On a Thursday evening, I ran into Sam and Anna Barham, the founders of Balancing Monkey Games, at the New Zealand pavilion in the B2B section of Gamescom. We were there to discuss their upcoming city-builder game titled “Beyond These Stars“. Mentioning the time because that part of the international hall is a non-stop celebration, with France and Quebec already serving champagne, attracting a weary and eager crowd to their nearby booths, creating a festive atmosphere overall.
In simpler terms, if your product fails to captivate users, it’s like a quick defeat in a competition, especially after a tiring day when refreshing drinks seem appealing.
It’s great news for city-building enthusiasts like me that Beyond These Stars offers all the elements we cherish. Uniquely, your city is constructed on a colossal space whale named Kewa, which brings about several intriguing aspects. For one, you’re confined to this single… vessel? That doesn’t quite capture it, but let me rephrase: You find yourself making compromises and even empathizing with this immense creature for your own sake.
The majority of city-building games focus on harsh exploitation of available resources and spaces without much consideration for safety regulations or waste management. However, Beyond These Stars demands a more thoughtful approach. Neglecting these concerns can lead to contamination that harms Kewa, thereby lowering their trust in you. You might wonder why this matters – well, your main city is situated on the back of a space whale, which controls its movement. So, taking care of the space whale benefits both you and Kewa.
As a follower of Kewa, I’ve learned that their indifference towards me stems from my past actions – trying to manipulate them with poison. Consequently, they might suddenly depart into the cold, vast expanse of deep space without any warning, potentially leaving my city at risk of freezing. Interacting with Kewa is a delicate balance – if they trust you, they’ll swiftly comply with commands and guide us to specific star systems as quickly as possible on the galaxy map. However, when trust is lacking, they may still bring us to our destination, albeit on a less predictable path that could pose potential risks for my citizens.
It’s essential to understand that Kewa has certain requirements. They occasionally require asteroid food and means to cool down their body. By accommodating these needs by selecting suitable travel routes and providing space for fulfillment, your journey with them will be smooth. Similarly, when terraforming Kewa’s back and mining resources there, it’s crucial to preserve balance.
The unique feature of Beyond These Stars is that it allows players to establish colonies on the planets they encounter. While establishing outposts involves costs and risks, once you’ve established a self-sustaining colony, it can generate goods and resources that can reduce the need for extracting raw materials from Kewa. This gradual development of a galactic trade network and production chain enhances the strategic aspect of each city and outpost, making it an appealing prospect for fans of the genre.
Balancing Monkey Games strive to make their user interface intuitive and inclusive for all players. For instance, when dispatching a spaceship to colonize a planet, you can effortlessly choose buildings to be built upon arrival, and the ship will independently gather the necessary resources for the mission, which is quite an innovative feature.
Exploring the universe offers countless opportunities – from delving into advanced technologies, interacting with potential alien societies, to unfolding an epic story across galaxies. The characters you nurture, the Peeps from Kewa, bring a touch of humor and whimsy due to their cleverly crafted dialogues.
The upcoming video games, “Balancing Monkey Games” and “Beyond These Stars” by Hooded Horse, are scheduled for release on personal computers towards the end of 2025.
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2025-08-26 15:16