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. phishyphishy
    Nov 10, 2014
    8
    Play If: You love civilization games. It's as fun as all the rest.

    Don't Play If: This is your first civilization game. Pick up Civ V and treat this as a sequel.
  2. Macwho11
    Oct 24, 2014
    10
    Great game play of old, nice graphics, great soundtrack to go with the theme, sure feels like CIV 5 (Which there is nothing at all wrong with). Love the touch of quests to make everyone's game feel different. Give it more time to get use to I think will see more better reviews.

    Love 4X games
  3. Zamioku
    Oct 25, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I don't understand why everyone keeps comparing this game with Civ 5 and saying that it's just not as good.
    Personally I think it's a brilliant game in it's own, but if you want to compare it to Civ 5 then I can say without a doubt that it's a much smaller game (less civs, fewer mechanics, fewer specializations) but much better thought out and adapted.
    The aliens are a constant, REAL threat, they are diverse and the rewards for killing them are much more meaningful (due to the quests) unlike the wimpy barbarians of Civ who were just waiting to be wiped out.
    The upgrades, virtues, affinities and all of their effects are all very clear and very visible. There is no second guessing, or wondering as to the effects of my specialization, as in Civ 5 and this gives me a feeling that the game is much more solid.
    There is so much to be said why Beyond Earth is so much better and innovative than Civ 5, but I would rather players take this game separately so they can fully enjoy and graps it's unique concepts.    … Expand
  4. Zagbok
    Oct 25, 2014
    10
    wow just wow, if you did not like the other civ games, go away. If you did like them you will love this. The paths you can take the choices before you enter the game. Wow I enjoyed having more decisions that shapes you people into more than just people some times. The game is not alpha Centauri it is beyond earth.
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. singetak
    Oct 29, 2014
    10
    Honestly i like it a lot. I like the thing about the quests, about starting weak against the alien which is fair as it is a new alien world. I like the favor point thingy which is also something new.The thing with the upgrade i see much smoother than the idea of creating your unit in alpha century because i remember back when i played Alpha century i used to hate the idea of having a lotHonestly i like it a lot. I like the thing about the quests, about starting weak against the alien which is fair as it is a new alien world. I like the favor point thingy which is also something new.The thing with the upgrade i see much smoother than the idea of creating your unit in alpha century because i remember back when i played Alpha century i used to hate the idea of having a lot of units type and names.… Expand
  8. 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
  9. Evilmonky
    Oct 30, 2014
    10
    Huge Civ fan since Civ1, Alpha Centuri is an all time classic and favourite of mine. This is my first metacritic review, had to say something after my first full play through on epic, what an adventure. Its been years since I have been so totally engrossed in a game. Never has a civ game been as customisable or have so many paths to victory. Alpha tried at this and succeeded but beyondHuge Civ fan since Civ1, Alpha Centuri is an all time classic and favourite of mine. This is my first metacritic review, had to say something after my first full play through on epic, what an adventure. Its been years since I have been so totally engrossed in a game. Never has a civ game been as customisable or have so many paths to victory. Alpha tried at this and succeeded but beyond earth takes it to a different level. It truly is about survival on a hostile planet,. how u survive and adapt to your environment is totally down to you. Trade, espionage and diplomacy have never been as well executed in a civ game it was incredible manipulating other races to bend to my will. I guess the civ 5 trolls are being very vocal in these reviews, but the simplified civ model is how it should be and how it started, personal opinion I guess. Multiplayer is very fluid with so little micromanagement required.… Expand
  10. 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
  11. Saporaku
    Nov 4, 2014
    8
    I think this game has been getting a lot of flak just for not being Civ. Its not as involved as Civ. There are definitely drop offs in it where you aren't addicted to hit next turn where it is just easier, but over all its really solid for a 4x. The victory types are unique and interesting. The tech tree has a non-linear progression (which adds to the power of espionage, something that hasI think this game has been getting a lot of flak just for not being Civ. Its not as involved as Civ. There are definitely drop offs in it where you aren't addicted to hit next turn where it is just easier, but over all its really solid for a 4x. The victory types are unique and interesting. The tech tree has a non-linear progression (which adds to the power of espionage, something that has been lacking in civ if you are a scientifically advanced culture *cough*sejong*cough*) which adds to the way the game is set up. Its not about linear progression, but instead, about figuring out an effective path for maximizing your game objective. As a result, there is not a guaranteed path where you are going to be butting heads with AI or just finding AI to be useless. However! There does seem to be a "best" path if your objective is beating the game in the fewest turns(which is how I play). I think there still needs to be a lot of balancing done, but it was the same when Civ 5 was first released(beating the game with rome in the 1600's by culture was a little silly). The first big patch that Civ 5 did was AMAZING, so I have expectations that they will at least do a big patch on this one like they did for CIv 5.
    Overall, its different. Which is exactly what I think you should expect from Civ in space.    … Expand
  12. 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
  13. brunoconde
    Dec 6, 2014
    10
    As a Civilization fan (since the first version), I think this is a great game. Civ V is very simplified, true, and Beyond Earth looks like a well-fashioned mod. But it really looks like the title I was looking for, after finishing a Civ V game. Fills that emptiness that we feel after finishing a Civ V game. Very good game. I just Hope the guys from Firaxis keep enhancing it.
  14. 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
  15. KalikoKat
    Dec 23, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game, some differences from Civ V, replaces the tech tree with a web so that you don't have to worry about being ahead of other civs in researching, adds affinities, love it.… Expand
  16. overkoell
    Jan 12, 2015
    6
    The biggest problem of this game is certainly the extremely high reputation of its predecessor.
    The truth is Civilization Beyond Earth is simply not as good as Civilization V. Its just not.
    But that doesn't mean that its not worth a look. The fact that it is much simpler than Civ 5 can also be a plus for people new to the series. And the Sci-Fi setting is interesting too. Civ 5 wasn't    The biggest problem of this game is certainly the extremely high reputation of its predecessor.
    The truth is Civilization Beyond Earth is simply not as good as Civilization V. Its just not.
    But that doesn't mean that its not worth a look.
    The fact that it is much simpler than Civ 5 can also be a plus for people new to the series.
    And the Sci-Fi setting is interesting too.
    Civ 5 wasn't as great on release either. The addons made it what it is today - one of the best Strategy games ever. Maybe 2K will give this game one or two addons that will also greatly improve it.

    Beyond Earth is a good strategy game. But it is not nearly as good as Civilization V... yet.    … Expand
  17. CarlosEmirSF
    Jun 22, 2015
    2
    Simple.. i just come here to negativate this game and i going back to play sid meiers brave new world..
    "here your least 150 chars......................"
  18. omalley
    Jul 24, 2015
    1
    I am new to the Civ series. This was the first civ game I bought. I wasn't too impressed so I bought civ V. I was blown away by how better it was. Stick with Civ V. Way better.
  19. KielW
    Jul 17, 2016
    8
    I bought BE on sale recently for under $10, so it gets a much more relaxed rating than if I had paid brand new game pricing for it.

    It pretty much is what everyone else has said, a glorified Civ5 space DLC. But does it need to be more? It's fun, it's (at this point) not full of bugs, and it works.
  20. gracjanski
    Nov 2, 2020
    4
    The idea of the game makes you surely curious to play it: the best strategy gameplay combines with an interesting sci-fi setting, where you try to survive against the aliens (hmm...in truth we are the aliens ;) ) and compete with other colonists. Great cinematics improves this feeling to get into a new world, the music is also great.

    But...it is true, the game is not done, even in 2020.    The idea of the game makes you surely curious to play it: the best strategy gameplay combines with an interesting sci-fi setting, where you try to survive against the aliens (hmm...in truth we are the aliens ;) ) and compete with other colonists. Great cinematics improves this feeling to get into a new world, the music is also great.

    But...it is true, the game is not done, even in 2020.
    Something is missing, somehow it is boring to have more or less the same units, buildings and the same era.
    The quests are a good idea and well written, but they are only text, at least there should be some pictures. In addition the messages are so political correct, as the whole game.
    The tech tree is very important in the Civ series and was understandable, here it is confusing with a lot of branches and mixed with an affinity system.
    And yes, the AI is so bad sometimes, they declare war on you, although they are much weaker and you had very good relationship before. In another game they went on war and the AI was much stronger, but their army was far way. In a third game I was dominant and had 2 allies, a lonely and weak AI declared war anyway, lol. So stupid, it ruins the game a lot and it is impossible to change the AI via modification. Overall there are not many good mods out there, I recommend Codex overhaul and Infoaddict.
    And, this is not the end of the bad things in this game. We have end of 2020 and this game is 6 years old. On steam this game costs 60€ with the very needed DLC Rising Tide. 60€ !!. This is unacceptable, so I didnt buy it, but played it anyway. It should cost about 10-15€ today by the way. An alternative is to play it retail, where the prizes are lower, but still too high. Or you play the "lost copy from the truck".    … Expand
  21. cgmcnama
    Nov 9, 2014
    6
    SUMMARY: The core game foundation is great but needs a lot of tweaking in the balance department. Wait a year for a Steam sale when all the patches and updates are done and I think you will be delightfully pleased.

    This game deceptively appears to be a re-hash of Civ V but is actually a completely different game and has a lot of fun concepts like aggressive Aliens and Affinities. It    SUMMARY: The core game foundation is great but needs a lot of tweaking in the balance department. Wait a year for a Steam sale when all the patches and updates are done and I think you will be delightfully pleased.

    This game deceptively appears to be a re-hash of Civ V but is actually a completely different game and has a lot of fun concepts like aggressive Aliens and Affinities. It has a lot of potential and really implemented a strong Culture system where all the trees are viable.

    However, it just isn't balanced right now and multiplayer is broken. There are frequent crashes and game concepts like trade routes are insanely strong and broken. Because they are broken and have no limits like Civ V, you end up micromanaging each route every 25 turns unless you modify the Asset file or install a mod.    … Expand
  22. AlexanderDM
    Oct 30, 2017
    6
    Not an objectively bad title; the gameplay is balanced and the tech 'web' is excellent. But nothing about the experience elevated it over Civ V in any meaningful way, and I found myself backing off after only two or three games. I admit I'm at a loss for definite suggestions aside from novelty - in all, this game really didn't need to be made.
  23. Sandro86
    Apr 27, 2019
    7
    I honestly enjoyed this game but I understand well why many didn't liked it that much.
  24. Genek13
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    It's not a CiV6 level of quality but still very decent one.
    Suck me in after few turns. Unique setting of the game, isolation and overall visuals are great.
  25. Wrathzo
    Mar 25, 2022
    4
    Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy, 4X video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The game's setting is unique to the Civilization series in that it takes place in the future, with mankind traveling through space and founding colonies on extraterrestrial planets after Earth becomes uninhabitable due to anSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy, 4X video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The game's setting is unique to the Civilization series in that it takes place in the future, with mankind traveling through space and founding colonies on extraterrestrial planets after Earth becomes uninhabitable due to an undescribed disaster known as "the Great Mistake". Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal-based grid, iterating the ideas and building upon the engine of its predecessor, Civilization V.[8] Co-lead designer David McDonough described the relationship between the two games by saying "The bones of the experience are very much recognisably Civ. The idea of the cities, city-base progression, leaders, the passage of time, tile-based, turn-based, building improvements, technologies. A lot of them are very familiar themes to the Civ player.… Expand
  26. 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
  27. IJustWorkHere
    Nov 17, 2021
    5
    I am a huge fan of Civilization IV, V, and VI so I purchased Beyond earth hoping it would be a good continuation of the series. In the end I view it as a soulless cash-grab hoping to capitalize on the success of the other, better games in the franchise. As much as I love the other Civs I would advise people to pass on this one.
  28. Worstgamever
    Jul 30, 2022
    0
    Worst game I have ever played my entire life I would rather consume a bucket of paint
  29. justandi
    Jul 14, 2023
    0
    Feels like a cheaper copy of Civilization 5, diplomacy is even worse than Civilization 5
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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 »