Why Early Access?

“Strange Island is an ambitious project being developed by a very small independent team. We have been working on it for three years now, investing our own time, money, and passion into its creation.

Over that time, the project has grown into something far bigger than we originally imagined, and there is still a great deal of work ahead of us.

But after all this time, we don't just want to keep developing it — we finally want to share what we've created with players. We want to see people explore the island, immerse themselves in its atmosphere, notice strange details, ask questions, and come up with their own theories about what is happening.

Most importantly, we want to know that all of this genuinely matters to someone. That the years of work were not for nothing, and that the story, atmosphere, and ideas behind Strange Island can capture the interest of people other than ourselves.

Of course, revenue from Early Access sales will also help us continue developing the project. But right now, what matters much more to us is finding our audience, hearing their impressions, and learning what people think about something we have spent so long creating.

Early Access will give us that opportunity and allow us to continue developing and expanding Strange Island while taking player feedback into account.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect Strange Island to remain in Early Access for at least around one year. However, given the scale of the project and the amount of planned work, development may take up to two years.

The exact timeframe will depend on the pace of development, the scope of future updates, and player feedback.”

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

“Our main focus going forward is to further develop and complete the nonlinear story of Strange Island. We plan to gradually add new story events, different ways for events to unfold, and multiple endings.

We also plan to expand the world by adding new locations, including underground areas, as well as new interactive objects and additional ways to interact with existing ones. New gameplay mechanics are also planned — for example, mechanics involving blinking and closing your eyes.

Strange Island is primarily built around exploration and story. The narrative unfolds through exploring the island, interacting with the environment, making choices, observing details, and trying to understand what is happening. Combat is not a core part of the gameplay and will be rare.

By the time the game reaches its full version, we plan for the story to be presented as a complete nonlinear experience, while the world and gameplay mechanics become significantly deeper and more varied.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current version of Strange Island already includes an open world of about 9 km² including the surrounding waters. The main explorable part of the island and nearby waters covers around 3 km². Players can freely explore the island, swim, and dive.

The island features several natural environments: beaches, tropical forest, temperate European forest, pine-covered areas, and highlands. There is also a lake, lagoons, coastal cliffs, various buildings, and unusual structures. Players can find and collect items in the environment, including fruit, mushrooms, and coconuts, as well as encounter birds, spiders, butterflies, and flies.

One of the most detailed locations is a large multi-story house with a basement and attic. It already contains a large number of environmental interactions, including doors, cabinets, drawers, curtains, lights, and other objects. More complex interactive systems are also functional, including a computer, televisions, a video player, and a telephone. Some of these systems are only partially involved in the story at the moment, but we plan to make them an important part of the narrative in the future.

Instead of a traditional quest system, Strange Island uses the protagonist’s thoughts. As the player explores the world, discovers objects, and encounters different events, the character records thoughts in a journal, sometimes accompanied by illustrations. These thoughts may contain hints and directions for what to do next, but usually do not give direct instructions. The game also includes small side events and tasks that unfold through the environment and the protagonist’s own comments.

The protagonist comments on events and some of his actions. The current version uses temporary voice-over based on recordings made by one of the developers and processed with AI. We plan to replace this with performances by professional voice actors in the future.

The game also already includes a full inventory system, manual saving and loading, object interaction systems, and several first-person cutscenes, including waking up on the beach, entering the house, and other story scenes.

Character death is not currently part of the game. Even in its current state, the main focus is not on combat, but on exploration, interaction with the environment, and gradually uncovering what is happening.”

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

“We plan to gradually increase the price of Strange Island as the project develops and new content, storylines, and gameplay features are added.

The final price of the full version has not yet been determined, but we expect it to be higher than the Early Access price.”

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

“We plan to closely follow player reviews, discussions, and suggestions on the Steam page and within the Strange Island community.

Player feedback will help us identify issues, better understand which parts of the game work well and which need improvement, and set priorities for future updates.

We will also pay attention to bug reports and ideas related to gameplay mechanics, usability, exploration, and interaction with the environment.

The main direction of the story and the overall concept of Strange Island are already defined, but player feedback will be an important part of the game’s continued improvement and development.”