Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 74 | 20 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 47% | 50 | 8 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 36% | 42 | 12 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 23, 2024) · 11 reviews sampled · 12 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 1.7 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (23)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 50
“Lunar Lander Beyond is an extremely difficult arcade action game aimed squarely at those who prefer a steep (and I would argue unfair) challenge. OK. The problem is that, aside from some great design work, that challenge is pretty much all it offers.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Lunar Lander Beyond is a solid recommendation for fans of the lander sim genre. It performs well on the Switch with no discernible frame rate issues and looks great. But as it stands, its missions too often feel abbreviated at around three to six minutes and too tightly sandwiched between narrative. The issue is not its gameplay mechanics, but the strictures of its campaign structure. It's a problem the developers could solve by staying the course and creating a mode focused squarely on what made the original compelling: flying, landing, and scoring better than everyone else.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Lunar Lander Beyond offers a modern take on a retro genre, making it possible for a new generation of gamers to enjoy a classic genre with new accessibility options and visuals. However, the game's physics make this title an ordeal to go through and revolves around trial and error at times. If you need a throwback to the Atari classic, it's a solid effort.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Lunar Lander Beyond is a fairly agreeable experience, with nice build variety and some intriguing nods to the rogue-like genre, but it feels only partially realized.”
read full review ↗ - 76
“While it absolutely adds some depth to the classic formula with mission variety and a story, it can only get upcycled so much”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Lunar Lander Beyond attempts something of a reboot of the Atari classic with a modern wrapper. But underneath the shiny hood, the gameplay is virtually unchanged, difficult, and dull, and the extras have done nothing to implement a reward system that might keep newcomers trying to develop the skills needed to enjoy it.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Lunar Lander Beyond shows that you can take the simplex gameplay of the '70s, give it a modern look, mechanics and story, and the result is an addictive game that will keep you entertained for those few hours.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“We have a game that does a better job of making the lander feel just weighty enough, than the original Arcade game it was based on, while still providing plenty of fun challenging tasks to complete for those who master the techniques of the Lander.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Lunar Lander Beyond was a mixed experience for me. On the one hand, I liked how the game maintained the control scheme from the original, requiring patience and careful control to succeed in missions. The different ships, upgrades and pilot perks also add some satisfying variety to keep you interested till the end of the game. The reasonably short mission structure would also appeal to busy gamers who can only fit a few short sessions in here and there. Features I wasn’t so fond of was the stress meter which felt more like a nuisance than a rewarding challenge to overcome. Also, the missions, while showing some variety, felt a bit repetitive at times. Do I recommend the game? Yes. Lunar Lander Beyond is different from a lot of games on the market, and so long as you go in with a patient mindset, I think you’ll have fun with it.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“A spirited attempt to reimagine the ancient 70s coin-op as a modern narrative-based game, but the necessarily simple gameplay is a poor match for the overblown storytelling.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“As with Atari’s previous revivals and reinventions like Mr Run and Jump and Haunted House, this is a game that elevates the ideas that made the company’s releases in the 1970s and 1980s so beloved and looked back upon so nostalgically while introducing new ideas that don’t necessarily change it up, but add to what made them so entertaining in the first place. Lunar Lander Beyond is undoubtedly a safe bet, but one that makes sense in keeping the brand alive and well and not simply cashing in on the rose-colored memories of old school players and arcade goers alike.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“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.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
Kakuchopurei
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
FingerGuns
SECTOR.sk
Seafoam Gaming
LadiesGamers.com
Metro GameCentral
Entertainium
WayTooManyGames…and 11 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- 20% Off Sale and Patch Notes for May 23rd, 2024May 23, 2024significant · resets scoring window