyberlion
    Nov 5, 2014
    5
    After the initial few hours of euphoria exploring a new alpha centauri game, I realized there were no significant innovations since its predecessor. All the factions, aliens and planets look and feel the same. After the first few hours, I realized there are no new gameplay mechanics. Graphics, sounds gameplay all mediocre. I built up a colony, explored the map, built a few units andAfter the initial few hours of euphoria exploring a new alpha centauri game, I realized there were no significant innovations since its predecessor. All the factions, aliens and planets look and feel the same. After the first few hours, I realized there are no new gameplay mechanics. Graphics, sounds gameplay all mediocre. I built up a colony, explored the map, built a few units and realized I have as much desire to continue playing as I do to replay Civ 5.… Expand
  21. matt79
    Nov 20, 2014
    5
    This is a reskin of Civ5 with all the expansions taken out, no improvements, and problems in the interface department (20% of the game time I'm setting the trade routes). I'm dissapointed. Game is ok, but i just don't see the point in playing it when I have a fully developed Civ5.
  22. Woopya
    Nov 14, 2014
    5
    This is a tough 1 for me. I have been playing Civ games for a long time and while I do think this game is fun to play, I just do not feel it is different enough from Civ 5 to be considered a new game and not just a mod to Civ 5. They try to give it a sci fi feel to it, but it kinda fails because we are stuck playing as the same old rearranged human factions with new names. 1 of the keysThis is a tough 1 for me. I have been playing Civ games for a long time and while I do think this game is fun to play, I just do not feel it is different enough from Civ 5 to be considered a new game and not just a mod to Civ 5. They try to give it a sci fi feel to it, but it kinda fails because we are stuck playing as the same old rearranged human factions with new names. 1 of the keys to success, as well as the most difficult aspects to sci fi genres is the aspect of lore. This game has a backstory, but it isnt really a lore. We are not really given any reason to want to play any particular faction nor are we given any reason to dislike any particular faction. That is what the historical aspect of the regular Civ games gives us that this game lacks. There are some new smallish features changed or added , but nothing that really grabs me. So I find that I do play it, for now but it doesnt consume me the way new Civ games usually do. In truth it just feels like an "inbetween "release, or an expansion to Civ 5. But in truth, in just a couple days I found my desire to play Civ was greater than it was to play this game.… Expand
  23. Yyrkroon
    Nov 9, 2014
    5
    I hate to pile on, but this game deserves it. I'm a long time fan of the Civilization, going back to Civ I on the Atari ST. This is by far the worst of a great franchise. It isn't a horrible game - nothing like M003, but it isn't really worthy of the Civ, or Sid Meier, moniker either. It is very lack lustre and lacks the famous, "just one more turn" digital-crack addiction of its siblings.I hate to pile on, but this game deserves it. I'm a long time fan of the Civilization, going back to Civ I on the Atari ST. This is by far the worst of a great franchise. It isn't a horrible game - nothing like M003, but it isn't really worthy of the Civ, or Sid Meier, moniker either. It is very lack lustre and lacks the famous, "just one more turn" digital-crack addiction of its siblings.

    Had this game arrived side-by-side with Civ 5 in 2010, it might have been received better, but it hasn't really brought much more to the table than a semi-ambitious fan mod of Civ 5. The 4x genre has evolved in the last 4 years, and new comers such as Endless Legends really put this to shame.    … Expand
  24. Nightioz
    Feb 17, 2015
    5
    I'm sad to say that this game really makes me wanting to go back and play the old Alpha Centauri game, instead of this one. Only thing this does better is the new updated graphics. The rest is just way too dull designed.

    Too bad, since I have been dreaming of a new Alpha Centauri game since I completed that the first time years back.
  25. Robobob
    Jan 4, 2015
    5
    I got Civilization: Beyond Earth for Christmas and finally got around to playing it. I have been a long time Civilization fan, starting with the first one from the early 90's. I've never played Alpha Centauri, though so I cannot compare. Looking at the User Score.. a 5 is about accurate. It's an OK game, not terrible, not great.

    I'll start with some of the pros. I like the Affinity    I got Civilization: Beyond Earth for Christmas and finally got around to playing it. I have been a long time Civilization fan, starting with the first one from the early 90's. I've never played Alpha Centauri, though so I cannot compare. Looking at the User Score.. a 5 is about accurate. It's an OK game, not terrible, not great.

    I'll start with some of the pros. I like the Affinity system: researching certain technologies to increase my level with a certain affinity. These increases in affininty can automatically upgrade my units, which is another great plus. No need to rebuild units or return to base to upgrade. The units upgrade immediately with a great increase in Power. That is nice.

    Another pro: The Quest system gives you little missions with bonuses to achieve when completed. Though, there weren't nearly enough of them in the mid to late game to keep things interesting. Also, when new buildings are built for the first time you can choose a bonus to add to that building. That is nice.

    Another pro: There is a huge technology tree with tons of things to research, which leaves tons of buildings to build. This actually leads to a con: There are so many buildings to build and it's very easy to very quickly have huge cities with high production and "energy" (or gold) output. But it is impossible to keep up with the Health stat. My entire civ takes a penalty if it is "unhealthy" so I'm constantly scouring the huge and confusing tech web to find anything to help improve my health. And there isn't much. As a perfectionist, I found it annoying that I couldn't improve this stat at even easy difficulty.

    The next big con: The game is dull. The Civilization games are a great race to build that awesome Wonder you need, or research that next big tech to give you the big edge on the battlefield. I didn't feel that at all on this game. Every Wonder just gave you more production, energy, food bonuses, etc. No techs really stuck out and were kind of confusing. I chased after a couple techs to increase my Affinity, but other than that my research was mostly random.

    Games like this have to realize that they need to keep me interested by throwing something at me to keep me fishing for the next tech or Wonder. One that changes up the game or give me something more than just a production bonus. Or give me a cool cutscene to show my patience and strategy paid off. Otherwise it feels like a slow grind to.. nothing.    … Expand
  26. 123456
    May 25, 2015
    5
    I started playing Civ 5 again a couple of months ago (mid 2015) without any expansions, and whilst shopping for those I saw a deal on this and thought I would give it a try. For reference I played Civ 2-5 but not Alpha Centauri and I'm reviewing version 1.0.2.666

    The first thing I noticed was the game engine, it's exactly the same as Civ 5. That is not necessarily a bad thing but I did    I started playing Civ 5 again a couple of months ago (mid 2015) without any expansions, and whilst shopping for those I saw a deal on this and thought I would give it a try. For reference I played Civ 2-5 but not Alpha Centauri and I'm reviewing version 1.0.2.666

    The first thing I noticed was the game engine, it's exactly the same as Civ 5. That is not necessarily a bad thing but I did expect more than a reskin of a 5 year old game. Where happiness was, now we have health, and gold has become energy, among other rebrandings.

    Gameplay wise, the technology structure going from tree to web is a nice touch, giving a more open ended narrative compared to the history of human science. Things like borders and exploring remain from Civ 5, although they do not make much sense when you have so much technology that you can launch satellites and the planet is uninhabited by intelligent life, but you can forgive this as a game principle.

    The AI is quite unforgivable though. If you get an idea of how to play the AI will never attack you. The difficulty settings, like Civ 5, are based on giving the AI cheats instead of making it more tactically effective. It will attack other nations or independent stations (which you have no diplomacy option to complain about) or beg you for resources with the offer of favours, which are quite worthless.

    When war does finally break out, you end up being heavily penalised in Health (should you take an enemy city) or in reduced trade routes, which are extremely valuable throughout the game. If you set up your armies correctly you can rarely lose a unit to the rather incompetent AI. In fact, after entering into a war with several nations, and barely even a laser beam fired, I am offered a peace treaty and one of their cities! Not only is the AI incompetent, it actually wants you to win with as little fuss as possible.

    The affinity system is the basis for your new societies beliefs, or whatever. In actuality, it represents what upgrades your units get, and much like Leonardo's Workshop in Civ II, all your units are upgraded automatically. It also turns your cities a different colour. The levels for this are linked to the tech web, meaning science heavily outweighs culture in this game. This is also because most of the victory conditions rely on research. Whilst there are cultural borders and virtues provide buffs, there is no cultural victory (but military domination remains).

    The early game with explorers and aliens is quite fun as you try and dodge their nests and find relics and escape pods that aren't covered in poisonous gas, much like the early game of Civ 5 is enjoyable for finding city states and ruins whilst dodging barbarians. Quickly though the game becomes a grind, mostly due to the weak AI and the build more research more repeat actions, followed by the all too familiar "Next Turn" button spam.

    One of the most disappointing things is the lack of visual stimulation with regard to the tech and wonders. When you build a wonder you receive a pop-up screen with an image of a futuristic blueprint that basically looks like nothing at all, a quote which means very little out of context, and the buff it gives you. These are supposed to be world shaping discoveries but outside of the civilopedia the game offers you nothing. This was fine in Civ 5, it's Earth. But this is the unknown fiction.

    Beyond Earth is not a bad game but it feels very undercooked. With the first expansion coming later this year I hope, unlike the Earth the game leaves behind, Firaxis are more about looking back to what needs to be fixed before looking forward to new challenges to explore.    … Expand
  27. ultraviper
    Apr 26, 2016
    5
    Some people claim this is a re-skin of Civ 5, but it's not. It's worse than that. Almost everything about this game is worse than previous games. The military units have been reduced to a small handful that automatically upgrade as your tech level rises. The tech web is confusing and hard to navigate. Aliens (the new barbarians) cover the entire map and go from being a danger early game toSome people claim this is a re-skin of Civ 5, but it's not. It's worse than that. Almost everything about this game is worse than previous games. The military units have been reduced to a small handful that automatically upgrade as your tech level rises. The tech web is confusing and hard to navigate. Aliens (the new barbarians) cover the entire map and go from being a danger early game to a frusration late game where they are STILL all over the map but pose no real threat. Trade routes are mandatory because of how powerful they are, yet they are implemented in a very annoying way that makes you choose trade destinations way too often. Health (the new happniess) is badly balanced and from what I've found it's impossible to keep it in the positive numbers if you have more than one city, until late game when your virtue tree bonuses can bring it back up. And playing with just one city in games like this is just not fun. Skip this one, play Civ 4 or 5 instead.… Expand
  28. iseeall
    Jan 14, 2015
    5
    What do you expect... Brian Reynolds who was the designer behind Alpha Centauri and Civ 2 left Firaxis long ago. AC is my favorite game of all time, and I still play it. Yes, AC has some minor flaws (like, poorly tested endgame, and some minor bugs with happiness display and predicted outcomes of worms vs fusion powered units) which could be fixed with 1-2 patches, but in general AC is aWhat do you expect... Brian Reynolds who was the designer behind Alpha Centauri and Civ 2 left Firaxis long ago. AC is my favorite game of all time, and I still play it. Yes, AC has some minor flaws (like, poorly tested endgame, and some minor bugs with happiness display and predicted outcomes of worms vs fusion powered units) which could be fixed with 1-2 patches, but in general AC is a perfect game. It corrected all the flaws of Civ 2 and expanded many of its features. AC could easily be the last game in the series. Yet, to keep monetizing the franchise, they made the awful Civ 3, then Civ 4 (which I also didn't like due to absence of collateral damage) and Civ 5 (which I bought on a crazy Steam sale with all expansions for just 1.5 euros or so) - I tried hard to like Civ 5 and played it maybe 8 times but no, I still failed to like it really. Civ 5 was an ok game but so far from AC. Now comes this game, which is mostly a reskin of Civ 5, with many features removed and without even a proper tutorial (?). It's definitely worse than Civ 5 and undoubtedly worse than AC. Good thing I tried a demo first. The demo crashed after 20 mins of play. The worst thing about Civ: BE (which other reviewers didn't mention, or I didn't see it) - is that the terrain tiles are just a mess of gray and violet colors. It's very hard to tell where miasma is, and where hills are. Even in Civ 5 I wouldn't usually be able to see the terrain types and even the units (!) properly, if not the icons hovering over them. But here it's just nonsense. The bad design decisions which I didn't like in Civ 5 stay here too: "unlockable" civics which stay with you forever (instead of selectable ones like in AC), crippled diplomacy system, too abstract and too simplified espionage system, 1-unit-per-tile rule. Now, here they removed the unit editor, the water bases, terrain up/down, and the psy combat. The small improvements (like, more interesting tech system and the quests) don't really save the situation. It will be funny if no one ever reaches the level of Alpha Centauri :) It's similar to what happened to Jagged Alliance 2. So many remakes, and all were a disappointment to the fans.… Expand
  29. Shane_IL
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    I was very excited for a new civ game with a different spin, but my excitement was short lived. This game is basically Civ 5 in space. They really could have done some great stuff with this concept, but nope, you're pitted up against other human civilizations with pretty much the same graphics, game-play mechanics and development trees as previous title, just in space.
  30. masterhoodwinke
    Nov 11, 2014
    6
    Missed opportunity here in Beyond Earth. I've played and loved all previous Civ games. This one just feels rushed, like a re-skinned Civ 5 Mod. Yes the Tech tree is new, and a step in the right direction, but I found it almost boring. The space age technologies are so incomprehensible that it takes the joy out of technological progress. What the hell are half of these technologies...Missed opportunity here in Beyond Earth. I've played and loved all previous Civ games. This one just feels rushed, like a re-skinned Civ 5 Mod. Yes the Tech tree is new, and a step in the right direction, but I found it almost boring. The space age technologies are so incomprehensible that it takes the joy out of technological progress. What the hell are half of these technologies... why should I care? Is it just me or was researching gunpowder before any other players in Civ 5 incredibly satisfying? Nothing in BE can come close to that.

    Setting is interesting, but shallow and unremarkable in many ways. There is really no difference between any of the civilizations so replay is hindered. There is little to no lore in this Civ BE universe...

    Bottom line is this game is a missed opportunity and not worth the price. Not enough innovation or experimentation to justify a full new title. It will feel almost exactly the same as Civ 5. Yes I still love the Civilization franchise and I'll be there for the next game. With that said my trust in Sid Meyer as a innovative "Elon Musk" of Strategy video games is shaken.

    Try out Endless Legend if you want a really fresh innovative take on 4 x strategy games. I'm loving it.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best PC Game of 2014
21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 78 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 78
  3. Negative: 1 out of 78
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2015
    90
    Cancel all your plans and fill up the fridge, because once you launch Beyond Earth you will not want to leave your home. [13/2014, p.46]
  2. Worth Playing
    Dec 23, 2014
    85
    Passive AI and lackluster online support from the community isn't enough to make Civilization: Beyond Earth a total wash. If you've enjoyed the series over the years, you'll likely spend many hours with this entry as well.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Dec 21, 2014
    80
    Prepare for tech tree troubles, but the amount to discover and overall quality wins out. [Christmas 2014, p.64]
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