New Zealand-based studio Balancing Monkey Games, alongside publisher Hooded Horse, has confirmed the release date for Beyond These Stars, a new city-building game set on the back of a space whale.
After many years in development, the sequel to acclaimed sim Before We Leave will officially release on 15 October, for PC via Steam, GOG, the Epic Game Store, and the Microsoft Store.
Beyond These Stars release date – quick links
What to know about Beyond These Stars
Beyond These Stars continues the story and management gameplay of Before We Leave, picking up its core themes and its groups of wayward ‘Peeps.’ As the benevolent manager of the game’s world, you will guide your Peeps – tiny people – as they establish a home on the back of Kewa, a lonely space whale. (Kewa is also named for the Māori word for a baleen whale.)
You’ll need to gather resources to create new buildings and establishments on the back of Kewa, while also dealing with any emerging challenges as you travel across a galaxy. Per the game’s description, your journey will let you come across ‘great opportunities’ for exploration and expansion, and you must balance this opportunity with the needs and wants of your Peeps.
Your Peeps need to live and thrive. They need to work, as well. It’s up to you to develop their new home location from a barren wasteland to a fruitful and beautiful place where efficient production chains mean your Peeps are engaged, and that all their needs can be met.
Beyond These Stars is a game of balance
‘Your people’s needs will grow, and complex logistics networks and mining infrastructure will follow,’ Balancing Monkey says. ‘You must be careful not to tip the delicate balance of the ecosystem, however – the land on Kewa is fragile, and if not tended to with care, your habitat will shrink.’
‘Balance your people’s survival, prosperity, and progress with the need to co-exist with Kewa in a journey across space. Beyond These Stars asks you to consider the logistics of your supply chains and production lines within the context of a living, breathing, sentient world.’
It’s all about balance, in line with the core message of predecessor Before We Leave. This game also grounded its city-building gameplay in real-life questions of sustainability to inform players, while also inviting them to engage in fun, constructive sessions.
As Balancing Monkey Games says, its overarching studio mission is twofold: ‘To create accessible, inclusive games that spark a sense of wonder and exploration; and to make good games that enable us to better support our local communities.’
Giving back to its local community and supporting environmentalism are just two of the key pillars shaping its work.
Beyond These Stars is set to launch for PC on 15 October.
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