This is Niche Early Access. In this column, we regularly showcase various promising games that are currently in some form of early access or development, and haven’t reached full release. Please let us know if there’s a game you want us to showcase!
In case you haven’t been paying attention to Steam for the past five years, there’s a lot of Early Access games that get released every week. Unfortunately, a good chunk of them are terrible, and in many cases they end up burying the genuinely promising Early Access titles.
It’s with this in mind that I’m creating a new regular series called Niche Early Access, which will be in the same vein as Niche Spotlight and Crowdfunding Recap. Every week (or potentially bi-weekly, it all depends on what came out that week), I’ll do an article recapping around five games that recently hit Steam Early Access.
Much like Niche Spotlight, Niche Early Access will not be an endorsement or recommendation, but rather a showcase of Early Access games that look like they could be worth keeping an eye on.
Here’s five new Early Access games to keep on your radar:
The Wild Age
Developer: McMagic Productions
Platforms: Window PC
Price: $14.99 (Price may increase)
The Wild Age is a town building game with tower defense elements where you are a fledgling lord tasked with establishing settlements on a series of remote islands. Hire different types of workers to build your settlement and fight off raids by bandits and monsters. The game will eventually feature the ability to gather your defenders and take the fight to enemy outposts.
The Wild Age is entering its final stages of development, and the developers expect the game to leave Early Access sometime within the next several months.
Ymir
Developer: Thibaud Michaud
Platforms: Windows PC
Price: $34.99
Ymir is a mix of city building and 4X strategy game where players lead a civilization of pigmen throughout the ages. The game can be played alone, but Ymir‘s main focus is online multiplayer. Modes include a faster, self-contained mode meant to be played alone or with friends, or a massive persistent MMO with slower gameplay where your settlements are always active, even when you log out.
Ymir is an extremely ambitious one-man project, so there is no set time frame for when it might release from Early Access.
Factory Town
Developer: Erik Asmussen
Platforms: Windows PC, Mac
Price: $19.99
Factory Town is a sandbox town building strategy game with a heavy emphasis on creating efficient supply chains. Recruit workers and construct complicated systems of conveyor belts, roads, switches, and other triggers to move resources around your town so they can be turned into valuable goods. Research new technologies to further min-max the efficiency of your logistical systems.
Factory Town‘s Early Access period is expected to last around six months.
Wolfpack
Developer: Usurpator AB
Platforms: Windows PC
Price: $34.99
Taking a break from the town management games, Wolfpack is a hardcore, team-based submarine sim where players work together as the crew of a German U-boat in WWII. Each player has a different role on the U-boat, including the captain, helmsman, radio operator, navigator, and dive officer. Crews can even team up to form entire wolfpacks of U-boats in larger operations.
Wolfpack doesn’t have a final release date yet, but is expected to leave Early Access sometime this year.
Astrox Imperium
Developer: Jace Masula
Platforms: Windows PC
Price: $14.99
Finally, we come to Astrox Imperium, a sandbox space strategy sim set on the edge of the known universe. Mine asteroids, refine raw materials to craft components, and assemble your own fleet of starships and escort drones. Take on contracts and choose to either befriend or make enemies out of the 18 different factions that populate the Void.
Astrox Imperium is expected to be in Early Access for between six and eight months.
Which of these games caught your attention? Please make sure to recommend any future early access games. Sound off in the comments below!
