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. ParagonRenegade
    Oct 25, 2014
    7
    (Site butchered format, sorry. All my neat punctuation and paragraph structure ;-;)

    tl;dr: Civilization: Beyond Earth is a solid addition to the series. Beyond Earth is a spin-off of Civilization 5 set in space on alien planets, with suitably futuristic furnishings. Both games are hex-based and focus on improving tiles, building structures and wonders, and dealing with your    (Site butchered format, sorry. All my neat punctuation and paragraph structure ;-;)

    tl;dr: Civilization: Beyond Earth is a solid addition to the series.

    Beyond Earth is a spin-off of Civilization 5 set in space on alien planets, with suitably futuristic furnishings. Both games are hex-based and focus on improving tiles, building structures and wonders, and dealing with your neighbors. Same old, same old; it's Civ! Thankfully, BE has expanded in several key areas (and scaled back in a few others), here's my observations:
    Pros:
    -The game has a great amount of polish and "fluff" that adds immeasurably to the atmosphere game. This includes the leader diaries, the tech and affinity quotes, and most importantly the Civlopedia. Firaxis' writers put quite some effort into this and it makes the setting feel much more genuine. One thing in particular I like are the unit descriptions for the different affinities, where you can feel the "in-universe" writer's opinion showing through. A supremacist will comment "We are the liberators of mankind" where a purist will say "We are the liberators of mankind" and so on in that vein.

    -Related to the above, the three "affinities" (Supremacy, Purity and Harmony) are interesting and varied choices, and they rely on completely different units sets and use different tactics to win. Purity is the idea that Humans should not modify themselves to adapt to the planet, and glorify Human history. They rely on brute force. Supremacy is the idea that Humans should advance through integration with technology in pursuit of a technological singularity. They rely on tactics, adjacency and AoE effects to be used well. Harmony is the idea that Humans should adapt themselves with genetic modification to fully integrate with their planet, essentially becoming aliens. They rely both on brute force and overwhelming enemies with numbers, as well as using the terrain. I personally use Supremacy, as all those peasants can't ascend themselves.

    -It has a story! Granted, this story is optional and reliant on the player following it, but BE has a story that is actually interesting, that I wanted to see through to the end. The Contact victory condition, where you signal an alien race, is the best in this regard, while the domination victory is the least narrative.

    -The new tech tree isn't linear, instead you start in the middle of a "web" and research out to branching technologies. In both my games so far, I have done completely different things and still been able to hold my own. It's very balanced and thematically interesting, one of the better additions to this game.

    - Covert operations (spies from previous games) are fun and can be devastating, and in one game this one system saved my ass from being overrun. The affinity-specific abilities (like Purity's nuclear bomb or Harmony's biological weapons) in particular are devastating. If you really want to use this to its extent, you need to play as the ARC faction.

    -Orbital units are great fun and a welcome addition to the game. They let you spawn strategic resources, buff tile outputs, buff your units (ala great generals), spread toxic miasma and other things. The Planet Carver (the game's equivalent to nuclear weapons) is the gift that keeps on giving; it's a reusable nuclear bomb that bombards cities and units from orbit. It can often one-shot things and is just... so great.

    -As a matter of personal preference, I greatly prefer BE's setting (the future, on an alien planet) than the old historic one of the rest of the Civilization games (excluding Alpha Centauri). Some will disagree with me, but the various hypothetical and diverging paths of BE are much more engaging than the standard and stale "human history revisited" of each previous game.

    Cons (In short, I'm running out of characters sorry):

    -Game has fewer features than Civ 5 Brave New World, having taken out tourism, religion, diplomatic victory etc. These have been replaced by new systems somewhat, but it's disappointing to have less. I hope they add these back in DLC or in mods, as they are still in the game files and XML.

    -Factions need to be more differentiated than they are currently; the ones we have now are sorta' stock, unless you mull over the Civlopedia and relevant websites to explore their stories. Not everyone wants to do that like me.

    -There needs to be greater diversity in alien life, and more biomes (we have three right now; arid, lush and fungal) would be welcome.

    -Diplomacy is more-or-less identical to Civ 5, and it needs to be upgraded pretty badly. I'd like the Civ 4 diplomacy features like map trading first and foremost.

    -There are identification issues with units and buildings in this game (tech web specifically), as Firaxis did a poor job differentiating with color. On-map units are fine.

    7/10; it's in a better spot than Civ 5 at launch, and is set to be improved radically with mods and DLC. Fans should get it, non-fans should avoid it.    … Expand
  2. Ansatsu83
    Oct 26, 2014
    7
    Game is pretty darn good. There are some really nice features, such as multiple different types of upgrades based on which affinity you are going. The world is nice, the aliens feel more intimidating than barbarians from other civ games. I like the affinity system (harmony, purity, or supremacy), which can give you major variations on how you play. Major complaints are the weapon/unitGame is pretty darn good. There are some really nice features, such as multiple different types of upgrades based on which affinity you are going. The world is nice, the aliens feel more intimidating than barbarians from other civ games. I like the affinity system (harmony, purity, or supremacy), which can give you major variations on how you play. Major complaints are the weapon/unit scaling based on the upgrades you achieve. There is too much of a noticeable upgrade in their damage. I cant create my own nation despite being sci-fi, have to use one of the small amount of premade nations. Most of the benefits of the premade nations are only viable for the first 100 turns of the game, after that they are pointless as research and buildings will give enough benefits to cover everyone they have (speaking of Brasilia and Polystrailia). It also seems that while you can evolve units, there is a significantly less units, overall, since you are forced to choose one affinity evolution, per unit type. There are only 3 or 4 specific units, to each affinity and the rest are evolved from base units. Total base units are 6 to 8, which means you are essentially limited in units you can produce. The ui for the technology trees is really odd, as well. Took me about 5 minutes to figure it out. The problem is the sub trees, which most techs have at least 2 sub trees. Problem is, it doesn't properly clarify the sub tree aspect in the tutorial. The whole city defense system is set up in a weird way, too. You can attack it with only a couple of high tier units, but using low tier is pointless as they will die quickly. This means you cant easily take over nations earlier in the game, unlike civ1-5. Just these little issues that end up causing me to rate it lower than I wish I could. Still a great game, though!… Expand
  3. Masterhummel
    Oct 24, 2014
    7
    Civ: BE fells most of the time like 'more of the same'. This is not a bad thing, as the game uses a formula that works. So, the setting launches into space, but BE does not manage it to elevate the concept and game mechanics to a new level as well. Most of the time i felt like i'm playing a heavily modded Civ V with BNW. I mostly did stuff that i did in Civ V - just with different names.Civ: BE fells most of the time like 'more of the same'. This is not a bad thing, as the game uses a formula that works. So, the setting launches into space, but BE does not manage it to elevate the concept and game mechanics to a new level as well. Most of the time i felt like i'm playing a heavily modded Civ V with BNW. I mostly did stuff that i did in Civ V - just with different names. Aside from stagnation with it comes to gameplay, the biggest Problem might be the lack of stereotypes and nations. Shaping your own civ and building the eifeltower in Washington was part of the fun in earlier civ games. I feel like BE does not have a good enough replacement. They really tried, and i appriciate that, but the new alliances of nations just feel bland and somewhat uninteresting.

    That all said, Civ: BE is still a lot of fun and if you loved Civ V you will most likely like Civ: BE.    … Expand
  4. MrSndman
    Oct 24, 2014
    7
    Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the Civ series. I've played every iteration since Civ 1...and Alpha Centauri is by far my favorite in the series. If you are looking for a sequel to AC, this ain't it. Civ BE feels like a polished mod for Civ 5 - which isn't a terrible thing. You will immediately feel at home with the interface, the units, the combat system, etc. The onlyLet me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the Civ series. I've played every iteration since Civ 1...and Alpha Centauri is by far my favorite in the series. If you are looking for a sequel to AC, this ain't it. Civ BE feels like a polished mod for Civ 5 - which isn't a terrible thing. You will immediately feel at home with the interface, the units, the combat system, etc. The only noticeable change is the tech tree, which admittedly is a bit wonky. The constant presence of alien life forms is both irritating and unnerving (wait till you see the sandworm aka siege worm) and you can tell the developers want you to make nice with them and find a symbiosis, but they will seemingly randomly attack your units at the most inopportune times.

    Do yourself a favor and lower your expectations a bit...this is not a sequel to AC, and it's not really a sequel to Civ. Think more "Empire of the smoky skies" and less AC2 and you'll be suitably satisfied. If you're a long time Civ fan, you know you're going to buy it anyway!    … Expand
  5. sherbz
    Oct 25, 2014
    7
    In all, BE is slightly disappointing. It does many things right, but misses out on the golden nougat. It has a very poor UI and there is a distinct lack of narrative. This is important because in a sci fi game, you need one. It didnt matter so much in civ 5, because the Egyptians and romans are familiar entities. You dont have that in BE. So you need a story to fill in the gaps. TheIn all, BE is slightly disappointing. It does many things right, but misses out on the golden nougat. It has a very poor UI and there is a distinct lack of narrative. This is important because in a sci fi game, you need one. It didnt matter so much in civ 5, because the Egyptians and romans are familiar entities. You dont have that in BE. So you need a story to fill in the gaps. The other problem is that the AI has still not been properly sorted out from civ 5. I think 1UPT is a failed experiment. Lets go back to SOD because at least the AI could play better that way. BE is not a terrible game, and as a civ fan, you will like it. But dont expect it to blow your mind.… Expand
  6. Chaeote
    Oct 25, 2014
    7
    The customization of your Civilization is nice. You're not stuck with just picking a nation, and getting the pros and cons of it. You can actually pick each bonus.

    It's also a bit different to play. Rapid expansion is basically useless from what I can see, it's a lot better to concentrate on 5 or less cities. The problems however, are kinda infuriating. Each Civ starts at a different    The customization of your Civilization is nice. You're not stuck with just picking a nation, and getting the pros and cons of it. You can actually pick each bonus.

    It's also a bit different to play. Rapid expansion is basically useless from what I can see, it's a lot better to concentrate on 5 or less cities.

    The problems however, are kinda infuriating. Each Civ starts at a different point in time, which is kinda cool, but the problem is, the drop-ship locations where they start seem random. Which causes them to sometimes drop in RIGHT next to your borders you've already established as your own, and then they **** at YOU everytime you expand or make a new town, even though you were there first, and they're the invaders.

    Then, there's your early units...they're basically USELESS. The first soldiers can't win a fight toe-to-toe, even against the simplest alien. The scouts die in 2 hits, if you're lucky. The Aliens are completely unpredictable. They aren't suppose to be overtly hostile, but sometimes they just decide "I KILL YOU!" even if you aren't near their nest, which makes exploration impossible without an alien unit of your own.

    Then if you get in a fight with another civ in the early game, you CANNOT take their towns. Yuu just can't.

    I obliterated every military unit the Civ had, surrounded his capital, and just could not do enough damage to the city. Taking losses are fine, but required 30+ units to take one city is ridiculous. In Civ 5 you could manage it with some decent range attackers and a couple siege units.

    But it just comes back to your units being far too weak for combat, even with a few upgrades, they're gonna lose 50% of their health in 1 round.

    There just doesn't seem to be a way to build an army without concentrating on nothing but making one, even as a defensive only military, they just have zero survivability.

    The Tech web, while neat, is a HUGE learning curve, and I think one thing that would be great would be to be able to zoom out on it completely, and still be able to read what each node does, but you can't. It just goes to an Icon-only view-mode, and completely obscures the subsets of each technology.

    The game isn't bad, but, honestly, it's just not worth playing of Civ 5 w/ the expansions.

    Maybe after some time, people cna make some Mods that'll flesh out and fix some things, but until then... Don't expect anything ground breaking.    … Expand
  7. armchairjerk
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    Really is a solid 7.5 and im sure it will get better as more DLC is added. But as it stands at launch it is nothing more than a mod for CIV 5.

    The tech trees are diverse allowing the player to focus on things they need and its not a boring rush down the line before. And the point system with harmony etc. is a great touch further adding a level of customization. And the culture system    Really is a solid 7.5 and im sure it will get better as more DLC is added. But as it stands at launch it is nothing more than a mod for CIV 5.

    The tech trees are diverse allowing the player to focus on things they need and its not a boring rush down the line before. And the point system with harmony etc. is a great touch further adding a level of customization.
    And the culture system still exists like it did in the last few games, which is just perfect as it is.

    The real issues with this game are the lack of things to do after a few 100 turns, often spending alot of time pumping out random units with no purpose and the general lack of a feeling that there is some kind of progression. Leave the player wondering what the whole point of this? Not to mention the movement of a unit across a map is more punishing then ever.

    All in all, its a great game and worth the 37 dollars i spent on it.    … Expand
  8. nebulousfury
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    Overall this is a quality game with hours upon hours of game play which will suck you in for quite a while. However there is a certain "empty" feeling in the game at times. What they have added I think should certainly be kept for future games... however what they have taken away should probably be added back. This game has more potential than Civ 5 - however it falls slightly short ofOverall this is a quality game with hours upon hours of game play which will suck you in for quite a while. However there is a certain "empty" feeling in the game at times. What they have added I think should certainly be kept for future games... however what they have taken away should probably be added back. This game has more potential than Civ 5 - however it falls slightly short of Civ 5 in a few aspects.… Expand
  9. Greywolf2001ca
    Feb 10, 2016
    7
    A good game that upgrades the Alpha Centauri and bring it into the 21st century.

    But like all civilization games, it does have a limited replayability albeit a bigger one than the usual crap that has been released since the year 2000. Unlike other civilization games, computer controled factions do not declare war on you for no reason although there is one exception that I have    A good game that upgrades the Alpha Centauri and bring it into the 21st century.

    But like all civilization games, it does have a limited replayability albeit a bigger one than the usual crap that has been released since the year 2000.

    Unlike other civilization games, computer controled factions do not declare war on you for no reason although there is one exception that I have noticed. Sometimes, at average difficulty level, a faction declares war on you for no reason and that faction is like a quarter of your size!!! makes no sense, maybe if he had allies, but he is alone. I had three times the number of cities he had and same for units. Why would the faction declare war on me? No point, he will be obliterated within 25 turns!

    So the AI needs some tweaking still.

    The game is also heavy for no reason. They have spent too much time on graphics and not enough on the game itself, resulting in questionable AI and AI decisions.

    Albeit this, it is still a good game, but try it first, do not buy blind, way too expensive for that. I suggest no paying more than 25$ for everything.    … Expand
  10. JugoZille
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    I love Civilization. I also like Beyond Earth. However, I had more fun with the other Civilization games or Alpha Centauri.

    The gameplay is very close to Civ5, but the SciFi setting is too generic and not used to full extent. I dont really know what to do with the aliens. I tried to be on "harmony" with them, but they kept on destroying my workers and traders, so I eventually had to    I love Civilization. I also like Beyond Earth. However, I had more fun with the other Civilization games or Alpha Centauri.

    The gameplay is very close to Civ5, but the SciFi setting is too generic and not used to full extent. I dont really know what to do with the aliens. I tried to be on "harmony" with them, but they kept on destroying my workers and traders, so I eventually had to kill them.

    It seems for me that the difficulty was lowered, too. Usually I have a tough time when playing Civ games on medium difficulty, but in beyond earth I never had any trouble, I dont even build military units.

    I will continue on playing, but I am not as exicted as with other Civ games.    … Expand
  11. Grufton
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    In all fairness I have been a fan of both the Civ series AND Alpha Centauri. So my review will be colored as such.

    Graphics: A step up from Civ 5 but not completely mind blowing. The graphic serve as a good representation of this game. Typically these kind of turn based strategy games leave something to be desired in the graphic department but this game does a good job of keep the    In all fairness I have been a fan of both the Civ series AND Alpha Centauri. So my review will be colored as such.

    Graphics: A step up from Civ 5 but not completely mind blowing. The graphic serve as a good representation of this game. Typically these kind of turn based strategy games leave something to be desired in the graphic department but this game does a good job of keep the graphics a priority. 8/10

    Gameplay: This is an issue. Having the Civ name gives this game a certain reputation. And while I think it does live up to that reputation, this is more an Alpha Centauri game. It has the hexagon grid, and some other elements of Civ in it but by and large it is NOT Civ. If you like Civ then there is the chance this game is not for you. The elements of this game are all about turn based statagy though. You just cannot take advantage of simiarties between this game and Civ 5. 6/10

    Story: This is always the hardest part to judge on a turn based game. These kind of games tend to rely on gameplay and graphics. This game is kind of an extension of a Civ game but also offers some different elements. I'll give this a 6/10

    With those scores in mind and a round up, that leaves a 7/10. Keep in mind please that I tend to score things a little lower. 7/10 is a good score.This game is worth the money in my mind. If you like Civ, or Alpha Centuari then you will most likely enjoy this game.    … Expand
  12. Osmanecek
    Oct 25, 2014
    7
    OK. To be perfectly honest - What Civ 5 reached after all expansion packs. No-one really expected, that Beyond Earth will after release. I like where is game heading to, but it is not there just yet. After first or second expansion it will be much more interesting. If you didn´t play Civ 5, than Go for Civ 5 with all expansions - it will take you ages to get bored of it - if ever.. AndOK. To be perfectly honest - What Civ 5 reached after all expansion packs. No-one really expected, that Beyond Earth will after release. I like where is game heading to, but it is not there just yet. After first or second expansion it will be much more interesting. If you didn´t play Civ 5, than Go for Civ 5 with all expansions - it will take you ages to get bored of it - if ever.. And within time this diamond will be polished and waiting for you. For the rest of you, try it - though if you expecting something big - it is not there yet..

    Points I would love to see improved in expansions:
    1) Graphics illustrations!! The man in charge of it should be sacked! :D Everyone in the team did good job and that is why I am so much surprised about one fact - there is so much to discover - yet you can not see what it is looks like, sounds like or taste like.. When you built, discover or whatever something - there should be full screen picture with original sound - and as it is new civ game - I would even like to see some videos - intro is so nice! Same applies to science technology tree and basically everything within game. Even City doesn´t really change a bit after expansion. And guess what, check out the ingame civpedia - there are also no pictures!
    2) Alien civs
    3) I am missing Germany, UK, France, Turkey, Aztecs, Koreans and the others - they should be in this game and with their specific aproach to diplomacy, play style and other things. Currently it doesn´t really matter, for who and against who you will play.    … Expand
  13. dannieeddie2008
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    First time playing Civilization: Beyond Earth I thought this looks amazing and suc as different game to Civilization V. I got into the game and everything was the same the way the game played is the same, the look of the game is the same, they have also taken out quotes from Civilization V and put it into Civilization: Beyond Earth. The game in it self is a different game, and I love howFirst time playing Civilization: Beyond Earth I thought this looks amazing and suc as different game to Civilization V. I got into the game and everything was the same the way the game played is the same, the look of the game is the same, they have also taken out quotes from Civilization V and put it into Civilization: Beyond Earth. The game in it self is a different game, and I love how you choose your own Civilization to play as. I like the new tech tree and how the aliens are a lot more harder to attack.… Expand
  14. brobro34343
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    In its current state Civilization: Beyond Earth is a good game, but has some current glaring problems that keeps it from being a great one. Just like its predecessors, Beyond Earth keeps you busy, however some development decisions are quite head scratching. The tech tree feels new. The music is great and the unit designs are new and engaging. The UI has a very clean look, but this lookIn its current state Civilization: Beyond Earth is a good game, but has some current glaring problems that keeps it from being a great one. Just like its predecessors, Beyond Earth keeps you busy, however some development decisions are quite head scratching. The tech tree feels new. The music is great and the unit designs are new and engaging. The UI has a very clean look, but this look isn't as eye catching as Civ 5, this is especially true for the Tech tree.. The mini map is placed in an odd place and is quite small, making it feel useless. The hazardous gas Miasma is hard to see on the map and resources don't pop out. The biggest gripe is the lack of personality of the leaders. Each leader seems unexpressive or irrational. I went through my entire first play through having all leaders neutral expect for one who was friendly. This friendly leader had the most negative things against me. Many of the things said by leaders are copied and pasted from Civ 5 or aren't voiced. Also luxury resources have been taken out so trade between leaders suffers, leaving you with little interaction. You have no idea how other civilization are doing because the demographics have been removed and the military advisor isn't there to compare military might. Beyond Earth understandably doesn't have City States, so they use Stations instead. These stations can not be allies so trade routes are your only option.Spying has been improved, meaning they can now perfume more tasks within cities. Your spies seem to fail higher tasks too often. My Special Agent failed two Level 5 task and two level 4's consecutively. Aliens are new but seem to act hostile at random moments, creating a level of mistrust. They have little benefit so wiping them out seem the best thing to do even when playing as Harmony. The MOST questionable thing by far is the fact the game just ends when you win or lose. There are no charts no map just a picture. You can look at the final chart in the main menu but you still have no way in knowing how you lost. Hopefully this all will be fixed with updates but until then it's nothing special.… Expand
  15. genix79
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is okay. There is certainly enjoyment to be had. It is more than just a reskin of Civ5, but not quite a full title unto itself. The engine evidently had to have some reworking for it to support some of the changes. Some things which stand out for mentioning:
    - Tech web is better than a tree. Its a futuristic game so with little tie-in to present technologies, you will need to learn what the techs grant and what improvements do.
    - Affinities *are* a nice concept, but they do have the unfortunate effect of railroading the player through some of the decisions in the game (since the end game is directly tied to 'finishing' the affinity of choice)
    - There is a fair amount of customization in the pregame menu's with being able to select a sponsor, packing equipment in for planetfall, and other bonuses to begin with. I think this is a major plus. I love it.
    - There are numerous decision points in-game wherein some small customization of one's empire is possible (selecting an additional bonus which applies empire-wide). They *do* make a difference and it is a really nice addition for tweaking ones empire.
    - Unfortunately the AI is still lacklustre in many regards. Not just the other factions (which feel dead in character), but the games general AI such as automated workers travelling dangerous routes, quests being offered which are not reasonable to complete.
    - There are fewer kinds of military unit in the game and I think perhaps too few now.
    - Many improvements seem to be variations on others. One gives +2 Science, another might give +1 Science +1 Health while another +2 Health. They kind of just blend into each other. I was hoping this edition of the Civ series might break that and have improvements giving more utility rather than variations on modifications to base stats.
    - Aliens are superior to Barbarians. I think they do have some character. I have played both as an aggresor toward them and leaving them alone. They add a bit more character to the game but not as much as early talks by the game designers made out.

    All up it is a decent game. I'm teetering on a 6.5/10 if I were to tell you a score which allows halves. I'll push it to a 7. I do wish the game had a bit more distinction in terms of mechanics from Civ5. This *is* future tech afterall! I want to reshape terrain, build cities underwater, change the weather...    … Expand
  16. Jaquishqa
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    A lot of fun, but not entirely fantastic.

    The main gripe I have is that luxury resources are gone. While they were never a big part of my playstyle in Civilization V, they added that extra bit of diplomacy and trading among other leaders. My second gripe is with the exclusion of a world congress, why they didn't bring that in from Civilization 5 is beyond me. Now that I think about    A lot of fun, but not entirely fantastic.

    The main gripe I have is that luxury resources are gone. While they were never a big part of my playstyle in Civilization V, they added that extra bit of diplomacy and trading among other leaders. My second gripe is with the exclusion of a world congress, why they didn't bring that in from Civilization 5 is beyond me.

    Now that I think about it, they really "dumbed down" diplomacy. Which isn't terrible, but it certainly doesn't help the game.

    That being said, I really like this game. It was really nice to drop into a new Civ game and not know what the heck I was going to see, like you would with other Civ games. Most of the new features are really interesting and work well.

    The soundtrack is one of my favorite things about the game, it adds a lot of atmosphere to the game.    … Expand
  17. lordythegreat1
    Oct 28, 2014
    7
    Having now played a few games of this, I will say Beyond Earth is good if a bit limited.

    pros: fewer leaders but very customizable, lots of different worker improvements, lots of resources, deep tech tree. cons: due to being so focused on building and tech i never bothered to really try to play as a warmongering player, tech tree is massive and due to not being able to see entire    Having now played a few games of this, I will say Beyond Earth is good if a bit limited.

    pros: fewer leaders but very customizable, lots of different worker improvements, lots of resources, deep tech tree.

    cons: due to being so focused on building and tech i never bothered to really try to play as a warmongering player, tech tree is massive and due to not being able to see entire tree at once I found myself going off in one direction and often forgetting that there were simpler technologies in the other direction that were important, units arent very interesting or useful early game for much more than alien eradication, no more luxury resources or their trading, no religions, no world congress.

    It feels like civ 5 did on first release, good but in need of an expansion or two. lots of sitting around pressing next turn in the mid game (as with civ 5 vanilla). Got lots of neat ideas but not all of it pulls off neatly and not all of it makes for a better game.

    Most important point to make: Ultimately feels like a full price mod. If its on special get it, but I cant yet recommend a full price purchase    … Expand
  18. gaynorvader
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    Disappointing, but still good.

    I've played a lot of Sid Meier over the years and love 4x games. Recently however, the games have been extremely lackluster before their expansions. First I'd like to address the ridiculous point that it's "just" a Civ 5 expansion. Yes, it uses the same engine, so looks and plays in a fairly similar fashion. The amount of difference in just about every    Disappointing, but still good.

    I've played a lot of Sid Meier over the years and love 4x games. Recently however, the games have been extremely lackluster before their expansions. First I'd like to address the ridiculous point that it's "just" a Civ 5 expansion. Yes, it uses the same engine, so looks and plays in a fairly similar fashion. The amount of difference in just about every concept of the game make it much more than an expansion though. New terrain features, new tech tree, new unit upgrade system, quest system, new barbarian ai, no natural wonders, orbital layer, and so on.

    -The good

    -The new tech web means you can't just dominate scientifically and collect all the wonders, coasting to an easy culture victory.
    -The quest system gives you constant mini-objectives which help new players learn without a long tutorial and provide nice little boosts for more experienced players to take advantage of.
    -Trading is quite a bit more meaningful, particularly between your own and independent cities(stations)
    -Aliens are a serious menace to expansion early on as opposed to the slight irritation barbarians were.
    -Explorers are useful, in place of natural wonders are excavation sites which can yield some great bonuses
    -It's fun. The choices you make are all small at the time, but have a huge effect on your late game. Particularly after building a new building. Some of them are pointless as one is obviously better, but most are well balanced.

    -The bad

    -AI is about the same as Civ 5, no real improvement
    -Units are set, AC fans will be disappointed they can't customise their units the way they wish.
    -Unit upgrades are forced upon you, if you reach level 4 in Unity, but want to give your unit the level 12 supremacy upgrade, you can't, you have to reach level 12 in supremacy first.
    -Lack of diplomacy options. Sometimes you'll be trading with a station and the AI will swoop in and destroy it, harming your economy. There's no way you can tell them to stop, the only solution is to declare war and destroy their units
    -Way too easy. The 3 affinity victory conditions are far to simple to pull off, you just research a small enough amount of tech and build something next to your capital and not lose for a few turns and you'll win. You can disable these, but then you are left with domination as the only recourse (I don't think having all the remaining players as allies even counts as a win).
    -Too much impassible terrain. On every setting, there seems to be a large portion of the map covered in mountains or chasms which are largely impassable.
    -Aliens rule the seas. Your ships always suck at melee battles and the aliens excel in it. They also seem to ignore the AI and focus every alien on the planet on your ships or troop transports.
    -It could have much more character. The techs and factions never seem to be all that different. The changes according to their affinity choices are quite subtle and when ever you research a new tech or build a wonder it doesn't have the little description, quote and/or video that made Alpha Centauri such a rewarding game to play.

    It's a fun game in and of itself, but fails to live up to its predecessors. I've sunk a good few hours into it already and enjoyed them immensely. Though I think it works better on marathon mode as opposed to quick or standard.    … Expand
  19. idea
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    This game is a decent successor to the series, it doesn't introduce anything incredibly exciting and has lost some of the charm of it's predecessors. Sadly there is an incredible disparity between what the 'professional' critics thought of the game, and the gamer's themselves. at the time of writing this 87% of the critic reviews are 'positive' while only 36 of the user reviews areThis game is a decent successor to the series, it doesn't introduce anything incredibly exciting and has lost some of the charm of it's predecessors. Sadly there is an incredible disparity between what the 'professional' critics thought of the game, and the gamer's themselves. at the time of writing this 87% of the critic reviews are 'positive' while only 36 of the user reviews are positive. Metacritic may want to investigate the cause of this disparity because it is causing my friends and myself to lose faith in this site for critical reviews, instead turning to guys like angry joe and the escapist who are often more honest and accurate.… Expand
  20. TheValeyard
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    While its not Civ4 or Civ5, it is strangely addictive and the new paths to victory are intriguing. The AI needs a little work, and some of the old problems from previous games remain. The game is very simplistic, but keeps most of what we loved in previous games alive and well. Already many custom Civs are now downloadable if a current faction is not to your liking. Overall, it is a goodWhile its not Civ4 or Civ5, it is strangely addictive and the new paths to victory are intriguing. The AI needs a little work, and some of the old problems from previous games remain. The game is very simplistic, but keeps most of what we loved in previous games alive and well. Already many custom Civs are now downloadable if a current faction is not to your liking. Overall, it is a good game, with its flaws, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, worth a shot.… Expand
  21. Deathwafflez
    Dec 22, 2014
    7
    it is good but not great aliens the replacements for barbarians are everywhere and no naval units are safe at all and auto explore sadly now translates to *kill off this unit without any reward*

    "the npc people sort of lack personality" is what people say but is not true it has just the same amount of substance maybe it is just because these people do not exist but it is true something    it is good but not great aliens the replacements for barbarians are everywhere and no naval units are safe at all and auto explore sadly now translates to *kill off this unit without any reward*

    "the npc people sort of lack personality" is what people say but is not true it has just the same amount of substance maybe it is just because these people do not exist but it is true something is just sort of...off about them

    there are a lot of resources in the first part of the game and when you see them you cannot do anything with them until a certain era and in a civ game it just does not make sense

    at this point you might think how is this good all I mentioned was the cons and well yes that is true all the pros are the same as civ 5 pretty much

    and finally the tech tree it is not the traditional one as it is in a radio type set up in the original you could only go so far without one tech in this one however you could be all over one side and never touch the other

    7/10    … Expand
  22. Spectre486
    Nov 4, 2014
    7
    I'm giving this a 7 because as a stand-alone game, C:BE a good 4X strategy game. But, I'm so used to the masterpiece that is Civilization 5 : Brave New World, that this rendition sadly pales into insignificance. Many of the features that made Civ 5 what it was have either been heavily simplified or removed entirely - good examples being the unit variety and faction identities/bonuses.I'm giving this a 7 because as a stand-alone game, C:BE a good 4X strategy game. But, I'm so used to the masterpiece that is Civilization 5 : Brave New World, that this rendition sadly pales into insignificance. Many of the features that made Civ 5 what it was have either been heavily simplified or removed entirely - good examples being the unit variety and faction identities/bonuses.

    Good/New features :

    I like the addition of the orbital layer - it adds another dynamic to empire building and warfare.
    The new Affinities (Ideologies) are a different spin on Civ 5, and I think do give you a feel of what your Civ represents in terms of values.
    Miasma - it feels like a major pain to start out, and if you play as Harmony, you can turn it to your advantage - a nice touch.
    The Virtues tree (social upgrades) are a nice touch giving you the option to progress either in a single tree or multiple trees - each having bonus boosts (i.e. you get bonuses for spreading across multiple trees - unlike Civ 5).
    The Quests - it adds a nice way to customise buildings to your specific playstyle, and gives nice little boosts to your empire. Ultimately, it's a mechanism to reduce the number of buildings in the game.
    The favour system in diplomacy is a nice touch. If you don't need anything from another faction, they trade you an IOU which can be called in later.
    The visual appeal is a nice change from dull and boring earth :o)

    Things that disappoint me :

    The tech web - although a decent idea, it just seems to be a random collection of upgrades that you stumble into. I never get a feel that I'm progressing towards something meaningful. Example : In Civ 5, acquiring Dynamite was a major boost for your Artillery capabilities, and you would often divert resources to getting it as early as possible if you were planning a war. You don't get that feeling in C:BE.

    The wonders are........Meh. They are small and fairly insignificant boosts that have little synergy with each other. Again, Civ 5 often required you to build/acquire certain wonders to achieve certain victories.

    The lack of "atmosphere". This is a new planet shrouded in mystery! The quest system is good for customisation, but they could have done so much more with it to give you that feeling that this is a weird and wonderful new place that you have to grapple with to get the most out of it. The Aliens are basically the "Barbarians" of Civ 5 - but they seem to flip a coin as to whether or not to attack you. Once you get to mid-game, they are irrelevant as a force - you might as well terminate them on sight, even playing as Harmony! Would have been much better if they made the natural inhabitants an AI-only faction in their own right, and link quests to them depending on your Affinity.

    The "health" system. It's basically "happiness" from Civ 5, but seems to be more forgiving. You can expand very aggressively in C:BE and not suffer too much. If you did that in Civ 5, you'd find life very difficult if your people weren't happy. The "softening" of this expansion bottleneck means that you are engaging far less with your neighbours to acquire happiness or manipulate the game in your favour via a league of nations/UN - oh wait, luxury goods don't exist anymore either. Why do I need to talk to anyone again?

    The NPC stations; the C:BE equivalent of City States. They are a trading option for a single trade route - nothing more. You don't fight over them. They don't fight for you. They don't consume land and foil your best laid expansion plans. You can't take them over. They don't give you a bigger voice at the table of international diplomacy - nope...they just sit there and give you a few extra resource points - and if you're unlucky they appear out of the blue and stop you from planting an outpost where you want it. Meh.

    Economy - I never feel like Energy (Gold) is a bottleneck. If you had an abundance of gold in Civ 5, you could do so much with it. If you weren't a gold friendly faction, you'd often struggle to make ends meet - to field that Dynasty crushing army. So far - Energy is just something I casually look at. It's rarely in the negative per turn. It's just not a resource that needs to be carefully managed.

    Lack of unit diversity - There are not many units at all. Only different ways to customise them via increases in Affinity. It's like the buildings - less of them, but you can customise them.

    All in all I'm disappointed - After Civ 5 and X-COM, Firaxis were the only software house I'd ever pre-order anything from. I'll be thinking twice now.

    That said - this game does have potential for modding and future expansions. My advice is to park it until that happens. Civ 5 only became truly great after the second expansion.    … Expand
  23. Jthecrazed
    Nov 5, 2014
    7
    Still one of the best strategy games out there, rivaling the total war series for years and that series making a decline in grades, this one remains steady. It can still get some improvements but it's a great game overall.

    However this expansion is in my opinion not worthy of the game itself and thus 7/10
  24. Scottar
    Dec 19, 2014
    7
    The game is good but needs some enhancements to make it more enjoyable and less confusing. I accomplished my first victory and found it disappointing as with some other negatives.

    One thing I hate about this game is the loading. First it goes through the credits which I can’t bypass. Then a graphic screen appears with no loading indicator, I thought the game got hung during the first    The game is good but needs some enhancements to make it more enjoyable and less confusing. I accomplished my first victory and found it disappointing as with some other negatives.

    One thing I hate about this game is the loading. First it goes through the credits which I can’t bypass. Then a graphic screen appears with no loading indicator, I thought the game got hung during the first run and I have an SSD. Then it goes to the first menu of single or multiplayer or setup. Then in single player i select the saved game section and i goes to another graphic screen with no loading indicator.

    In my first victory I contacted the aliens, I was expecting advance technologies or insights from them along with an invite to their world. Perhaps even a harmonious path to existence on their planet. But instead I got a little scene that opens up- You have made contact, you are victorious, not even good fanfare. The game needs a better scheme, more adventure, better interface.

    There are some things about the game that seen dysfunctional.

    1) The Diplomacy Interaction seemed limited on Trade options along with diplomacy dialog. Why not have options on working alliance agreements like mutual wonder developments by sharing resources and technologies.

    2) On the manuals, instead of the tacky poster why didn’t they have graphical trees on Virtues, Units, and Tech developments. This would help in determining which way to proceed in desired development.

    3) More control over unit upgrades, it’s too canned.

    4) On spy ops, why couldn’t they have been more flexible in how it would proceed on advancement. Suppose I wanted to spy on an ally, why do I have to go through siphoning energy first for advancement? It too canned! And why could their be spy satellites to observe development.

    5) Some things require too much maintenance like some Orbital unites and trade caravans and just makes the game more tedious.

    6) Quests should involve 1st person adventure and puzzles. If I want to upgrade something in technology then the quests should be the mode to achieve them for some exclusive advantages. You search for alien technology for upgrades. Explorer unit should have the ability for armament upgrades and Lev capabilities. They also should have sensor enhancement upgrades for finding alien technology.

    7) On many off- shore resources there didn’t seem to be a way to harvest the bounty of the sea. I acquired one city that had an offshore drilling platform but I was unable to repair it after I pillaged it.

    8) I don’t quite like the cities growth patterns, I think there should be better options on where you want the city to grow such as toward strategic resources.

    9) There’s a city defense called a Tacjet. It’s very annoying to maintain so I put it to sleep. But then when I needed it I could not awaken it. May be a game bug.

    There were other negatives I can’t get into in the limited space.

    Here’s what I think should have happened. The alien bio life would evolve to threaten the colonists, that is why the original inhabitants left. The aliens would offer technology to prevent that via a certain development path. After developing that technology the victor would offer alliances to help defeat or subdue the life. Based on what was found that is what I would expect. Or it could have been the sun going supernova or some other impending disaster. Or the aliens would give the victor the technology for a warp driven space ship to another habitable planet.

    If an emancipation gate was constructed then the offer would be a return to earth.

    There are so much better outcomes then the canned programed one. Or how about a quest for alien technology to construct a ship to a better planet and then construct a gate to get a number of Earth inhabitants over.

    Maybe what this game needs is a strategy guide, I didn’t care much for the AI assistance. And the extended manual needs some better coverage on some things like Covert Ops. I could never get them past 4 level.

    I would also like to see mini game add-ons of first person scenarios such as 1st person video games of certain quests where you interact on a virtual world level instead of an icon strategy level. Just more money for you Civilization developers. ;>)

    I would like to also see a pre-game where the civilizations have to develop the technology for space travel. I think it would involve more then just rocket launches into space since you have to travel for years to the destination.

    I don’t much under stand the harmony approach, unless your some dye in the wool enviro, boring.

    I think this game needs a whole do-over, it’s too haphazard.

    I see there is already an upgrade that I have not had time to check out.    … Expand
  25. Sandro86
    Apr 27, 2019
    7
    I honestly enjoyed this game but I understand well why many didn't liked it that much.
  26. Parik
    Apr 7, 2020
    7
    This game isn't a really NEW Civilization, but it can give you a few dozens hours of fun while you are waiting for discount for Civilization 6. I like the idea with poisoned hexes and alien nests. Different ways of your progress make every game a bit unpredictable and you can't say what direction would be better before you land on a planet.
    I find new tech web is fuzzy, but on the other    This game isn't a really NEW Civilization, but it can give you a few dozens hours of fun while you are waiting for discount for Civilization 6. I like the idea with poisoned hexes and alien nests. Different ways of your progress make every game a bit unpredictable and you can't say what direction would be better before you land on a planet.
    I find new tech web is fuzzy, but on the other hand it gives much more freedom to your scientists.    … Expand
  27. OldManGamerOMG
    Dec 4, 2020
    7
    Beyond Earth is a well made game. I had no technical issues, having the graphics at their maximum settings. I do feel that the UI (User Interface) is incredibly difficult to read. There were times that I would have to pull up information on my second monitor, to be able to read all of the information that was too small to read on an 85 inch display in 4k resolution. However, once you haveBeyond Earth is a well made game. I had no technical issues, having the graphics at their maximum settings. I do feel that the UI (User Interface) is incredibly difficult to read. There were times that I would have to pull up information on my second monitor, to be able to read all of the information that was too small to read on an 85 inch display in 4k resolution. However, once you have learned the game and understand what everything is, this is not something to worry about.

    I can recommend this game for those that like turn based strategy games. I prefer the classic style of Civilization on Earth, but this game was very well made and a fun twist to that concept.    … Expand
  28. Mikimax
    Nov 2, 2014
    6
    I'm pretty disappointing with this game. This is basically a CIV 5 total conversion mod with optimized engine and nice graphics. The strongest area of the game is in the beginning when you are fighting for survival against aliens. Game feels unfinished and shallow. Huge opportunity wasted.
  29. 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
  30. Motasa
    Nov 5, 2014
    6
    Solid base game. Room for a lot of improvements. Essentially it's the same story as with Civ 5: vanilla is mediocre and the expansions made the game good.
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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]
See all critic reviews »