Grade: A
Mutate yourself to victory in this Rogue-like sci-fi action adventure
Beacon is a game that draws you in with its super stylish design, slick graphics, and enormous creativity. This is a hidden gem of a game that’s only a few dollars on Steam. I’ve been playing Beacon from the early release in 2021 to the latest 3.2 patches in March 2023 and have been pulling it up consistently every few months for a new set of runs.
Created by indie game company Monothetic, the premise of Beacon starts at the point where mercenary Freja Akiyama’s ship has crash landed. So yes, our protagonist dies before the game even starts. That might be a first in video game history.
But thankfully, emergency protocols kick in, and a clone bay turns on and starts churning out copies. Freja’s clones are given the mission of turning on six beacons. Each Beacon is spread throughout the world, and you encounter shadows of prior clones (and their grisly demise) as you proceed. Finally, the last and final Beacon will allow an emergency distress call to be made home, which gives a chance for an interstellar pick-up (or, at least, that’s the hope).
Rogue-lite setup
And so that’s our setup for the rogue-lite. Freja’s clones try to get closer to the Beacon with each attempt, but it’s no small feat. Many creatures on this planet don’t like the disruption.
Along the way, the Frejas find weapons, grenades, and items that can help her in the current run. In the long term, over multiple runs, she can discover genetic DNA drops for the creatures of this world. She keeps the DNA in her ship’s database, and the next clone can use them.
With each new run, you can use genetics to upgrade Freja’s clones’ abilities. But with each new DNA install, there is a chance for a mutation. The base character is a standard human with two arms, legs, and a head. Mutated Freja has endless permutations.
DNA Strategy
At the beginning of each run, you can use the DNA you’ve collected to try and upgrade your body. Each faction in the game has its unique DNA and associated mutations. You can also use MODS to double or triple a particular trait. Not all DNA is created equal; only fortified DNA has positive characteristics.
One strategy for DNA was to use only the fortified DNA and then double/triple the stats with MODS to the highest point possible without the DNA becoming “unstable.” Then, over time and multiple runs, you can fiddle with the DNA to keep the best mutations and stats, which preps you for difficult or even extreme runs of the game.
My other strategy was to push the luck rating as high as possible. When luck is super high, the weapons and items generate at a more rapid rate throughout the game. Even if you get a gun you don’t want, you have a chance to recycle that weapon for passive ammo. Passive ammo upgrades sticks with your character for the rest of the run and a pile of passive ammo upgrades makes a big net positive impact on damage output. So more weapons generated in each level is a win/win. You either get a better weapon, or you get a chance at a passive ammo upgrade.
Weapons, enemies, and items are varied and interesting
Other than DNA, the weapons, enemies, and items are incredibly varied and can keep a player’s interest. There’s a lot here. At first, the options are limited, but after you play for a while, there are dozens and dozens of things that might come up in the game.
Each weapon has a special upgraded version that Freja has modded. These have unique abilities, and in the description, there are fun little quotes from Freja for each.
There are also stores you can visit as you go through the game run where you can purchase equipment. This helps you switch out equipment to try and get something closer and closer to optimal as you go.
The last type of upgrade you can get is a drone. The drones fly around your head as satellites and fire automatically at enemies. When you get 8-12 drones at once, it’s fun seeing the fireworks.
Hidden notes along the way
The storyline is told indirectly through mementos as you go through the game, which clues you into lore about the world. There are a lot of hidden secrets on this planet you crashed on.
You also find many of your kindred clones (sisters?) and their remnants. They all died in some horrible way. Freja’s clones have been shocked, smashed, slimed, shattered, disintegrated, smushed, etc. It sells its point well that you aren’t the first Freja who’s tried to escape!
Overall, there are six endings you can unlock if you beat the whole game. My one slight complaint about Beacon is that I wish the unseen endings were weighted to be more likely to come up in the next run. I have been playing Beacon for a long time and still haven’t unlocked two of the six endings.
Stories from my playthroughs
In my playthroughs, two things happened that I particularly enjoyed. First, I got a crab head (meaty cranium) mutation. This mutation spawns health randomly on a hit. You can survive anything if you pair the crab head with a rapid-fire weapon. You generate health way faster than an enemy can destroy you. Will the crab head be nerfed at some point? Probably.
I captured a final boss battle against a gigantic Icosatron creature, which shows this the best.
Second, I enjoyed my latest run despite losing at the end. I unlocked the final Onyx boss, which is a secret boss. This whole run was challenging, and is a good representation of what the game offers at it’s best.
Wrap-up
Overall, I’m incredibly impressed by what Beacon accomplishes. It has a complex set of randomly generated environments and locations tied together to give the player a unique set of run-throughs. In general, the game’s art style is simply “cool”.
All the details throughout the game show that this small game dev studio Monothetic poured its heart into this project. I’m glad for what time I spent with Beacon and that this game exists.
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