I tend to complain at times about the deluge of “Recharged” games being released by Atari, but I get why they are made. It’s really hard to modernize, or add further substance, to games released nearly 45 years ago, back when technology was so limited, and the entirety of a game could be experienced in about five minutes. I understand why games like those are the norm, and Pong Quest and Haunted House are exceptions to the rule. Lunar Lander Beyond is yet another example. A brand new iteration of a series that started back in 45 years ago, it is actually a bit more ambitious than the average modern Atari title.

Lunar Lander is all about guiding a titular lunar lander to a safe place in order for it to land properly and safely. You use thrusters and bizarre gravity physics in order to move your craft around, and then have to take gravity and the angle of the landing surface in order to ensure the smoothest and safest of landings. This is the entire premise of the game. It came out the same year as AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”, so please understand that there were limitations back in the day. And yet, Atari and Dreams Uncorporated (same folks behind Cris Tales) thought this was the kind of game to warrant a plot-heavy sequel.

I’m not going to try to talk about Lunar Lander Beyond‘s plot because it’s just a bunch of filler. It involves joining a spacing guild, some doomsday events, and the fact that landing a lander is, apparently, the most dangerous job in the galaxy, to the point of messing up with the pilot’s mental state. You can even pay for therapy to heal your pilot’s psyche, because the job is just that dangerous. Trust me, bruv.

As a result, this is less arcadey than other takes on the franchise, while still retaining its controls and gameplay loop. You are told to go through checkpoints, collect powerups, hack terminal, and rescue stranded personnel with your lander. You then have to look for the landing pad and ensure you don’t crash in the process. Some other elements take the stage during these levels, such as enemy ships, secret passages, a health meter and a fuel meter, and the previously mentioned physics, which are wonky by design.

It’s actually quite fun in short bursts, I’m not gonna lie. With that being said, it never felt overly engaging. For starters, I never cared about the plot, the many characters you meet throughout your journey, and the cheap and cheesy voice acting (kudos for them to have actually included VA in here, but it didn’t exactly set the galaxy on fire). There’s also the fact that the many powerups at my disposal made the game feel way too easy at times. I’ve rarely had to pay for any kind of mental health bill for my pilot. Sure, I wasn’t completing each level as quickly as the game wanted me to do, but I was still getting silver medals and a lot of money, at the very least.

Bear in mind that I appreciate the attempts at spicing up a Cretaceous-era gameplay loop with elements like the stress meter and a (forgettable, but still extant) story, but all in all, Lunar Lander Beyond is best enjoyed, and then forgotten, in 15 to 20 minute bursts. There was nothing about it that irritated me, but rarely did the game wow me, very rarely did it impress me. It’s a very honest attempt at reviving another Atari IP without the need of turning it into yet another Recharged title, but there’s just so much that you could do to update something that was already quite limited in scope even back in the 80s.

Graphics: 6.0 Cartoonish, but not exactly impressive. It’s hard to feel excited about anything onscreen when assets are so small. The introductory animated cutscene is pretty cool, though.	Gameplay: 7.0 It’s all about handling your ship’s intentionally wonky momentum-based physics. It’s actually quite fun, but the powerups make things way too easy.
Sound: 6.5 Ambient drone music coupled with a sizeable amount of underwhelming voice acting. The fact the latter is even present in Lunar Lander Beyond is already quite shocking.	Fun Factor: 6.5 I appreciate the attempt at spicing up this Jurassic formula with elements such as stress meters and a (forgettable) story, but all in all, Lunar Lander Beyond is best enjoyed, and then forgotten, in 15 to 20 minute bursts.
Final Verdict: 6.5

Lunar Lander Beyond is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.

A copy of Lunar Lander Beyond was provided by the publisher.