The Civilization series has been a constant presence on PC for over 20 years, so there have been high-hopes for Civilization: Beyond Earth. It takes the gameplay mechanics from the acclaimed Civilization V into a space setting, with players beginning by settling a city on an alien planet instead of Earth, before progressing on to the familiar territory of exploration, city-building and researching new technologies. Combat is largely the same, with a few tweaks here and there, but the different Affinities give the player more choice over how they want to progress. The game has a lot to live up to, with the excellent Civilization V setting the bar so high 4 years ago, yet it doesn’t quite manage to meet those lofty heights. Civilization: Beyond Earth is basically the same game we had 4 years ago, just with a few adjustments that don’t always fit in quite as well as they should.
Diplomacy played a big part in Civilization V, particularly if Gods and Kings and Brave New World had been installed. Getting friendly with City-States might give you the edge you need to win the elections for World Leader, awarding you a Diplomatic Victory. Unfortunately, there’s nothing of the sort in Beyond Earth. No matter how I played, I always found that the game ended with me frantically scrambling together units to defend the Mind Flower or Exodus gate as the other civilizations took issue with something I had done, usually boiling down to us choosing different Affinities or if I’d splattered a few too many aliens. It’s a disappointing aspect of the game that draws attention to how it is a stripped-down Civilization V, just with some science fiction thrown in to hide what has been removed. What’s more, the faction leaders in Beyond Earth are very monotonous, and don’t seem to have the personality of the historical figures usually featured in the Civilization series, repeating the same lines of speech at every given opportunity.
Trade routes make a return, and are a very useful tool, as they are integral to maintaining good relations with other civilizations for as long as possible. So far, I’ve mentioned several times how closely it resembles Civilization V, but honestly, that’s only early on in the game. Once things start rolling, you’ll find that your strategies from the previous Civilization games won’t work, and it’s likely that you’ll lose your first game in Beyond Earth because of it. The whole premise is that you must adapt your civilization, to life on an alien planet. This is where the new Affinities come in. As you research different technologies with the new Tech Web, you can gain experience towards one of the three Affinities; Purity, Harmony and Supremacy. Purity focuses on genetically manipulating humanity, whereas Supremacy sees humanity transformed into a mechanised race. Finally, Harmony takes advantage of the planet’s native species and utilises alien units.
Each Affinity has subtle differences that will affect how the game is played, as each one has its own victory condition and unique units. Dedicating yourself to any of these paths will likely bring you on a collision course with civilizations aligned to another Affinity. It’s an interesting idea that works quite well, but does get a little tedious in the end-game as former allies begin waging war on you because they disagree with the way you treat the planet’s wildlife. If you begin terraforming the planet to fit humanity’s needs, a civilization aligned to Harmony might take offense to your actions, warning you before they finally decide to purge you from the planet.
The Tech Web is an interesting mechanic that also works well, as it forces you to choose which technologies to research. You can’t research them all in a single game, so it is important to carefully select which paths to follow. For example, in the last game I played I researched different technologies and discovered something called a Planet Carver, a weaponised satellite that exists in the Orbital layer, another feature introduced in Beyond Earth. The Orbital Layer allows the player to build and launch various satellite units that each gives different benefits. A Planet Carver can be placed on the map, and used to rain death down on any enemy units that step within its range. It can even be placed above a rival civilization’s city, and then used to decimate it, bringing a whole new type of tactical warfare to the series. Solar Collectors, on the other hand, can be used to increase the Energy output of any tile within its range, giving you more currency to use in any way you please.
Civilization: Beyond Earth boasts five victory conditions, four of which have requisite technologies needed in order to achieve them. These replace several of the victory conditions featured in Civilization V, and are quite possibly the biggest changes present in Beyond Earth. Three victory conditions are dependent on which Affinity you have chosen, locking out the other two Affinity-dependent conditions.
Domination is as straightforward as it sounds; to achieve it, you must capture the capital city of every other civilization through military force, but don’t be fooled by how simple it sounds. It is, possibly, the most difficult victory to achieve, as suggested by the name you’re attempt to capture and dominate a city, all while the game is sending you pop-ups to warn you of any danger. Combat will be very familiar to veterans of the series, with the only difference being that the units are much more technologically advanced. Attaining the Contact victory is a bit of a slog, as you must first research specific technologies, followed by a search for two pieces of the Signal. This leads to a long wait, as it takes some time for the pieces to be found. I found this to be the least-rewarding of the victories, as it didn’t feel as if I had achieved anything at all.
The Transcendence victory is achieved by following the Harmony Affinity through to completion, as you research technologies in order to create the “Mind Flower”, a wonder that melds the minds of humanity with those of the aliens. Disappointingly, the Purity and Supremacy are nearly identical. To win, you must create either an Exodus or Emancipation Gate. The Exodus Gate allows more settlers from Earth to teleport to the planet through the Gate, whereas the Emancipation Gate requires that you must send through military units back to Earth in order to conquer it.
Alongside the different Affinities are Virtues, which replace Civilization V’s social policy system. There are four different Virtues to choose from, which are Might, Prosperity, Knowledge and Industry. Each one has a profound effect on how your civilization develops; Might gives you advantages in the field of war, for example, whereas Industry increases your Energy output. The effects of Virtues can be felt more directly than Civilization V’s social policies, which never really affected gameplay. In Beyond Earth, I noticed that my units wiped the floor with those of other civilizations if I solely expanded through the Might path.
It’s remarkably hard to step away from the fact that Beyond Earth could easily be another Civilization V expansion. However, after a few games, it suddenly struck me that, beneath a surface that unfortunately does resemble its predecessor a little too closely, it really is an entirely different game. After all, this is a game that has only recently been released, so it wouldn’t be too much to say that future expansions may bring Beyond Earth into its own in the way that the Civilization V expansions completely transformed a game that now, in retrospect, seems quite bland and featureless, into the deeply epic game that is has become.
Maybe in a year or two I’ll be reviewing Beyond Earth’s own expansion, and I’ll be able to commend it for introducing unique features that allow the game to stand outside of Civilization V’s shadow. For the moment, however, Beyond Earth is a great game with some fantastic ideas that doesn’t quite do enough to be a standalone title.