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Game
Game2014
Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™
Developer Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy, 4X video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games, published by 2K Games and released for Microsoft Windows on October 24, 2014, the Mac App Store on November 27, 2014 and for Linux on December 18, 2014. The game's premise is that Earth became uninhabitable due to an undescribed disaster known as "the Great Mistake", forcing humanity… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
226 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Lemmy, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
149 positive · 61 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 149 | 61 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
9,240 of 16,012 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
71% recommend · 144 yes, 59 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 203 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (14,053 of 23,182 positive).
Many players find the game's atmosphere and sci-fi setting deeply immersive, praising its music and world design. [1][2][3] Some reviewers criticize the game for lacking depth compared to Alpha Centauri and for being a reskin of Civilization V. [4][5][6] Several players note technical issues and poor support from the publisher, including EULA concerns and connectivity problems. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I've been playing the Civilization series for over 12 years, so I used to believe that each generation of Civilization would gradually improve. But I never expected 2K to update its user terms, forcing me to allow programs to steal my personal information while I'm playing. I can't imagine what a game company's purpose would be in setting such terms. Therefore, I strongly suggest you carefully consider this factor …
- [10]
This is, to me, the only civilisation game I ever truly enjoyed. I do realise that sets me apart from most people interested in the franchise. 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, and each match unique in unexpected ways. It is less punshing to the player, and encourages a broad spectrum of …
- [4]
To this day, Civ BE remains one of the most divisive games in the series. Clearly launched as a spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC), but without the Alpha Centauri branding or its quirky humor, I believe the typical player's experience of the game is closely tied to his/her perspective on SMAC. Do you remember SMAC with fond nostalgia, as a beautiful, brilliant and deep game way ahead of its …
- [13]
To be honest this game is not as bad as the reviews, nor floating around opinions state it. It is different for sure but due to it being different is also unique. Ofc that some things could work better but in the end it's enjoyable, as 'different Civ can be' I find aquatic cities, aliens and nests, artifacts and the pace of the game really enjoyable, to the point that from time to time i like to revisit this …
- [1]
AI is dumb -> I don't care Combat is dumb -> I don't care Planet surface design, the colossal, emotional cello themes in the music that makes me cry. The feel of this game is amazing, and after all these years, I still find myself on a fungal planet sometimes. The atmosphere of this game is a piece of art. Maybe 80% of technologies and diplomacies are redundant and so on and so on... but what does it matter when I …
Summarised from 34 of the 220 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ talk about atmosphere and music are praised as beautiful and emotional; those who didn't talk about lacks depth and personality compared to Alpha Centauri. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Civilization: Beyond Earth received positive reviews. It received an aggregated score of 80% on GameRankings based on 52 reviews and 81/100 on Metacritic based on 78 reviews. During the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Civilization: Beyond Earth for "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year". Daniel Tack from Game Informer gave the game 9/10, praising the new affinity system which influence players take on how to approach the alien life and the future of humanity on the new planet. He also praised the interesting sound effects, comprehensive advice guide and high replay value. Darren Nakamura from Destructoid also gave the game 9/10, praising the…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 226 · most liked firstI've been playing the Civilization series for over 12 years, so I used to believe that each generation of Civilization would gradually improve. But I never expected 2K to update its user terms, forcing me to allow programs to steal my personal information while I'm playing. I can't imagine what a game company's purpose would be in setting such terms. Therefore, I strongly suggest you carefully consider this factor before purchasing and patiently read other people's reviews. If those reviews…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My new EULA and ToS towards 2K: Due to recent changes in the 2K EULA and ToS, all 2K games in all of my game libraries, across all my game service platforms, have been uninstalled and are henceforth banned from EVER being played. EVER. All future purchases of any 2K games are also prohibited into perpetuity.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not waste your time. I know it is a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri, but it doesn't come close to Alpha Centauri, nor does it come close to any classic Civ game. Firaxis did a terrible job. "We Must Dissent."
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Post Trauma - survival horror with Silent Hill and Resident Evil vibes gets a subtly spooky release window (videogame). cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/19439649 > Old school horror game Post Trauma has popped up at Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier's Civilization® VII to reveal a release date with a new trailer. > > Debuted during the Expansion Pack post show, the sneak peek starts with an ominous shot of an abandoned train on the subway, setting a suitably…
neutral · AI labelView post →This is, to me, the only civilisation game I ever truly enjoyed. I do realise that sets me apart from most people interested in the franchise. 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, and each match unique in unexpected ways. It is less punshing to the player, and encourages a broad spectrum of possible strategies and playstyles. I have played it loyally for these past…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My experience with Civ began with Civ 3 over 20 years ago, when it was on a 3 CD box set. Played for hours. Forgot about time. Loved the characters. Then came Civ 4, Warlords, Beyond the Sword. Civ 5. Each iteration brought something more: Deeper opportunities for the level of complexity at which I played. Not just the building of cities. The trade. Religion. Espionage. Warfare. Culture. Diplomacy. I came to Sid Meier's Civ Beyond Earth after trying and disliking Civ 6. This was a breath of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AI is dumb -> I don't care Combat is dumb -> I don't care Planet surface design, the colossal, emotional cello themes in the music that makes me cry. The feel of this game is amazing, and after all these years, I still find myself on a fungal planet sometimes. The atmosphere of this game is a piece of art. Maybe 80% of technologies and diplomacies are redundant and so on and so on... but what does it matter when I can immerse myself into this world? I mean, that's why we watch a sci-fi movie…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I honestly don't know what they were thinking making this game... I'm certainly not one to put Alpha Centauri on some sainted pedestal...but that was like 2/3rds of the marketing..."a spiritual successor" they were calling this. But no. There is nothing here with a fraction of the depth that game had. Even taken as a Civilization game it's just poor. Like the dumb alien super units that exist solely to stymie your progress. How about...you make the game better, instead? No? The answer is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overhated as ♥♥♥♥. They made a vibrant interesting world with genuinely incredible lore (just reading the Civpedia entries of stuff made me repeatedly go "YOOOO thats so cool!!!" about 100 times) and the gameplay is just classic Civ. There's nothing at all wrong with this game, most of the reviews seem to range from "Well its not (over a decade old other sci-fi civ game)" to "Its space not history wah" amongst a few other gripes but really? If you like Civ, and if you like sci-fi? This game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To this day, Civ BE remains one of the most divisive games in the series. Clearly launched as a spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC), but without the Alpha Centauri branding or its quirky humor, I believe the typical player's experience of the game is closely tied to his/her perspective on SMAC. Do you remember SMAC with fond nostalgia, as a beautiful, brilliant and deep game way ahead of its time, never equaled by any 4X before or since? Then you will probably have a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just wanted this game to be like alpha centauri. But it's not. And I understand why it's not, but it's still a shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of the greatest sci-fi 4x games on there and one of my personal favorite Civ games behind Civ V. It was abandoned unfortunately, but is made playable once more by the Anchor Seti team which I HIGHLY recommend everyone gets Maybe one day the Gods will return the dev team to us. But until then, Anchor Seti does their work for them https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2072375377&searchtext=Anchor+seti
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Game. Different enough from the other civ games to be interesting. Still playing after 12 years, my steam time covers less than half the hours spent playing. Owned the hard copy for years before adding to steam. Needless to say I don't agree with the negative comments on here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To be honest this game is not as bad as the reviews, nor floating around opinions state it. It is different for sure but due to it being different is also unique. Ofc that some things could work better but in the end it's enjoyable, as 'different Civ can be' I find aquatic cities, aliens and nests, artifacts and the pace of the game really enjoyable, to the point that from time to time i like to revisit this underrated game. Is it the best civ out there? Nope Is it the worst civ out there?…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played Sid Meier 4X games since I was old enough to sit at a computer, particularly Civilization III and Alpha Centauri (Pirates, too, but that's not a 4X). My wife mentioned they had released a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri and I came into this with great expectations, but this game misses the mark for me. I loved the atmosphere and story of AC just as much as the gameplay, and this game lacks substance in both aspects. There's no personality to the faction leaders, and as far…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Post Trauma - survival horror with Silent Hill and Resident Evil vibes gets a subtly spooky release window (videogame). Old school horror game Post Trauma has popped up at Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier's Civilization® VII to reveal a release date with a new trailer. Debuted during the Expansion Pack post show, the sneak peek starts with an ominous shot of an abandoned train on the subway, setting a suitably unsettling dark and scary tone for what's to come as we slowly…
neutral · AI labelView post →Save 90% on Sid Meier's Civilization® V on Steam (starting from Mar 19, 2026). > > >I just noticed the extremely low price for the game from 2010, a historical low on Steam price for 2,99 € (and looks like in USD as well). There are still a few days left before sale ends. This is just a heads up for anyone wanting to get into the Civ series, this is an extremely cheap option of a very decent game. Lot of people didn't…
positive · AI labelView post →Criminally underrated. Great customization options and the Civ 5 engine is superior to its successors. 4X at its best
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is fine, but I cannot recommend this title simply because Firaxis/2k borked the My2K connectivity and all interplay for Beyond Earth and Starships, and after several support tickets it is abundantly clear they have zero intentions of bothering to patch the game to fix it, even when they have done that for their other titles. Really poor customer disservice.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Needs to be removed from the store. I've had better luck getting it to run on LINUX then I do windows. any time I boot it up my Steam client closes out. NO OTHER GAME DOES THIS TO ME. I shouldn't have to run compatibility layer to make a game work. DO NOT purchase unless you want an ass of a time getting it to load. Insult to the entire Civilization franchise in so many ways.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Steam] Sid Meier's Civilization® VII: Tides of Power Collection DLC (FREE). See link below for offer details. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1295660/view/809085268448509957
neutral · AI labelView post →Game is broken, each time I launch, not only it crashes it also crashes steam client...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sid Meier's Civilization VII – Launch Trailer. Make history in Sid Meier's Civilization VII, available now on Nintendo Switch. The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization® VII is a turn-based strategy game that empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known!
neutral · AI labelView post →Sid Meier's Civilization VII (2025, Firaxis Games). The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization® VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known! Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history. Establish your civilization, construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations in pursuit of prosperity, and explore the far reaches of…
neutral · AI labelView post →Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth was supposed to be an epic journey of humanity to the stars, but for me it was more of an overcooked and rather boring expansion pack for Civilization 5. It all starts off promisingly – you fly into space, colonize an alien planet and encounter alien life. But in practice, this "alien life" means that you will be eaten by a giant green worm on your fifth turn, because your units are about as strong as a wet handkerchief. Visually, the game is incredibly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →welp after so many hours of somewhat enjoying this BROKEN ASS game and then recently getting into it, I think im going to have to retire it mid campaign and never play it again. The game is broken, always has been (screen goes black and all I can see is the mouse cursor) ive tried so many workarounds and now im at a point where the game cant advance without crashing. Guess i go back to playing Alpha Centauri Firaxis can suck a D
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i'm more of a scifi guy than a history guy, but one thing that makes normal civ work is that when you look at the research tree and see a node called "tank," you already know what a tank does. you just kinda by default understand that a tank is a treaded armored vehicle that has a big gun. 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. so you're stuck trying to parse the already-opaque long list of traits…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While there's very little in the game that is wrong, there is also very little that is right: it's been completely distilled down to a "one more turn" simulator, with pretty much nothing to do besides watching timers tick down. Devoid of any character or substance, with a complete lack of any attempt at telling some sort of story, with a completely homogenous map generator, and a tech tree that allows you to just push for anything immediately, the game has essentially no variation, no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok I'll say it, this game is one of my guilty pleasures. This game received a lot of hate for not being alpha centuri and for pretty much just being a reskin of Civilization V, but still, this game holds a bit of charm for me as it's the only futuristic modern civilization game I can play. Yea it has weird mechanics, weird ideas, but it has that general mid 2010's feel of video games, the big clunky UI, the engine.. It's kind of like a nostalgia piece for me. It brings me back to an era pre…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Look, is this the best Civ game? No. Not even a little bit. It has a lot of problems, such as: choice of leader doesn't really impact the game that much, wonders sort of feel meaningless and boring, it has some bugs, glitches, and performance issues that will simply never be fixed, and it is absurdly overpriced at $40-60 USD - I got it at a massive discount, and I highly recommend you do too. That being said, what is left when you move past the lack of polish is a genuinely fun game with some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I understand that diehard purists of Civilisation games will dislike this game. But if you give it the time and patience to accept the game for what it is, it's not as bad as other people say.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a nice addition to the Civilization repertoire. It is almost a remake of Civ Alpha Centauri. It is a good game for those into Civ games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes, it is like Civilization V except Sci-fi with a different type of Tech Tree, barbarian system, and a few other things. Other than that, it is just like Civ 5.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a sci-fi reskin of civilization 5, but for some reason, a hundred times more boring. Maybe another expansion would've fixed it, but it didn't get the chance. Oh well. Back to civ 5!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is unbeliveably awesome Do not *ever* compare it to SMAC, it is different thing entirely It may seem like a mess *at first*, but the better you play, the more sense it all makes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A pretty decent game but is pretty thin in terms of strategic depth. For clarity I've played this with the Rising Tide expansion installed. The game uses the basic framework of Civ 5 but with the premise and timescale being shifted to the far future and far away from Earth. The basic premise is that Earth has reached a crisis point and the only hope for humanity is to move to a new planet; however, how humanity adapts to the new planet is in your hands as you begin the great game of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so unstable, that it's impossible to play single player, let alone multiplayer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →had it since god knows when. saw it somewhere and played it again. yeah its from what 2014 and the graphics dont like much compared to what we have today but im having fun with it. it feels like its just right, i dont know how else to put it. i really like how your affinity changes have such an impact and your facilities also change by your choices.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beyond Earth is the true hidden gem of the entire CIV series. Even though the legendary Codex mod is no longer available, combine it with the still-active community mods (Anchor Ceti + Awesome Pods and Ruins + Awesome Loadout) and you’ll get hours of deep, strategic and incredibly satisfying gameplay that feels like a proper community expansion. Also, the music – the soundtrack – is beyond beautiful: pure floating, melancholic, epic sci-fi ambient that hits you right in the soul and stays…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Save 90% on Sid Meier's Civilization® V on Steam (starting from Mar 19, 2026).  I just noticed the extremely low price for the game from 2010, a historical low on Steam price for 2,99 € (and looks like in USD as well). There are still a few days left before sale ends. This is just a heads up for anyone wanting to get into the Civ series, this is an extremely cheap option of a very decent game. Lot of people didn't like…
positive · AI labelView post →This game has failed to capture my imagination and attention they way the rest of the series has. Just one more turn? No, thank you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No longer playable. Crashes windows. But if it doesn't then the game is actually pretty nice.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sid Meier's Civilization® VII Original Soundtrack. Official playlist on Youtube
neutral · AI labelView post →yea this aint it i can appreciate the work and effort put into this but its not fun its confusing because i dont know what these future techs are and the tech tree is a spiral instead of linear i like the idea neat ideologies cool art and units just doesn't work and i lost interest after 4 games it seems like the Devs did too
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most people didn't fw this because it wasn't SMAC 2 (it is lowk a downgrade from SMAC in every way except user interface, graphics and fauna variety). I still fw with this game though. It is fun but I'd say get it on sale. I wouldn't get this for $60. I say $60 because rising tide is a must.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game taught me why I should never pre-order a game ever again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man, I duno Beyond Earth has interesting ideas I like the somewhat customizable units. I like the culture system which is close to 5's I like the idea of colonizing a strange, alien planet I, in theory, like the more freeform techtree But somehow, this game just doesn't click. Maybe it's the aliens we fight instead of barbarians Maybe it is the somewhat reduced tall playing possible Maybe it is the lackluster unit identity Or maybe it is the non.changin "era/age" we play in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the only Civ game I've played (I know I know don't judge me lol), but i have so much fun playing it because I love space themes. I've honestly had and played this for like 10 years before I even knew there was a DLC for this. Once I got it and played it I was pretty impressed how much I liked the revamped systems over the original. I decided to get all the achievements once my love for the game was rekindled with the RT DLC. Couple of hard ones but you can get them all eventually by…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought to myself - this game can't be that bad, right? I was wrong. I feel that the reason Beyond Earth is this terrible is because everything seems half-baked. The leaders, their dialogues, the wonders, the music - everything feels mediocre. None of the tech or wonders feel relatable or good once you achieve it. While I understand that it's not supposed to be relatable since it is set in the distant future, the units and tech could have been given more character. Now, the numerous…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Objectively the best Civilization game, no contest, trust me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Flawed, missing features & civpedia entries, and occasionally extremely frustrating, I still have fun playing CivBE every now & again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honestly a 7/10 for me really enjoyed the soundtrack!, which you dont have to buy the game for, its a $20 reskin of civ 5 , if the devs were honest about it, it was basic DLC not a full game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent enough game, if you like the civs franchise you'll like this even for a while but for sure not the best. I've played and finished 3 campaigns and the only issue i really have is it doesn't feel like you're colonising a planet but rather just setting up the outposts or something despite what some of the campigns may have you think. Also they're very quick, you can finish a victory or more in a day on max settings, once you sort of have yourself set up you just steamroll. The english…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game, in my opinion at least, is a hidden gem. It’s the spiritual sequel to the mainline Civ game Civ 5, which is made obvious by the fact it's made in the same engine and a lot of the mechanics carry over, and also getting a science victory in Civ 5 literally tells you to ‘GO Beyond Earth’. However I say spiritual because Civ 5 games can be quite unpredictable, with multiple Civilisations rising and falling. So it wouldn’t make total sense for the long extinct Brazilians to go and try to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Sci-Fi strategy game. Beats Civ 7. A bit of a learning curve but most strategy games are nowadays. I love the decision making that is associated with technology discoveries, many times giving a building an extra perk like more production, food, health, science, culture, etc. Fun anomalies too. Oh, and to crush bugs or not crush bugs is awesome replacement for barbarians from the earlier Civilization games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Keeps crashing on linux mint for me. (all amd build) I am not sure the reason. can't get past turn 2. Not great if you're on linux. Will keep on troubleshooting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, but after 2.5 hours I knew I wouldn't play it anymore.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As an avid Civ V player, Civ : BE is exactly how I pictured Civ games in space. Solid and original lore, Civ V excellent gameplay yet a fresh, ungimmicky take on it (quests, web-like tech-tree, affinities). All neatly packed in a gorgeous, clear interface and graphical assets (terrain, units, cities). The Rising Tide DLC is a must-have, and a few UI mods help for a smoothed experience. Be warned that unlike Civ V, this game only got one DLC, and thus feels somewhat rough on the edges.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After how badly they messed up 6 and especially 7, I returned to this game, put on some mods and enjoyed it a lot. If you like 5, it's worth a shot, give it a try <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My favourite Civ. I played it when I couldn't yet speak English very well and it created a lasting impression on my young mind. The setting combined with the Civ gameplay was great. But especially the setting. In fact, the setting itself is just really detailed. Now that I'm grown, I'm taking my time reading the lore for every research and wonder in this game and honestly, it is so much more than people really give this game credit for. The writers created some really cool factions and lore.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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