Wow, another DGA Early Access Corner article…these games just keep coming! Like the previous articles in this series, this is a quick look at the games I’ve been gifted via their respective developers. All of them are currently in an Alpha or Beta state (as of today’s posting), so this is less of an official review and more of a quick look at what they currently have to offer in their present state. Enjoy!
Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville – I’m a bit biased when it comes to “Rebuild” as I’ve been playing it and its sequel off and on over the past year for free on Armor Games. Like the previous two games in the series, “Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville” will put you in the role of a community leader of sorts attempting to survive the zombie apocalypse. Your goal will be to gather food, fight off zombies, and attempt to “rebuild” the broken pieces of humanity. The game is available for $14.99 on Steam’s Early Access program with no price increase planned. I think that the difficulty is still a bit unbalanced (“easy” isn’t so easy), but it’s enjoyable in its current state. If the developers can swing an easier difficulty setting or fix “easy” to actually be easy, then I’ll more than likely be playing it nonstop over the next several months.
The Red Solstice – This tactical top-down 8 player co-op survival game can be unforgiving at times. The random objectives & maps kept things fresh and unpredictable, though the difficulty is incredibly unbalanced in my opinion. While matches supposedly can last up to an hour, I found myself dying within five minutes…mainly due to the “waves” growing in difficulty at a ridiculous rate. Eight different classes and the ability to level up/gain xp help to make up for that, though. You can find it on Steam’s Early Access program for $14.99, though the Steam page mentions that there will be a price increase at launch. With that said, my advice is to hold off on picking this up until more content is added and the difficulty balanced.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg – I usually shy away from complex war games, but this one seemed too streamlined for me to ignore. Don’t get me wrong…I really enjoyed playing the Total War series when I was younger, but then again, I had more time to kill back then. “Ultimate General: Gettysburg”, as you may have guessed, is a “Tactical Battle Simulator that allows you to lead thousands of soldiers in the famous Battle of Gettysburg as commander of either the Union or Confederate army.” It’s available via Steam’s Early Access program for $9.99. There’s no tutorial as of yet, so I recommend you check THIS GUIDE out for more information on how it plays. I have a feeling that Civil War buffs who don’t mind the occasional “light” war simulator will really enjoy this one. I know I am.
Meridian: New World – I don’t know about you, but on occasion it can get tiring playing the same RTS games over and over again. “Meridian: New World” appears to be breathing new life into the genre, despite it being restricted to single player. Units can be customized with particular loadouts, though they only take effect AFTER you build them. It has some amazing visuals, but I was disappointed to learn that there is a rather low unit cap that can only be increased by building structures on certain points on the map. There’s also only one faction…though on the other hand, there is Steam Workshop support. As such, it does some things I like and some things I don’t like. I’ll be interested to see how this game measures up after it officially releases. For now, my advice is to try the free demo to see whether not you’d like it. You can find it (as well as buy into the game for $14.99) via Steam’s Early Access program.
Habitat – With Earth in serious peril, it’ll be your job to lead a team of engineers to create habitats in Earth’s orbit. How you do so is pretty unique and reminded me of “Spore” a bit…that is, you’ll be grabbing parts from nearby junkyards and building your very own moving space stations. It’s incredibly silly at times…like when I decided to attach a set of booster rockets to a ferris wheel and a flame shooting dinosaur head to the cruise ship I had used as a left wing. The zero-g physics are quite fun too, though I found my craft incredibly difficult to control. The game is currently available via Steam’s Early Access program for $14.99.
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Gameplay Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQxe5FY0ZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMaIwiB1iHw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IFE_8dnyaY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toB6aHVDIKo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvoZ7vHRe40