Beyond All Reason

What Is Beyond All Reason?

Beyond All Reason (BAR) is a free, open-source sci-fi real-time strategy game built on the Recoil Engine, a fork of the SpringRTS engine. It draws heavy inspiration from classic RTS titles like Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander — every projectile, explosion, and terrain deformation is simulated in real time.

The game offers three factions (Armada, Cortex, Legion) and supports battles from 1v1 duels up to massive 8v8 team games with hundreds of units on screen. The Commander is your king — eliminate the opponent's Commander to win.

BAR has been in continuous community-driven development since its revival in 2019. In June 2026, the team signed a publishing deal with Hooded Horse for a future Steam release. For now, download it free from beyondallreason.info.

PCMag called it "the best RTS release in years." GameStar praised "the biggest and most bombastic battles you've ever seen in an RTS." Rock Paper Shotgun ranked it #20 in their all-time favorite strategy games.

How to Play

You start with one unit: The Commander. It can build structures, fight, and serves as your most valuable asset — lose it and you lose the game.

Resources: BAR uses a streaming economy with two resources — Energy and Metal. There are no finite resource nodes. Energy comes from windmills, solar collectors, geothermal plants, or nuclear generators. Metal comes from extractors placed on deposits or by reclaiming wrecks of destroyed units. As you build more production, your income scales exponentially, letting you field increasingly devastating units over time.

Three Factions:

• Armada — Speed and stealth. Fast bots, cloaking, hit-and-run tactics.
• Cortex — Brute force. Heavy armor, raw firepower, frontal assault.
• Legion — Experimental faction with multi-functional units that are individually weaker but tactically versatile.

Physics and Terrain: Every projectile trajectory is simulated in real time and must account for terrain topography. Radar cannot penetrate mountains — units can hide behind terrain features. Bots can climb steep hills that vehicles struggle with, creating a trade-off between mobility and firepower. Nuclear weapons permanently deform the map.

Scale: Community events have featured up to 110 players in a single match, with a theoretical maximum of 160. Battles routinely involve thousands of simultaneously simulated units.

Controls

Advanced: Line-drag orders across a formation, circular area commands, repeat/cycle orders, and customizable Lua-based UI widgets give you industrial-grade unit micro — more precise than most commercial RTS games.

Tips and Tricks

• Scale your economy first. Metal extractors and energy production compound. A player who out-builds you economically by minute 8 will win regardless of micro — invest early in resource infrastructure.
• Protect your Commander. Treat it like the king in chess. Keep it near defenses or behind your front line. A greedy Commander push can win games but will lose them far more often.
• Use terrain for radar cover. Units behind mountains don't appear on enemy radar. Set up ambushes and flanking routes using terrain — this isn't optional at higher skill levels, it's mandatory.
• Mix unit types. Bots for rough terrain, vehicles for open ground, aircraft for harassment. A mono-comp gets countered hard. The best armies combine all three.
• Reclaim wrecks aggressively. Destroyed units leave metal wrecks. Reclaiming them denies resources to opponents and feeds your own economy. A battle you lost can still fuel a comeback if you reclaim better.
• Learn one faction first. Armada is the most forgiving for new players thanks to speed and escape options. Cortex rewards map control and timing. Legion is the most complex — save it for later.
• Watch replays. BAR saves every match. Reviewing losses shows you exactly where your economy fell behind or where a radar blind spot got exploited.
• Use the economy overlay (E key). It color-codes your resource flow so you can spot bottlenecks instantly — a generator shortage, an under-built extractor, or idle builders.

FAQ

Is Beyond All Reason free? Yes — completely free and open source. No microtransactions, no pay-to-win. Download from beyondallreason.info.

Is it on Steam? Not yet. The team signed a publishing deal with Hooded Horse in June 2026 for a future Steam release. Currently available through the official website launcher.

What platforms does it run on? Windows and Linux. Native ARM builds available. No macOS support currently.

How many players in a match? 1v1 up to 8v8 team games. Community events have hit 110 simultaneous players. Theoretical maximum is 160.

Is there a single-player mode? Yes — skirmish vs AI, scenario missions, horde/survival modes vs computer opponents, and co-op PvE. No full narrative campaign yet (planned for Steam release).

System requirements? Modest — the Recoil Engine is highly optimized. An integrated GPU from the last 5 years can run 1v1 smoothly. Large team games benefit from a dedicated GPU and 16GB+ RAM.

Last reviewed by Game How To Editorial