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Civilization: Beyond Earth, a 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), represents a branch of the rich and long-standing strategy genre. However, its complexity and demand for patience and meticulous planning can make it challenging for some players. Among the most prominent 4X franchises is Civilization, created by legendary game designer Sid Meier. Following the somewhat formulaic fifth installment, Meier set his sights on the cosmos with Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth. This “spiritual successor” to Alpha Centauri (released nearly 20 years prior) offers a fresh, space-faring spin-off to the classic Civilization formula. Let’s explore this new frontier beyond Earth and see how Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth fares.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth Gameplay

A New Frontier

By transporting players to the vastness of space, Civilization: Beyond Earth presents a science fiction setting filled with elements both familiar and new. Encounter sandworm-like creatures reminiscent of Frank Herbert’s Dune that attack armored vehicles in desert regions, or build armies of cyborg soldiers evoking the Warhammer 40K universe.

Despite leaving Earth for distant galaxies, the civilizations in Beyond Earth retain unique stories and development paths, offering greater customization compared to pre-determined designs. Each faction possesses distinct advantages, encouraging replayability and diverse strategic approaches.

By transporting players to the vastness of space, Civilization: Beyond Earth presents a science fiction setting filled with elements both familiar and new.

These choices provide unique advantages for each playthrough, even when revisiting the same civilization. This significantly enhances Beyond Earth’s replayability compared to previous installments.

Different Factions in Civilization: Beyond Earth

A Well-Balanced Ecosystem

Within its cosmic setting, Beyond Earth establishes an entirely new structure: from the tech tree and upgrade paths to extraterrestrial adversaries and even otherworldly threats. Unlike traditional Civilization games, all these elements are interconnected, forming essential links in the chain towards victory.

Gameplay Mechanics of Civilization: Beyond Earth

With limited upgrade points, research capabilities, resources, and construction capacity, players must carefully balance production, technological advancement, resource exploitation, and military development. These elements are interwoven, requiring strategic choices to create powerful units. These units, in turn, must engage in combat to gain experience and unlock further upgrades, including entirely new units, to counter the aggressive alien wildlife and competing civilizations.

Unlike traditional Civilization games, all these elements are interconnected, forming essential links in the chain towards victory.

This interconnectedness makes conflict in Beyond Earth virtually unavoidable, even when pursuing non-military victory conditions like cultural, technological, or economic dominance. This delicate balance demands careful planning and calculated decisions, preventing players from exploiting non-combat victory conditions as easily as in previous titles.

Dated Graphics

Compared to its predecessors, Civilization: Beyond Earth shows little graphical improvement, essentially reusing the older engine with new models. These models often feature low polygon counts and stiff animations, lacking vibrancy and detail.

Graphics of Civilization: Beyond Earth

The visual effects also lack polish and refinement, making the already simplistic graphics feel even more dated and less appealing, even to long-time fans. Compared to other contemporary games, Beyond Earth’s graphical shortcomings, coupled with increased gameplay complexity, can create a steeper learning curve for newcomers.

Visual Effects in Civilization: Beyond Earth

Compared to its predecessors, Civilization: Beyond Earth shows little graphical improvement, essentially reusing the older engine with new models.

Game Information

• Developer: Firaxis Games
• Publisher: 2K Games
• Genre: Strategy
• Release Date: October 14, 2014
• Platform: PC

Minimum System Requirements

• OS: Windows 7 | 8 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz | AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
• RAM: 2GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 | ATI Radeon HD 5870
• HDD: 10GB

Tested System Configuration

• CPU: i7 4970 3.6GHz
• RAM: 8 GB
• Graphics: GIGABYTE GEFORCE GTX 1050Ti D5 4GB
• HDD: 1 TB

Game supported by 2K Games

Game played on PC