Beyond Contact | Review – A detailed survival

Over the last few years of survival we have seen many and above all of every possible genre, from those set in the past to those under water up to science fiction ones. Beyond Contact falls into this last category, offering gameplay with an isometric view, a difficulty that is anything but simplistic, but also a fairly anonymous and not so original game world.

However, it must still be said that if you are looking for a survival game that can entertain you and who knows, maybe put you in trouble, then it could be for you. But don't expect one of the best exponents of the genre, this is clear.



-->

Beyond Contact, the setting

We are in 2766, humanity has achieved very important technological advances, including hyperspace travel. Our task, after choosing and customizing our character, will be to reach the planet Ketern and look for survivors of a previous expedition and find out more about this hostile world.

Soon, the protagonist of our choice, Quinn Hick, an agent of the Space Corps of the United World Congress (yes, it is quite a sophisticated attribution), will find himself in the middle of a possible catastrophe generated by a mysterious energy source. Between dialogues with our trusty droid C.A.R.L. and some interlude scenes, the story continues in a fairly linear way, but also in a curious way, given that the adventure itself is also quite interesting overall, even if nothing particularly inspired.

Unnecessarily difficult

--> Beyond Contact is a survival video game and like all survival video games the aim is simple: to survive. To do this, it is necessary to scan flora and fauna, upgrade the equipment with the resources that can be collected around and above all eat and stay constantly oxygenated through the classic collectible air bubbles. In short, a fairly classic game that works in its apparent simplicity.

The basic problem begins when the developers wanted to introduce an above-average difficulty, not endowed with complex facets, but more with choices that I find honestly unreasonable, from the oxygen reduced to the bone to the food that is requested by the protagonist every two to three minutes. I think the developers' original idea was to create a continuous state of anxiety for the player, to put him in difficulty. Objective achieved, but perhaps too much.



--> In short, exploring often becomes annoying, especially when it is necessary to travel great distances on the planet. To our rescue there is a branched construction system to create an impregnable base, complete with walls and defensive turrets to our rescue. However, in order to expand the base and create more impressive objects and buildings, it is necessary to scan as many resources as possible, so as to unlock new research in our technology tree.

Over time, complete tasks ranging from point A at point B or continuing to defend the base from the fearsome alien monsters with our weapons becomes quite repetitive and if in other survival the experience evolves continuously, in Beyond Contact, once the base is unlocked, it becomes all a big repetition of mechanics which do not offer particular general satisfactions.

An anonymous world

Ketern is a vast world, but not particularly original. Nothing is really striking, because for one thing or another we have seen many things in various other very similar titles. The development studio, Playcorp Studios, has opted for a colorful and simplistic visual sector with some elements that vaguely resemble a comic, especially in the cutscenes.

What makes it anonymous is more than anything else the choice of procedurality, many areas are interesting, others far from it. I entered vast fields where there was practically nothing and others where, instead, I could find everything. The biomes are different, some peaceful, others toxic (the latter in an almost exaggerated quantity).



In short, the planet is explorable, some parts are not so forgettable, but in most of cases you could find yourself in the midst of something already seen and reviewed, nothing that makes you jump or that can simply surprise. Too bad, otherwise the game is very well optimized and from the point of view of fluidity, it makes you play which is a real pleasure. But if you are looking for a stylistically unique product, this is perhaps not the game for you.