Why Early Access?

“Gloomdelve is a small wave shooter made by a solo developer. The core loop is already here and playable: survive the rising dead, grab pickups and chase a high score, alone or with up to three friends.

What it needs now is players. I want to know how the waves feel, where the difficulty spikes, and which weapons and upgrades are worth building next. Early Access lets me shape the rest of the game around that feedback instead of guessing.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Roughly 6 to 12 months. The exact length depends on player feedback and how the planned features hold up in testing. I'd rather stay in Early Access a little longer than release a 1.0 that isn't ready.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version has one graveyard, one gun and four kinds of undead. For the full version I plan to widen all of that:

- A weapon shop: spend your score between waves on new guns, such as a scattergun, a repeater and a hunting rifle, plus upgrades for them.
- Game Rules settings, so you can choose where the shop opens, whether upgrades survive death, and how many guns you carry.
- More kinds of undead, including tougher enemies to shake up the later waves.
- More co-op options, such as reviving a downed teammate.
- Steam leaderboards and more achievements.

These are plans, not promises. The final list will follow what players enjoy and ask for.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Gloomdelve is fully playable from the first wave to game over, solo or in online co-op for 2-4 players over Steam.

The core is in place: waves of undead, a haunted churchyard to fight in, weapons and pickups, gamepad support, saved best scores and Steam achievements. Content and features are added regularly, so check the latest update notes to see what's new.

Expect rough edges: balance is still being tuned, and some systems are early versions of what's planned.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“I plan to raise the price gradually as major content arrives, such as the weapon shop and new enemies. Buying during Early Access costs less, and everything added later is included at no extra cost.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Your feedback decides what gets built next. I'll read the Steam discussions and reviews, post development updates through Steam news, and put bigger changes on an opt-in beta branch first so players can try them before they go live for everyone.

Bug reports, balance complaints and ideas are all welcome in the discussions.”