Beyond the Long Night Preview (PC)

Protect the balloons, fight through the caves

I fire my puff cannon to drive away some green angry flying bugs, while I focus on taking down an artillery firing crawler. Dodge to move around a group, accidentally allowing a spike to puncture one of my balloons. I then finish the enemy group, while making sure to avoid incoming projectiles, before tackling their sources. I finally get one life back from a chest, while trying to decide if I want to move up or if some side exploration might be a better idea.

Beyond the Long Night is developed and published by Noisy Head Games. I played it on Steam as a demo, with the full version set to arrive at some point in 2022. This is a rogue-lite experience with a focus on fast combat.

The narrative is so slight it’s barely there. The unnamed protagonist wakes up in a cave, meets a sage named Pickles, and learns about the Underworld and the idea that the only way to escape it is to move upwards. Oh, and a time loop triggers every time you die, with Pickles ready to offer one superpower for each run to make things easier.

Beyond the Long Night is made up of rooms filled with danger. There are worms that fire projectiles, angry bees that dive bomb the character, puffer insects, and more. Everything is trying to kill you, including spikes spread liberally through the landscape. The protagonist needs to make sure to avoid damage as much as possible while fighting back using a regular attack, a superpower, and more. Spatial awareness and good movement are better than pinpoint shooting.

The game randomizes all its elements for each run, but I feel like the encounter design is a little too similar from one room to another. I would also like to see more progression for the main character after it dies.

Beyond the Long Night has a presentation that combines retro elements with unusual inspirations. The connected caves don’t look great, but the enemy designs are unique as is the protagonist and his superpower effects. The game also sounds pretty good.

Conclusion