Part of the popular trends in gaming, especially coming out of 2020, is releasing unfinished titles with the expectation to use the additional income to fund features and content that players provide truckloads of feedback for. Sometimes games will loiter in “early access” until either the developers or the players lose interest, but sometimes they arise to the surface as finished titles like Raft and Grounded. On rarer occasions, we see early access games that are more content-filled, detailed and narratively impressive than triple-A titles and have yet to see their full potential. Here are the most anticipated early access titles we can’t wait for full release.
Slime Rancher 2
Piggybacking off of its previous title’s successful mechanics, Slime Rancher 2 adds more slimes, challenges and ways to generate sweet sweet plorts. So far the biggest challenge is generating more of the adventuring locations and adding as many slimes as possible. So far players are finding ways to generate oodles of cash in game but are lacking ways to spend it. According to Monomi Park, future plans include finishing the Powderfall Bluffs location followed by “build[ing] upon a lot of the core activities.” Overall Slime Rancher 2 brings back everything we loved about the first game with a lot more to come.
Death Trash
Death Trash is a post-apocalyptic, pixel art, isometric, action role-playing game teeming with cosmic horrors and dangers around every corner. Part of its charm is the leaning into the grunge and bleak atmosphere coupled with unknowable entities that are intractable in order to create a really intriguing atmosphere that would give Fallout a run for its money. Their latest roadmap included plans for finishing the second and third chapters of the story while adding technical improvements to almost every other aspect of gameplay. So far there is no news of a planned release date but many fans are waiting patiently for a quality, finished title.
Have a Nice Death
A 2D action roguelike where you play as death itself as he finds himself constantly overworked. The levels of “Death Inc.” are procedurally generated and the gameplay is melee focused with over 30 unique weapons and spells. Like Hades, Have A Nice Death introduces a cast of memorable characters in its unique art style that gives the title a lot of its charm. Recently the game just finished its last major update before it releases on March 22nd, followed by plans to tweak gameplay and provide bug fixes.
Ready or Not
Ready or Not is a hardcore, tactical shooter that includes extract-and-defuse style gameplay with a focus on realism and creative execution. Playable in single-player and multiplayer co-op, this title allows for a lot of player freedom in gearing up for risky, close-quarters shootouts. The major focus of fans is the modding community which the developers aren’t shy about showing love towards. VOID Interactive promises a 2023 full release with no specific date.
Project Zomboid
Few zombie horror survival games are as brutal or interactive as Project Zomboid. As an apocalypse simulator, the possibilities for every small interaction and object make discovery and exploration wildly rewarding if not wholly risky from the hordes of flesh-eating zombies that are as dangerous as they should be. The game is receiving constant progress updates and new team members as the project takes on an exponential climb toward full release. Their most recent update just revised their farming and butchering systems.
Valheim
A low-poly survival craft exploration game based in a hidden, 10th world influenced by Norse mythology. Valheim’s most recent update introduced a new Mistlands biome with new creatures, crafting options, food, potions and dungeons. Currently, they are working on the next biome and something they are only referring to as “Hildir’s Quest.” With Valheim’s explosive initial support, the team has had to focus on bug fixing and performance issues but has grown enough to return to focusing on content updates.
Baldur’s Gate 3
The third entry in the series is based on the Dungeons & Dungeons 5th Edition rule set. This top-down RPG is already one of the best games ever made for the genre. Currently, the early access version lets players explore up to the second act of the game and includes most of the playable classes and races. Many have already spent hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny and are diving into the metadata to gather clues for future content as we patiently await full release in August 2023, as the last major content update is already past us.
V Rising
A multiplayer, top-down, open world, survival craft, hack-and-slash (a mouthful, we know) lets you explore the night as a newly awoken vampire. Avoid the bright of day and traverse between the shadows prowling for various prey that allow you to unlock new powers and building options. While Stunlock Studios has already created a fleshed-out title (despite an unfinished roster of bosses) they still have a long way to go as they plan to make major changes to the world map and possibilities for base building with new floors. Their early estimate for full release places it during May of 2023, although this feels generous considering their current roadmap.
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Matthew has been a lifelong lover of video games since he could first hold a controller, and among his favorites are narrative-heavy, singleplayer games like; Divinity: Original Sin 2, Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Hollow Knight. Matthew also plays tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulu. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s in Sociology and minored in English.
