Beyond the Grove Preview

I’ve had the chance to check out an adorable-looking auto-battler named Beyond the Grove, developed and published by Not a Duck. This game looks like it has a cast of adorable mushroom characters, so I am excited to see if it’s a simple, cutesy game. Or, instead, will I be surprised at the amount of challenge presented here?

We begin the game playing as a Grove Keeper named Finley (a frog wearing a mushroom hat). The grove is under the blessing of the Mother Mushroom, who empowers the land and all the living beings there with her magic. One evening, when Finley was done with his work for the day, the sky lit up with multiple falling meteors. One of them crashes into the grove, and Finley goes to investigate; he sees creatures appearing from the fallen space rock. As the Grove Keeper, he takes it upon himself to defend the area from these alien foes.

Beyond the Grove is a roguelike, auto-battling game that is played using a keyboard and mouse. We learn that the Grove Keeper can automatically summon units but cannot move itself. Instead, you will place rally flags to direct your mushroom troops to attack the enemy. If the enemy captures Finley, you will lose and your run is over. To clear the level you are on, your objective is to take over all the enemies' bases or defeat all the enemies on the screen.

Once you claim victory, you will see how many enemies you killed and how much essence you earned. Finley then goes to meet up with Mother Mushroom, where you get to select a blessing. There are some that stay around for all the remaining battles, like the one that gives your troops (caps) a bow and arrow when they spawn. While others are consumables that last for one battle only, like an additional rally point so you can send out additional forces to fight against the enemy.

When you begin a new run, you select the Grove Keeper you want to play as; in the demo, only Finley is playable. You will also pick a starting element for the special golems that your recruit can use. Fire is the only option right now, but as you level up, you unlock others, and you can see their stats, like what they are effective against, weak to, and special blessings. If you have skill points available from a previous run, you can spend them here to improve your Grove Keeper, like giving them cheaper elements, more essence, more caps to fight with, or stronger Tier 2 Golems.

It has a beautiful watercolour aesthetic that uses a lot of greens, purples, and pinks for the colour palette. All the characters you interact with are super cute, and they have fun personalities and so many mushroom-themed puns like “You are in deep shiitake”, “You’re in truffle now”, or “I don’t think I have enough shroom for another pun”. The accompanying music has a whimsical sound to it, made up of stringed instruments, giving this grove a magical feeling.

I am having a wonderful time playing Beyond the Grove; it’s so cute and whimsical. There is so much to love here. It looks beautiful, and with so many silly mushroom puns, it is sure to make you smile. If you are a fan of roguelike auto-battling games, this is one to keep an eye out for; I know I will be!