Fresh sci-fi setting on a Civ foundation
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“If you like Civ, and if you like sci-fi? This game f*cking rocks.”
Steam review · 222.1 h played ↗
Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Mixed · 61%Mixed · 61%Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)2014Turn-Based Strategy · 4X · Strategy
The verdict
A sci-fi reskin of Civ V with a web-like tech tree, affinities and great atmosphere and music. Skip it if you expect Alpha Centauri's depth, or if you're on modern hardware where crashes are common.
Great for
Civ V fans who love sci-fi and want a different, atmospheric take, ideally on sale
Main risk
Feels like a shallow Civ V reskin that lacks Alpha Centauri's soul and crashes or won't launch
What players love
Unfairly hated, better than its reputation
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“Unfairly hated; people had some pretty unrealistic expectations for a spin-off.”
Steam review · 36.7 h played ↗
Affinities and web-like tech tree add depth
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“The combination of distrinct ideologies, unit synergies, and the evolution of the tech tree into a web instead of linear progression makes it infinitely replayable”
Steam review · 173.1 h played ↗
Good alternative to Civ VI and VII
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“After how badly they messed up 6 and especially 7, I returned to this game, put on some mods and enjoyed it a lot.”
Steam review · 99.5 h played ↗
Beautiful music and atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews
“The atmosphere of this game is a piece of art.”
Steam review · 249.8 h played ↗
Addictive and replayable
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews
“it is still a lot of fun and guarantees you'll play "just...one...last..turn..."”
Steam review · 102.3 h played ↗
What players complain about
Crashes and won't launch on modern systems
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“The game is interesting but crashes so much especially at late turns that makes it unplayable.”
Steam review · 76.2 h played ↗
Just a shallow Civ V reskin
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“All in all, this would have been a GREAT mod for Civ5, but as a standalone game it doesn't compare well to it's bigger brother.”
Steam review · 11.3 h played ↗
Confusing tech tree and unclear UI
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“when you look at the research tree in beyond earth and see "nanohive," you don't really have a sense of what that means for your game.”
Steam review · 2 h played ↗
Not the Alpha Centauri successor, lacks soul
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“There is nothing here with a fraction of the depth that game had.”
Steam review · 66.3 h played ↗
Weak AI and diplomacy, annoying aliens
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“As soon as AI settles one single settlement near your territory, even on the other side of the planet, they threaten you to stop expanding near them.”
Steam review · 138.7 h played ↗
Boring, no 'one more turn' pull
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews
“unlike other civ games this just does not pull you in. You do not get that one more turn feeling...”
Steam review · 128.8 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unsupported8 GB
Minimum
OSWindows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz
Memory2 GB RAM
Graphics256 MB ATI HD3650 or better, 256 MB nVidia 8800 GT or better, or Intel HD 3000 or better integrated graphics
Storage8 GB available space
Recommended
OSWindows® Vista SP2 / Windows® 7
Processor1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsAMD HD5000 series or better (or ATI R9 series for Mantle support), nVidia GT400 series or better, or Intel IvyBridge or better integrated graphics
Storage8 GB available space
OSWindows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz
Memory2 GB RAM
Graphics256 MB ATI HD3650 or better, 256 MB nVidia 8800 GT or better, or Intel HD 3000 or better integrated graphics
Storage8 GB available space
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