Beyond the Long Night

For those who value a challenge, and maybe want something that feels akin to The Binding of Isaac but without the intensely creepy narrative, Beyond the Long Night is a charming roguelike with plenty of play time on offer, and lots of fun to be had.

Beyond the Long Night is a fun, focused experience that makes good use of both the time loop and the associated rogue-lite structure. Combat might not seem hard but it’s very easy to lose a heart focusing on enemies rather than their actual attacks. The universe is filled with discovery potential but some players might struggle to invest in that. My biggest issue is the time limit, which feels too tight to allow gamers to become fully engaged with a successful run. There were moments when I hit on a good superpower and the rooms were manageable when it comes to combat and then, suddenly, the red force was chasing me. Beyond the Long Night mixes twin-stick action and time loop mechanics well but it needs a few more gameplay hooks to be among the best in its genre.

The design concept of Beyond the Long Night is excellent and full of new ideas, but the difficulty is a little too hard. This may have discouraged players before they had a chance to immerse themselves in the game. If you are a player who likes the challenge of high difficulty bullet hell games and can tolerate repetitive looping levels, then you may enjoy this game.

Beyond the Long Night is an entertaining twin stick roguelike, but the constant time pressure it provides won't appeal to everyone.