Beyond the Grove – Preview
Fall is in full swing, and there are mushrooms everywhere in our neck of the woods. Although the days are getting shorter, and it’s getting colder -and wetter- outside, there is also an inherent cosiness to the season. When it’s not raining, going for a walk in an autumn-coloured forest is very relaxing, and when it is raining, there’s little better than brewing a cup of tea and staying inside with a relaxing video game. It’s the perfect time to check out Beyond the Grove then, Not a Duck’s currently-in-Early-Access title that brings the cosiness of the forest into your home, although with some strategic depth to sink your teeth into.
In Beyond the Grove, players strap on the boots of a Grove Keeper, the guardian of a forest grove inhabited by Caps, a folk of sentient mushrooms. Caps are a far cry from the Toads of the Mushroom Kingdom, however, as they are a race of proud but diminutive warriors. When meteors fall from the sky, they bring with them a dark corruption that threatens the forest. It’s up to you to guide the Caps beyond the grove to confront the source of this blight. Guiding you on this quest is Mother Mushroom, who acts as a mentor in the story and a shopkeeper in gameplay. Narrative elements are limited to just the basics in the current build, but here and there, you’ll find hints of things to come, including references to mysterious “summoners” and the true origin of the corruption.
The game’s adorable art style immediately gives away that Beyond the Grove doesn’t offer a traditional take on the RTS genre. What you’re getting here is a cosy game that relies more on atmosphere than on in-depth storytelling -for now at least. The world is colorful, soft, and friendly, filled with expressive mushroom characters and earthy golems. That said, there is room for growth. The effects of the corruption are implied, but not shown explicitly enough. More environmental storytelling could have gone a long way here. Different Cap types also would benefit from being more visually distinct. Where Beyond the Grove’s Early Access roots are most clearly shown are in its UI, however, which is perhaps a bit too basic. A different font choice alone could make a huge difference. On the other hand, the game’s music is already spot-on. A particularly nice touch is that the dynamic soundtrack evolves as you play, adding new instruments based on which golem types you summon. Each element contributes a different layer—cellos, violins, pianos—creating a living composition that reflects your army’s makeup.
At its core, Beyond the Grove is an RTS autobattler with roguelite mechanics. Battles play out automatically, with players deploying Caps before combat begins and then guiding them using small blue flags that act as rally points. You’re never directly in control of individual Caps. Instead, you’re influencing the positioning and flow of your units. Your Caps only need you to tell them where to go next, resulting in a rhythm that’s less about frantic micromanagement and more about planning, observation, and timing. Your fighting force is fairly sizable too, averaging around 100 caps per battle, although this number can be increased by spending resources called essence or by leveling up between runs. Still, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your troop meter and adjust your strategy accordingly, because if you run out of troops, you’ll end up being overrun. Beyond the Grove avoids feeling too frantic or overwhelming through the so-called Focus Bar. Whenever this bar is full, combat automatically pauses for a while, allowing you to reassess the battlefield, reposition your rally points, or summon new units. This stop-and-go element gives you breathing room, turning a chaotic experience into something that almost becomes meditative.
Golem Crafting is perhaps Beyond the Grove’s most distinctive system. You’ll find different glyph stone fragments on the battlefield, which can be used to summon elemental golems, who can dramatically shift the tide of battle. There are seven base types—Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness, and Nature—each with its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, earth golems are strong against water but weak against air. As you progress, you can mix, match, and even upgrade these elements to create a wide variety of different golems, each with distinct abilities and appearances.
As with most roguelites, defeat is part of the loop. When you lose, you return to the forest grove, which acts as the game’s hub area. Here, you’ll be able to spend Skill Points on permanent upgrades from Mother Mushroom. These might include increasing your maximum troop count, unlocking multiple golem elements at the start of a run, or improving your Grove Keeper’s abilities. Skill points can be redistributed freely without penalty, making it easy to test new strategies and builds. In addition to permanent upgrades, there is also a Blessing system, offering over a hundred temporary upgrades that can dramatically alter a run. These blessings ensure that no two attempts play out the same, sometimes enabling wildly powerful synergies or forcing you to adapt around random limitations.
Being in Early Access, there is of course still room to grow as well as room for improvement beyond the extra layer of visual polish that we want to see. Balance tuning is ongoing, and some encounters favor specific strategies. The lack of unit control depth, such as assigning rally points to individual golem types, limits tactical nuance for now. Looking at what is next for Beyond the Grove, new Grove Keepers will supplement the two already in the game. The idea is that each Grove Keeper that is being subsequently introduced with future updates features unique traits that alter the way you approach battles. The introduction of more maps and enemies is also going to be very welcome, as the game feels limited in scope right now. Even the Ascension mode, which adds modifiers and penalties to runs, can increase the replayability by only so much.
Conclusion
As it stands, Beyond the Grove definitely shows a lot of promise. The framework is there, with unique feeling mechanics like the Focus Bar and the elaborate Golem Crafting system. The foundations would benefit from a little more polish, and there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to visual storytelling, but our impression is that the future looks bright for our little forest grove. From what we gather, developer Not a Duck is also actively listening to player feedback on Discord and responding appropriately, something that always bodes well. This is a game that we wouldn’t just advise you to keep an eye on, but to just give it a shot if it seems only vaguely appealing to you.
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