I propose 2024 is the year of early access games boycott.
Bring back completed games only.
Yup. I've made a rule for myself to buy only finished indie games. AAA games are way too long anyway. And paying $70 for an oversized hard drive hogging bugged out mess is just wrong. No beta, no early access, no pre-order. When in doubt replay Stardew Valley to soothe the soul.
Ah yes, "completed" games like Cyberpunk, Fallout 76 or Battlefield 4.
What year is it that people don't realize the only difference between early access and AAA releases at this point is lies?
Enjoying palworld quite a bit despite bugs, and the input (and money) will probably make the end product a better game. BG3 is another example of a game that was wildly successful due to EA.
I'll judge these on a case by case basis. But I think the issue is less EA titles and more titles that are released not as EA but obviously broken.
Nah, I'll buy quality games whether or not they're EA. As with everything, you have to put in the effort to find the good shit mixed in with the bad. I've easily had at least a half dozen EA games that I've bought and played hundreds of hours, and more than a half dozen "completed" games that were absolute trash. Games like KSP, Minecraft, Factorio, Satisfactory, Oxygen Not Included, and DSP are some of my most played games, and all bought during early access/pre-release. And those are just the ones that come to the top of my head lol.
When you buy something early access you have to know what you're getting, and you have to understand this is potentially all you're getting. With any early access game I purchased, I made sure that I'm okay with the game I purchasing and that I don't feel like more justify my purchase. With that mentality I've never been disappointed in my choices for early access purchases, and the games I've purchased have all come a long way and some have even gotten to "completed"/1.0 level.
I don't regret the $20 I spent on Dyson Sphere Program, spent more time enjoying that than I have playing most of my library of supposedly "finished" games.
They released The Dark Fog in December. It's great!
I haven't been.
It's like when you buy something half finished with a big IOU stapled to it, you don't know what you're actually buying or something 😱
It was painful waiting for them to fix the Baldur's Gate 3 xbox save bug before buying it, while everyone was abuzz. But I stand by my principles, the game must work!
Maybe instead we should push the revoke the law that forces you to buy early access games?
The only game I ever considered pre-ordering was Hogwarts legacy. I've always loved the world of Harry Potter, and it looked like everything I've ever asked for. I was going to pre-order it, but I wasn't able to, for financial reasons. Then the game came out, and after watching a video I was like... Oh, this is boring. I learned my lesson.
You'd probably like the first part of the game when you're in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. The problem is everything after that.
laughs in 🏴☠️ Palworld
Ironically, despite being version 0.1.3. it's in a better shape than some "full" releases. Looking at you, Starfield.
The dev team is still stretching their resources between THREE unfinished games (Never Grave, Craftopia, Palworld) and have a history of unfinished products and scams (cryptocurrency).
So piracy it is. I'm only giving them my money once they finish their games
Judging from the recent influx of Craftopia steam reviews, that game "died" for Palworld.
I like early access games because at least you know the game is unfinished.
And the game is making money while still being in development, so the devs can take their time without having to worry about deadlines.
Early access games can also change fundamental gameplay aspects since it's in development, so if a feature sucks, they can just remove it.
so if a feature sucks, they can just remove it
Unfortunately if you liked that feature, it is gone now.
I like the GOG approach to EA:
"Rollback in GOG GALAXY — Keep playing your game if the newest update is not doing it for you, or revisit historical version snapshots."
https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000591705-Early-Access-as-it-is?product=gog
Fair, but it's an early access game, and still in development.
Also, I didn't know about that GOG thing. I wish that was more common.
You can figure this out by playing the finished game years later. Why is everyone trying to keep up with the Joneses over video games??? Lol
If the devs are good, those early access players make the game better for the people who buy when it's fully released.
Because they can still be great games. Rust was in early access for years but it was always playable and fun. 7 days to die is on alpha build 21 and has been in alpha for I don't know how long but it's amazing. Valheim was basically perfect from the start even if it was missing the whole end half of the game.
Palworld is a very good start. There's a bunch of QOL changes and bug fixes that would improve it, but the core gameplay loop is established and the parameters are all selectable so you can tailor the difficulty as you please. Evidently the "goal" of the game is blocked off, but aside from that it's a full game. No man's sky and starfield were honestly less finished on release.
Meanwhile, team cherry keeps adding stuff to Silksong until they run out of money
Yup. The alternatives are pre-orders and broken games that are unplayable until the first couple of patches.
Don't look at me. I learned my lesson back with Batman: Arkham Knight.
If ppl are too dumb to learn this lesson it's on them. It won't stop other indie developers from making great games.