DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
RPG Tycoon – In all honesty, I was skeptical about this title…though not for the reasons you’d expect. Most of my skepticism stems from the fact that I’ve played other games that promised me the ability to manage my very own kingdom…and failed to deliver. Luckily, “RPG Tycoon” has been getting regular updates with a bunch of new content planned. The game is admittedly unstable at times, though the gameplay was still fairly enjoyable. In short, you’ll be constructing buildings and attempting to attract visitors all the while sending heroes out on quests. The latter reminds me a bit of “Game Dev Tycoon” in that you can move “sliders” across different categories before sending the heroes out. This game has a lot of potential and can be something great so as long as the developer continues to pump out content and balance/stabilize said content. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $6.99.
Space Beast Terror Fright – This game won’t win any awards in the “catchy name” department, but it may very well be just what some hardcore FPS shooter fans want. It’s a procedurally generated rouge-like similar to “Monstrum”, though you actually have a gun this time out. I suppose one could compare it to the missions found in “Interstellar Marines”. Here, you’ll be tasked with retrieving critical data, overloading the core, and getting out all the while holding off the deadly Xenomorphs that roam the ship. While it is pretty difficult, I still enjoyed my experience and can’t wait to see what else they add to the game. It’s worth noting that there is only local co-op in place presently, though network multiplayer is planned down the line. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $14.99.
Rodina – While the game is pretty bare at the moment, the ideas it conveys really excites me. Few games feature the ability to travel to other planetary bodies and explore said bodies on foot, for example. Most of my time was spent blundering from one asteroid to the next and unfortunately, I have yet to find other planets that feature various biomes. Either I simply haven’t found them yet or they’re not present in the game’s current build. The former could entirely be the case, as there’s no tutorial that guides me on where to go/what to do next. I would say the game is worth it for the potential alone, though folks on a tight budget may want to wait for more content before dropping the cash. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $14.99.
Killing Floor 2 – This game looks and feels amazing, even though the game was in a pre-Early Access state when I began playing it (courtesy of the developers). The environments are pretty, the gun handling is superb, and the monsters are scary in their own ways. The game certainly encourages that you play with others so that you can make use of your class abilities. I attempted to play solo as a field medic and only made it to the fourth wave on the normal difficulty setting…once you’re surrounded, it’s game over. Having only touched “Killing Floor 1” a handful of times, I was able to easily dive right into this one…everything was for the most part pretty self-explanatory. At the time of writing (4/12/15), there is no offline single-player or the ability to create and password protect a server in-game…hopefully they’ll add this as development continues. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $29.99.
Kingdom Wars 2: Battles – This game shows a lot of promise but unfortunately suffers from the same bugs that were present in the first one. The music, for example, constantly resets itself to the default setting after it loops forcing you to go into the options menu every few minutes to turn it down/off. While there is a single player campaign, there is no save feature at present. This is unfortunate, considering that the game crashed after 20 minutes of playing the first level with no way to recover it. I like the ideas it brings to the table: craft-able cards, researching permanent tech upgrades…sort of reminds me of “Age of Empires Online” that way. The developers have also proven through their first game that they have no problem with releasing free DLC/add-ons and responding to the community. To that end, I’d say pick this up if you don’t mind the bugs (buildings disappearing, etc.) and lack of a save feature…otherwise, wait a while until the game becomes a bit more polished. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $19.99.
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Gameplay Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoGQCnQxq8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgA4lbpmCn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr5iiQykFKQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-E2kcOoi8Y