Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™

Love this game, whole reason why i played Civilization

I've never understood most of the hate this game has gotten. As an adaptation of Civ5, it's fantastic. One of my biggest qualms with Civ5 was how by the end of the game half of the map was still empty. I started on Civ3 and still believe that is actually the best entry in the series, so it never made sense to me and I always found it immersion-breaking. With BE, it actually makes sense because you aren't part of standard human history. You're playing a theoretical future on an alien planet, so this quirk introduced in Civ5 is a lot easier to swallow. Health, while being similar to happiness, is a superior mechanic to happiness.

People complaining about the tech web somehow being un-intuitive are smooth brained and can't read tool tips I guess. I mean, I understand that by this point in the series they had been conditioned to follow a strictly formulated path as the only viable option to win Civ5 on the highest difficulties, but the whole point of the web was to break away from that. With the special strategic resources introduced in this game it actually makes more sense anyway. I'll never understand the people who complain about variety and choice. It's not like certain paths are unbalanced either. It's remarkably balanced actually, and very easy to tailor to whatever your starting situation is and easy to adapt as your situation changes throughout the game.

I appreciate the level of customization we have with the virtues. It is genuinely one of the best and most flexible systems in the entire franchise, and affinities add a lot of flavor especially with Rising Tide. My only complaint about this game is the lack of/unbalanced choices for the bonuses you can pick from to start with, which was initially flexed as a big feature when this game was being developed. It was disappointed that they weren't added to with the expansion, but water cities are pretty cool!

As I said before, Civ3 was my favorite. Civ5 is probably second, but BE is a very, very close third. Really, they occupy the same spot in my mind, it just depends on if I'm feeling like playing historical or sci-fi as a genre.

Great game, Amazing game. There's just one small issue, this game runs on 32-bit and Steam stopped supporting 32-bit games back in February of 2024...which means that this game will crash for no reason whatsoever out of nowhere whenever it feels like it. I hope someone can potentially find a means to jury rig the game to run better but until then I suppose i'm SOL

Update: recommending now
I am not experiencing crashes anymore since reading these tips:
https://github.com/bmaupin/civ-be-linux-fixes

I love CIV games and I love this game.
But, I cannot recommend it because it is buggy. The game crashes too often, with reasons then locked to the saved game moment; ie restarting the saved game after crash repeatedly results in the same crash. Basically preventing further gameplay with that savegame.
I do enjoy starting new games with a new world and exploring it, but have never been able to finish it.

Needed for context: I only play on linux, on different devices. At the moment of this review, I was using Proton-9.0,4 and Steam Linux Runtime 1.0.
In case you were wondering; yes, other games run fine, I only experience crashes with this game.
And yes, I shall keep trying to play this game once a year perhaps, to see whether new Wine /Proton updates were able to help solve the cause for the crash. Because the game itself is great! I love the visuals, the quirky aliens, odd resources and especially the storytelling aspects added to decisions to make with the quests.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth brings the classic 4X formula into a sci-fi setting with affinities, orbital units, and a nonlinear tech web. The setting is intriguing and full of potential, but the atmosphere can feel cold and oppressive. While the core gameplay remains solid, some systems feel less refined compared to mainline Civilization entries.

Uninteresting at best. All the (arbitrary) quest perks seem cool at first coming from Civ until you realize it just doesn't matter. Tech tree is not linear and it's all made up concepts so it really isn't particularly intuitive how to progress and science has an air of grind to it. The concept is not really fun enough to make me want to learn how to get better at the game or progress to higher difficulties. Just feels like another long-winded time waster from Sid Meier.

always fun to play a cid civ game.

It would be nice to have a manual for this one as well because you encounter things in the game that you are at a standstill as to what to do. It's based on being on another planet, and not on earth, and you have differently named units. It would be nice to know what each does so it would reduce the level of confusion.

I thought it was good until 10 minutes into the game I realized how there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do! Growth and progression is all linear. You either do what the game wants you to do or you don't get to grow.

1. Settle a city in an Alien world.
2. Explore the Alien World.
3. Repeat.

Awesome game one of my favourites!

It's flawed and quite un-finished.

Not worth full price

This is a updated, re-imagined release of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri but using the Civilization 5 game design style. If you loved the original you will enjoy Civilization Beyond Earth.

fun and easy once you get the hang of it

Still like this game, especially with the Rising Tide expansion. It's a shame it didn't do well enough to warrant a second expansion.

This is a great game!
If you want to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of conquering an alien planet, then this is definitely for you!
I especially liked that the technology tree is not linear, but circular: you can research technologies in any direction you like (unlike Civilization's tech tree).

This game gets alot of harsh criticism for not being a good successor to alpha centauri, and also not a true successor to Civ5. I dont think this is entirely fair, because Beyond earth on it own really is not bad at all. I myself have not played alpha centauri, but i am a big civ5 fan. As a result i still had a good time with civ BE. Its not groundbreaking, but its all around solid and plays well. I see it as a civ5 spinoff that stands quite well on its own legs.

The rising tide DLC makes a big difference and is essential to make the experience different enough from civ5. Some of the core criticisms still are valid though : the game lacks identity and the leaders are not interesting at all. Story wise you have to search through flavour text and wiki to find anything interesting, you can ignore it entirely with no impact on gameplay. Firaxis did not take the sci fi sitting nearly far enough, which is a real shame.

Onto the good parts of the game, which i think are are often overlooked. The affinity system is interesting and pretty fun to play around with. It also leads to good unit variety. Orbital units are a great idea, and especially useful if you like min-maxing. I really liked the aliens acting as barbarians, in comparison to civ5 barbarians you can interact with them way more. My favourite part form Civ BE is the artifact system. Hunting for artifacts to get the exact combo you need is very satisfying. The new diplomacy is bit weird an unintuitive, but still fun to play around with. Lastly the floating cities are also a nice touch. As a result Civ BE incentivizes you to play very wide, which is a nice changeup from civ5.

To conclude Civ Beyond earth is a bad Alpha Centauri successor, but nonetheless as good 4X game. 7.5/10

Great Game

I really try to like this game but how can you like such a grindy game that in its smallest and easiest version takes like 500 turns to finish ?

To my thinking (and I have played Sid Meier's Civ since version 2.0) this, with the Rising Tide expansion is the best yet; it's better playing on a grand scale strategy than Civ V ad Civ VI. It worked very well with some mods on Win10. As I am now on Linux Mint, I found that Aspyr's version (rework?) tends to ignore at least some mods, and it tends to crash to desktop after a while. I have nearly 1000 hours in this Beyond Earth alone. I was nowhere near as enthusiastic about the mere base game, but the expansion really brought the game to life for me.

Ima be real. Some of the hate is deserved, but it's a solid game.

Personally, I love having an alternative to traditional civ without super modding and BE comes in clutch.

More customization options than classic Civ V, spy missions like Civ VI, adorable alien friends

Somehow, still better than Civ 7.

Would recommend trying if you liked Civ 5, but keep in mind it's an alien world you're on and everything about the game is new and alien too. Be prepared to relearn, decipher and use the civilopedia and search bars a lot, this is a complex game. Other than that a great new take to the series and very fun to get into. Visually vibrant

515 turns into an Epic game, i lose a very healthy super rich town to a coup somehow. There is no cheat codes to correct the games stupid broken mechanics. Buy this game if you want to invest a bunch of time to get screwed for reasons that make no sense.

Also its pretty much just a total rebranding of Civ5

Similar enough to the earlier versions that it's easy enough to play, but has added changes that make it interesting and challenging.

This game is amazing. Unfortunately, the UI for newer, high definition systems is so small, it's pretty much unplayable now.

I held off on buying this when I saw the reviews saying the game wouldn't launch. It works fine for me. I am running windows on an MSI laptop and there are absolutely no problems launching the game for me at all. I guess they fixed.

One of the most underrated games ever

Best game in the franchise!

Awesome game

Playing with just the vanilla civ experience (no mods), I can't keep to keep the game running more than a few hours. It just keeps crashing. This isn't acceptable. Happened on Windows and Linux.

Be prepared to lose time and yourself.

Can get it

pretty fun, much like civ... wish there was more

THE BEST CIV GAME. I don't know why but this CIV game is more enjoyable than the others. The futuristic setting is a plus. They should make a part 2 of this game :)

So from a gameplay perspecitve, I actually had a quite fun time in this Civ spin-off, but the writing is rather superficial and I always had the feeling the game doesn't take itself seriously at all.
In that sense, I'm really glad the workshop offer Alpha Centauri mods ;)

It's interesting, but not much fun. I had no idea what was going on with the technology tree, and it wasn't explained well in the tutorial. So I just clicked on some random thing that took 100 turns to finish. I fell way behind in tech. Then I ran out of energy because it took like 7 rangers to take down an alien nest that kept spawning bugs near my town. Then they started dying to miasma. Then they started being disbanded because I ran out of money.

The thumbs up is conditional on whether you're a fan of sci-fi, and have the patience to watch all kinds of YouTube tutorial to figure out what's going on. I don't really have the time. I got this game as part of a bundle. I probably won't play it much. I have many other games that offer much more fun for the time investment.

This game has significant issues operating on modern hardware. While I enjoy the game overall, if you have a windows 10 system with anything newer than a 20 series, expect problems. I cant even open it anymore despite trying every troubleshooting tip on the community group.

Anyone telling you this game won't launch anymore are incorrect. In fact, I'm really confused as to how this game gets mixed reviews at all. I was really concerned that coming from Civ 6 would seem like a step backward, and that concern was totally unfounded. I was also concerned that it would be full of bugs and crashes, as many reviews complain about this. Maybe I got lucky, but I encountered zero bugs or crashes on my 20+ hour first playthrough. What I DID encounter was the tried-and-true Civ formula in space, with just enough innovation and new ideas to keep things fresh and engaging. For the prices you can catch on a sale these days, it's an easy recommend.

good. space.

played it for awhile kinda love it but if you dont save often itll crash and lose alot of work the last crash cost me an hours work

The UI is very complicated, but once getting used to it they can be fun. Plus the Price is so affordable when there is a sale.

If you don't treat this as Alpha Centauri successor, this game is actually very good.

Lore and writing are subpar, but the visuals and gameplay are great and immersive. AI can feel surprisingly competent at times due to prevalence of air units and all cities having very low hp.

This civ doesn't have a lot of mods, but there are some good overhauls which also improve AI

Overall, it's good if you don't have high expectations about it.

Basically sci-fi Civ 5, but worse. While the game still has Civ in its core, its features seem undercooked. 7/10

Don't listen to the naysayers : if you're a fan of the franchise, have been longing for another Alpha Centauri and some innovative gameplay, buy it. My only complaint is the complacency of the other factions on more peaceful levels of difficulty even up to Gemini, when only the Slavs got expansive. I do hope that the franchise continues to develop the civs into space :D

It needs mods, but when it does, it is absolutely exceptional and I really hope they remake this game

The story is probably the main highlight as well as the victory story lines

This is easily my favourite CIV game out of all of them

It's a shame the developers have been failing at understanding what makes CIV great lately

Civilization: Beyond Earth – A Deep Dive into Humanity's Future (with Rising Tide Expansion)

Civilization: Beyond Earth (Civ BE) is a masterclass in strategic depth and world-building, taking players on an ambitious journey beyond our planet's borders. Built on the beloved Civilization framework, this installment catapults players into an uncharted alien world where every choice shapes the fate of humanity. With the Rising Tide expansion, the game becomes an even more immersive and complex masterpiece, making it an absolute must for any strategy aficionado.

A Brave New World – Unmatched Depth and Complexity
Civ BE is not just another installment in the Civilization franchise; it's a bold reimagining of what the future holds for humanity. The game’s depth is staggering, offering a complex web of strategic choices that go beyond mere city-building and resource management. Every decision, from your chosen sponsor to the affinities you pursue (Harmony, Supremacy, or Purity), fundamentally alters your path, making each playthrough a unique narrative.

Rising Tide – Breathing Life into the Abyss
The Rising Tide expansion is where Civ BE truly shines. It introduces aquatic cities, new biomes, and enhanced diplomacy, fundamentally changing the way players interact with the world and each other. The ability to build floating cities is not just visually stunning; it adds a layer of strategic depth, forcing players to rethink territory control and resource gathering.

Diplomacy has been completely overhauled with a dynamic system that reacts to your actions, not just your words. This creates a more fluid and realistic political landscape, where alliances and rivalries are born organically, driven by your decisions and ideologies.

Endless Possibilities – Replayability Galore
One of the standout features of Civ BE is the sheer variety of options available. With numerous factions, technologies, and affinity paths, no two games feel the same. The addition of hybrid affinities in Rising Tide expands this diversity even further, allowing for creative and adaptive playstyles that keep the gameplay fresh and challenging.

Alien World – Beautiful and Dangerous
The alien planet in Civ BE is as beautiful as it is hostile. The vibrant, otherworldly landscapes are teeming with mysterious flora and fauna that can be both friend and foe. Navigating this alien ecosystem requires strategic foresight, as the environment can significantly impact your expansion and military strategy.

Final Verdict – A Must-Have for Strategy Fans
Civilization: Beyond Earth, combined with the Rising Tide expansion, delivers a deeply engaging and thought-provoking strategy experience. Its complex mechanics, stunning world-building, and unparalleled replayability make it a standout title in the Civilization series. If you're a fan of 4X strategy games and are fascinated by the possibilities of humanity's future, Civ BE with Rising Tide is an absolute must-play.

Rating: 9/10 – A Stellar Journey Beyond the Stars

Pretty complicated game even for Civ vets, but still good in that, one more turn, kind of way. Hell of a time sink, so unless you have a lot of time, I'd stay away. Got time to kill, this game will definately do it

I passed this up when it came out but I wish I hadn't. Kind of feels like Starship Troopers and civ 5 mechanics combined. I would check this out on sale if you love the series.