access

Hello and welcome to another entry in our “The Big Question” series, in which we present an argument to you, the Eurogamer community, for further interrogation. This week: Do you play games in early access or does playing them piecemeal lessen the overall experience?

What is early access? While most of you no doubt know what we mean by early access, we’re referring to when a game is released to a store (usually Steam) in an unfinished state, but with the promise that new content will be added over time and it’ll eventually launch as a complete 1.0 version. This week saw the 1.0 release of Hades 2, but the biggest game to ever do it is probably Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3, which was in early access for almost three years.

Today Tom and Bertie make their cases for and against games releasing in early access.

I don’t play games in early access, just like I don’t eat my lunchtime sandwich before I’ve put all the fillings in

Why would I lessen my first impression of a game like Hades 2 by playing it before it’s finished? | Image credit: Supergiant

Imagine paying £34 for a good game? That’s just utterly ridiculous, of course, but it’s fine to pay good money for a game that isn’t even finished? OK, that makes perfect sense. I’m firmly on the side of “buying and playing games in early access is a bizarre thing to do, and borderline sabotage of your own enjoyment,” just to be clear.

To be completely open, I have bought one game in early access, and that’s Slime Rancher 2, and I was under considerable pressure from my son to do so as he loved the original. It really just hammered home my feelings, though. Early access Slime Rancher 2 felt fine, but it was impossible to shake the feeling (and actual fact) that if I just waited a while I’d be able to experience the whole thing and not just this portion of the thing we both wanted to see and play. Playing it unfinished has in fact dampened our enthusiasm for the final game, which is now in its Version 1.0 form and we’re yet to try.

Hades 2, a game that is all about the characters and the way the areas connect with each other, to me just made no sense to play bit by bit. Maybe I’m a sourfaced curmudgeon simply refusing to accept modern ways, but I’ll be happy with the full release, thank you.

As I’ve been writing, and I hate to admit this, I’ve thought of a bit of a problem with my argument: Wobbly Life. This is a game I’ve watched my son play for years as it evolved through early access to a Version 1.0 release. You might think I’ve been hoisted by my own petard, but this game is designed in such a way that you’re really getting a sandwich to begin with, a tasty one, but then some sides to make the meal that bit more interesting. So, I’m still correct. Good luck arguing against that, Bertie!

-Tom O

Stop talking about sandwiches and play the games

Playing games in early access feels special, like you’re part of a cool gang. | Image credit: Eurogamer / Larian

When you said Wobbly Life there I thought you were making a comment on the mutability of our own existence. I didn’t realise you were talking about a sandwich-making game. I didn’t even know there was a sandwich-making game. You’ve upended my morning, Tom. But look, I think diving into an early access release is absolutely worthwhile.

For starters, it feels intimate, like you’re sharing in the privilege of an as yet unformed idea from a developer you might really admire. A chance to experience some of the development process with them, perhaps even to help shape it, depending on the willingness of the developer involved. It’s a chance to get closer to a game series and studio.

But the reason I try early access releases is because of collective excitement. Undeniably, a game will be better after it’s been in early access for a while. Things will be fixed, content will be added, feedback will be taken on board. There’s a reason studios put games in early access and nearly all of them improve because of the time they spend there.

But so much of a gaming experience – so much of the magic of a gaming experience – comes from it being shared. That might be something shared directly alongside people you’re playing the game with, or it might be playing the game on your own but at the same time others are playing it, and talking about it, and being excited about it. And the most exciting time for any game is when it’s first introduced, when its ideas are new, and when the worlds it presents are undiscovered. You can never have this moment twice.

That’s why early access presents game-makers with a bit of a conundrum. I looked into this a few years ago and talked to a few companies familiar with the early access procedure, and I’m fairly sure that most of them told me an early access release is treated as a bigger moment for a game than a 1.0 release. That’s the game’s introduction, the big reveal, the door opening. The problem being: if your game is a mess at that point, your big moment will be ruined.

So yes, you can wait, and arguably it’s better to wait to play a game – you’ll get a more complete and sophisticated game. But you’ll miss out on that initial surge of excitement when a game is unknown, when its secrets are still intact, and when everyone is on a level playing field. Those things are priceless.

-Bertie

The big question, then: do you play games in early access or does playing them piecemeal lessen the overall experience?

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