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!
After a brief break due to E3 madness (and a general lack of interesting releases), Niche Early Access is back with another rundown of some promising Early Access games that came out over the past few weeks. Even if you don’t like to buy Early Access games, remember to wishlist anything that catches your attention to be notified when it get a full release.
Here’s this week’s batch of 5 Early Access games that might be worth checking out:
A.N.N.E
Developer: Gamesbymo Inc.
Platforms: Windows PC, Mac, Linux
Price: $14.99 (Price will increase)
A.N.N.E. is an ambitious Metroidvania and shmup hybrid that was Kickstarted way back in 2013, and it was one of the early games to make it through the Steam Greenlight voting process. After all these years its finally on Steam (albeit in Early Access), and judging by the lack of Steam reviews and buzz on social media, it seems a lot of people have forgotten about this once moderately anticipated game. Explore vast worlds on foot or in a ship on your mission to track down A.N.N.E, your robotic companion that was taken away by the Federation for developing romantic feelings in a world where the “love virus” is strictly forbidden. There’s free demo you can try on the Steam page.
A.N.N.E is expected to remain in Early Access for around six months.
Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge
Developer: Rikodu
Platform: Windows PC
Price: $15.99 (Price will increase)
Speaking of cute robots, Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge is a co-op focused top-down shooter where players build robots out of everyday household appliances…and then bolt all kinds of weapons onto them. Fight hordes of hostile robots with an arsenal of quirky guns and melee weapons to unlock all kinds of new skins, emotes, and parts. Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge supports both online and local co-op, but can be played alone as well.
Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge is expected to leave Early Access before the end of 2019, but there’s no concrete date yet.
It Stares Back
Developer: Light Arc Studio
Platform: Windows PC
Price: $5.99 (Price will increase)
It Stares Back is a real-time, hex-based 4X strategy game set in a shattered and crumbling world called The Great Tapestry. You are The Noble Guide, a mythical commander with the ability to control lost souls. Build a continuously replenishing undead army on your quest to unravel the Tapestry’s deepest secrets and complete the Rites of Awakening to restore this surreal dark fantasy world to its former glory.
It Stares Back is expected to stay in Early Access for about a year.
Deathgarden: BLOODHARVEST
Developer: Behaviour Digital
Platform: Windows PC
Price: $14.99
Deathgarden: BLOODHARVEST is the newest game by the developers of Dead by Daylight. Like their previous game, Deathgarden is an asymmetrical multiplayer game where a single unstoppable hunter is tasked with tracking down and killing all the scavengers that are trying to escape the Deathgarden. The hunter plays the game like an FPS, and has access to powerful guns and traps. The scavengers play from a third-person perspective, and will have to rely on stealth and speed as they gather resources and sacrifice blood to complete objectives.
Deathgarden: BLOODHARVEST will be in Early Access for somewhere between six months and a year.
Dungeon Munchies
Developer: maJAJa
Platform: Windows PC
Price: $13.99 (Price will increase)
Finally, we come to Dungeon Munchies, a 2D action-RPG about slaughtering monsters and then making gourmet dishes from their body parts. You’ve been brought back from the dead in a mysterious facility full of monsters, magically beings, and other undead inhabitants. Aided by the necro-chef Simmer, you’ll hunt down enemies and cook exotic meals to gain new abilities as you try to find a way out of the facility and back to the world of the living.
Dungeon Munchies will be in Early Access for between five to ten months.
Which of these games are you interested in? Are you playing any recent Early Access releases that we missed? Tell us more in the comments below.
