Why Early Access?

“The planned Early Access launch covers the first half of the descent: Acts 1 and 2 of 4, their two bosses, and 24 of 48 creatures. The solo core is already playable. Early Access will let us tune combat clarity, pacing, difficulty, accessibility, build variety, and cooperative play with players while we build the rest of the campaign. The product is sold for the experience available at launch; later plans may change with testing and feedback.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We currently expect Early Access to last around 15 to 18 months. This is an estimate, not a fixed date; timing may change as we complete the remaining campaign content, validate multiplayer, and evaluate release-build quality and player feedback.”

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

“For version 1.0, we currently plan to add the second half of the game: Acts 3 and 4, the final two bosses and story ending, and the remaining 24 creatures, completing the 48-creature bestiary. We also plan to expand local and online co-op from two to up to four players; add real-time local couch and online 1v1, a ranked asynchronous online Arena with configured saved companies, Steam achievements, selected cosmetic skins with no gameplay effect, professional localization review and LQA sign-off for the translated languages, complementary sound production, and final presentation, VFX, UI, accessibility, balance, and QA work. These are current targets and may change with development, testing, and player feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Next Fest demo has solo and two-player local co-op. The Early Access launch build is planned to include Acts 1 and 2 of the game's four acts, their two biome bosses, and 24 of 48 creatures. Its systems include four-hero party and loadout selection, seeded node maps, two-stage ATB battles with interrupts, skill drafting, camps, shops, treasure, narrative events, saves, fallen heroes who stay lost unless you pay their ransom, a run that ends on a full wipe, and permanent unlocks. Solo play and two-player local co-op are implemented. Two-player online co-op is in development and planned for Early Access; the paid launch is gated on release-build verification of both co-op modes. The campaign stops after Act 2 and cannot be completed in this version. Acts 3 and 4, the final two bosses, the ending, four-player co-op, PvP, achievements, cosmetic skins, and final polish are not in the initial 0.x release.”

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

“Yes. The planned Early Access price reflects the first half of the campaign. We currently plan to raise the price as the game gains the remaining content and final polish on the road to 1.0. Early Access purchases include updates released for this app without a separate upgrade fee. Timing and regional pricing may change.”

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

“We plan to use Steam discussions, structured playtests, feedback surveys, patch notes, and public development updates. We are especially looking for evidence about build variety, difficulty spikes, combat readability, controller and accessibility needs, and multiplayer usability. We will explain what changed, what we learned, and which suggestions we are not adopting.”