Beyond Galaxyland Preview: Honey, I Grew the Guinea Pig

Doug has had a pretty rough day. On the way home to his parents' house, he rushes outside to catch his runaway guinea pig Boom Boom, only to find that the girl waiting for him has disappeared, and a random zombie-like creature decides it would quite like to tear him apart. Rushing through a strange portal, Doug (and us, as we are playing as this lad) finds himself in Galaxyland.

Saved by a mysterious company called Dreamcore, Doug is told that Earth is lost, and he'll have to make his new life among the stars. Also, his guinea pig has been forcefully evolved to the point that it can walk, talk, and shoot a laser pistol. And thus begins the journey of Beyond Galaxyland, a space-faring RPG teeming with personality right from the start.

It's clear from the short time we've already spent with Beyond Galaxyland that it is a tribute to classic RPGs. It has turn-based combat, exploration is done with 2D side-scrolling environments, and you can expect to be drawn into the world through plenty of dialogue between increasingly wacky and interesting characters. To say that Beyond Galaxyland is just a homage would be doing it a disservice, though, as it feels more than modern enough to stand toe-to-toe with the RPGs we love today.

There are few better examples of this blend between nostalgia and modern than the visuals of Beyond Galaxyland. The game looks gorgeous and while it has pixelated graphics that'll take you back to simpler times, when the most important thing in the world was reaching the next chapter, or facing down the next boss, Beyond Galaxyland has a level of detail and scale you only think those older games had. Each environment we saw in our three or so hours of play was a sight to behold, with their aesthetics perfectly encapsulating the atmosphere of the latest place Doug had been thrown into.

The gameplay loop, as you'd expect, largely consists of exploration mixed in with combat as you come up against creatures that would like nothing more than a human and guinea pig combo meal. The combat is largely a good time, with attacks and special abilities mixed in with summonable creatures. In the vein of Pokémon, most of the creatures that you weaken can be caught via one of Doug's abilities. Not every catch goes perfectly, but once you have a creature on your team, it can be used to buff up allies or deal some extra devastating attacks, using a resource separate from your AP or ability points. It adds another layer of depth to a combat system that otherwise risked being a bit too simplistic. Something that does stand out in combat is that you have to hit a button at the correct time in order to get your attacks off. Whether we've just lost our rhythm or not is hard to tell, but during our play time it was difficult to tell why certain attacks would miss while others hit like a truck.

What proved to be most rewarding and innovative in Beyond Galaxyland were the platforming and puzzle sections. Both were simple for the early hours we played, but very fun to explore as they allowed you to get a handle on the verticality of some areas and see how smooth the movement is. Walking and hopping around is simply fun and was the thing that most dragged me back to my fondest RPG memories in Beyond Galaxyland.

From what we've played so far, there's plenty of intrigue in Beyond Galaxyland. A lot of mysteries are introduced and left to linger in the back of the player's mind until a big twist comes later on. It sets up for a game that you just can't help but keep playing as you keep hoping the next mission will be the one where you find out what The End really is, and if Dreamcore is on your side or not. But, while the plot itself remains intriguing, and certain characters are a lot of fun to be around, some of the dialogue didn't quite hit. There were also repetitive moments for Doug especially, and it felt at times like our protagonist was the least interesting part of the game, which is understandable considering he's been placed in a galaxy filled with robots, aliens, and more.

Overall, Beyond Galaxyland was a stellar time. Heaps of nostalgia sprinkled in with just enough modern elements is a recipe sure to bring in old-school and new-school RPG fans looking for something that both feels familiar and new at the same time. It builds intrigue with its story, and keeps you pushing through to those story beats with a satisfying game loop. If it can keep both up for the rest of the game, then things are looking very strong for Beyond Galaxyland.