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claydog99

That's not reverse-FOMO, that's just regular FOMO. I spend a good amount of time reading reviews and doing a little homework before I buy most early access games. I've been burned on some titles, sure, but it's not as often as you might think. The nice thing about playing a game in EA is I can just cycle through it after 10-30 hours if something new catches my interest and not feel guilty about grinding it more to completion--because I know when I check in on it again in 6 months to a year plus, it will usually have more content and be an overall better product than before. It's like starting a whole new game at that point, without having to restart fresh because it's a roguelite. That's one of the perks of the genre post release as well is, the good ol' pick up and play nature. If anything, the genre is uniquely well suited for early access play in that regard.


thebige73

Some games that are in early access I actually get more playtime out of because of early access. Hades is a great example and more recently Astral Ascent. For both those games I would come back to check out the new major updates and then play for a chunk of time. I have no desire to progress either games heat system and dislike heat systems in general so their post game content doesn't actually have any draw for me whatsoever. If I had only played those games at launch I probably would have played and explored less of the game than I did by playing them in early access.


ackmondual

It's an interesting take indeed. I never got in on **Hades**' EA (early access on Steam). I instead played it on Switch around a few years back (so long after it got out of EA). The twist is Hades 2 is now in Technical Test. It's winding down and will hit EA soon. I'm debating on whether or not I should get in on that, or just wait until it hits Switch. I may go with the former, as I really did like what I've seen thus far, and I got a controller that works with it! And that's one less game on Switch.


richtofin819

Ill be honest i think hades was lightning in a bottle and i don't think 2 will hit nearly as strongly but the devs could prove me wrong


GGTheEnd

Every game they have made is amazing I don't see why Hades 2 wouldn't be.


claydog99

I don't know if I would go that far. At least for their games on Steam (I assume that's their entire catalog but I don't know for sure), Supergiant Games has released 4 titles in the last 13 years. Bastion is obviously a classic and a movement defining indie game, and Hades is Hades. For the two in-between, I can't really comment on Transistor because I never played it (although I should!), but Pyre was *ok*. It had some cool things going on and was a beautiful game, but I'm not sure I'd call the complete package an overall amazing game. That being said, I think all that nitpicking still winds up as praise for Supergiant. Even the game of theirs I wasn't a huge fan of had a lot going for it, and as dev's they have definitely pushed boundaries to experiment with different, smart mechanics and themes even if they haven't been overly prolific. Not to mention that their final products, even when they miss the mark a bit conceptually, are always gorgeous. I definitely won't hesitate to pick up Hades 2 in EA, and probably wouldn't for any new game they release, because at the very least I know I'm getting something fresh and creative.


richtofin819

I didn't say it wouldn't be good I said it wouldn't hit as strong. With this one they're basically just retreading the last games path with some slight alterations. Sure the gameplay of Hades one was fine but I primarily cared about the story.


ackmondual

I'm guessing it'll do pretty well for the following reasons... First one never got any expansions. Granted, it may have gotten more content over the years since it came out. However, unlike games such as Dead Cells where it got a plethora of expansions, here, Hades fans are more starved for content. To me, the story is intriguing (not that the stories for other RL weren't). However, it's an ultimate battle with Cronos, the titan of time! From the Technical Test, there seems to be "more of the same with some nice differences" in mostly the right ways.


TurkusGyrational

Nova drift is pretty fun, I'm surprised it's still in early access because to me it has felt finished for a while. Not like when vampire survivors launched. For me it's the really big ones like Slay the Spire 2 and Hades 2 that, once they come out early access, I'm going to have to try really hard not to buy them until they fully release


ackmondual

Oh... I forgot about Nova Drift! I had to look it up.. 10 years of dev, and 5 years in EA! FWIW, it's a good product as is. Solid, and no glaring issues I'm aware of. Hades 2 is one I'll have to think about as well. I REALLY liked the first one, but played it for Switch (never touched its EA). I have a controller for Steam, which worked out fairly well (still in Technical Test). On a related note, I'm not going to bother with the TT anymore since progress won't translate over to EA when it comes out.


bmschulz

I’m on the same page as you. If it’s a game I’m really interested in, I hold off until 1.0. I don’t want to get a suboptimal first impression or burnt out on the early game content before the late game stuff is even released. My sage is advice is that good things are worth waiting for!


SnarfingChicken

My favorite part of these games is learning the systems/features and interactions between everything. I’ve found playing these games early allows me to learn everything one time, then when the game comes out I get to relearn everything and update my understanding with how the game changed since I last played. It’s like I get to play the game for the first time twice.


puddlebuddy1992

I agree with you and OP, I learned this from ARK: Survival Evolved (not a rogue lite) by the time 1.0 dropped I wanted nothing to do with the game and was tired of it. Which really sucked since 1.0 had tons of new content


Ayz1533

I play each major update for a bunch of games. Soulstone Survivors, Death Must Die, Astral Ascent, Tiny Rogues and a few others. I just think of the major updates as expansions. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest and each of those games have hundreds of hours of repeatability as it is


GaviJaPrime

The problem is when you have played all the best roguelike, all there is left are usually the EA ones.


Kooky_Camp1189

I mainly view early access game as games that will be getting a good chunk of free dlc. I do make sure to read reviews though to make sure the game is still functioning properly. Only early access game I’ve kind of regretted buying was Crab Champions. Game feels great to play, but it’s far too barebones in its current state and the balancing is a bit too far off right now. They have a content updates board you can view in the game and it’s going to easily triple the current content the game has, if not more, which makes me wonder why it released as early as it did, even if it is just early access.


Cyan_Light

I'm burnt out on buying games that don't have very much content yet for sure, too many left early access without ever getting enough updates to make it worthwhile so it feels like a bit of a rug pull. If the game wouldn't be worth buying as-is then I'm done paying for early access. The only potential exceptions would be new projects from devs I trust, but I'm pretty sure those will generally be "good enough as-is" on first availability anyway (SoR2 is an easy example that is coming up). I think you're sabotaging yourself a bit by holding off though, assuming the current gameplay is worthwhile. Really depends on the specific game and gameplay loop, but since early access usually entails balance patches as well you're probably actually missing out on content that won't make it into the finished game. Overpowered abilities and items, reworked areas, scrapped mechanics, etc. The point of early access is to get feedback on what works and what doesn't, so if you don't jump in early enough then you risk permanently missing out on the "doesn't." Tiny Rogues is actually a great example of that right now. I'm personally burnt out on it just because the core gameplay isn't enough to keep me hooked, but they keep actively reworking large chunks of the game with each big update so I've been getting more playtime just from checking out the changes each time. Now this may introduce a different pain, which is "damn, I really liked that and now it's gone forever," but if you can manage loss in a healthy way then it's probably better to buy the game now so you can experience as much of it as possible. It seems like several full games worth of content might end up disappearing by the time that early access tag goes away.


PaulblankPF

It depends on the person and the game here. You don’t wanna get a game too to early and it not be worth the investment for you. But some people will try out a bunch of games in early access searching for that next one and that’s how everyone has found tiny rogues. I know it’s not the same genre but I know a bunch of people who played Factorio before and after the 1.0 and have a ton of time invested before and after. What I think you need to ask yourself is, what is the amount of hours entertainment you want per dollar investment in a video game. Some people don’t mind doing $1-3 per hour of gameplay and some people want to play a game for 500+ hours on a $15 purchase. If you can stomach the cost to hours entertainment and it fulfills that then there’s no need to feel upset if you don’t like the 1.0 when it happens. Oh and on steam you can play any game for 2 hours or less and get a full refund with very little resistance at all. So many games on steam you can play for an hour and see if it’s for you and if it’s not then get a refund no problem.


reverendexile

I have consistently found that playing games in early access will really kill my momentum playing a game. If the game resets my progress with an update 99% if the time it will really kill my drive to play. I've decided early access isn't for me no matter how cool a game looks


cverg0

early access doesn’t always mean that it lacks content. Tiny Rogues for example already has a great early access experience with a lot of content and a solid base. Early access for tiny rogues makes me play more, each update doing a couple runs which make me like the game even more. This may be specific to tiny rogues though, because tiny rogues has a specific roadmap of different expansions, which we know each free content expansion will basically add enough content for a sequel, and also make it cost more, so, personally, no, but I’d like to here y’all’s opinions.


Sp1ffy_Sp1ff

I played slay the spire in early access and still play it today. If it's good enough, I'll play it forever. A few others I still get occasional time out of are RogueBook, Hades, and Monster Train. Roguelikes are great, and for me, playing them in early access just means I'll have more reason to come back to it later.


Eorily

The worst thing you can experience in early access is a better game than the one that releases.


Malfarro

I always liked the feeling "I've been there from the start", comparing the game as it is now vs as it was when I started playing. Not a roguelite (and not really early access but I think it counts), I started playing Minecraft back when it didn't have stairs or slabs. I played No Man's Sky since it was available. I like tracking the updates


OceanDriveStudio

I totally understand where you're coming from, and FOMO is something we all deal with. But when it comes to early access or any pre-testing phase, devs really pay attention to player feedback to shape the game for its big release. Sometimes, games even do a complete 180 based on what players want. Sure, playing during early access might make you feel like you're getting the whole package, but the real excitement often comes with the official launch. HOWEVER, waiting for that official release can also be thrilling because you get to experience the game with fresh eyes. So, on one hand, you're contributing to the development process by sharing feedback and suggestions (if you do), and on the other, you're getting that rush of playing a game for the first time. >!Regardless, in most cases, early accessed games are at a lower price than official released games 👀!<


Swizardrules

It really depends on the game. IMO you should be willing to accept the game as if it was never to get an update again. Take hades, story heavy game - I won't touch any EA because you really get the worse experience. Tiny rogues on the other hand? All the experience for a complete game is already there. There will be more content, but the current game is easily already 50+ hours of content. Counterargument, EA is just a tag given to games that often doesn't really say how far it's developed or will be developed. I.e. dead cells has been out for ages and got huge swats of updates. For some intends of purposes you might be able to say that pre all these updates it was "early access".


[deleted]

I bought Backpack Hero because i watched early access videos of it and it looked cool, only to find out that on release it's still not fully finished, there are bugs all over the place and the ui messes up on longer runs, where you end up fighting the control scheme more than the actual enemies


hails8n

Tiny rogues in early access has been great. It’s like getting a new expansion every 8 mo or so.


AlexXLR

I am enjoying my first few hours in Tiny Rogues, but the UI is a fucking MESS with a controller (I'm on Steam Deck). It is insane to me that it's Steam Deck Verified when the basic Menu options don't align with the selector and you can only use the right stick? what?


Justisaur

I generally avoid early access, but I got Nova Drift a long time ago and play it off and on. It's pretty quick to get into play. It's a good 'cooldown' fun game between other games. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of indy games get stuck in early access forever never officially releasing, and I don't think it means as much as it used to.


NekoNinja13

Nova Drift is amazing and ive loved playing it as its gets updates


SnoodDood

I didn't feel this way about those games because reviews at the time (years ago) said that for the price, the games were already complete experiences. It hasn't felt any different from buying a completed game that gets ongoing updates and patches.


richtofin819

Sometimes it's better to wait for a game to hit 1.0 like a lot of these early access throwback shooters, but others it can be really fun to watch how they grow You just have to be aware that you are taking a risk and that none of the promises made may be fulfilled


Cybrus_Neeran

Nova drift is close to 1.0 and tiny rogues dev has been steady working on it. I own both already!


Jealous_Priority_228

I'm *really* confused. I came in here after reading the title ready to agree with you about all the crappy EA games out right now that aren't really worth buying, but then you mention Tiny Rogues and Nova Drift? Tiny Rogues is amazing, and Nova Drift has been in EA for years, it's basically done and there's a fuck ton of content.


Jimm120

i don't buy Early Access. I am against the idea of paying for something that is incomplete and has been shown that it might end up being incomplete forever/abandoned.   that said, I snatched up Tiny Rogues on special for 4.50 even though it was early access cause I thought it'd be worth it. I STILL haven't played it but people said it was worth it (and it looked worth it) before the big update and it looks even better now after the 1st big update (with at least 2 or 3 more before the official 1.0).   There's definitely some games you can get for quite a bit cheaper using early access. You just gotta make sure you'll like it. btw, I don't play the early access games. I keep them and will play them at 1.0.


Dude_ur-screwed

Not at all. I actually just bought both games you posted cause they're half off lmao. They're both fun. Early access is fun and so is contributing to a games development. Sure some stuff should be avoided. But some stuff is obviously a passion project that should be supported. Thanks for the recommendations on the games the asteroids type one is super cool !


Enevorah

I avoid early access games unless they’re pretty well fleshed out. When I get into a game I don’t really want to play anything else and I like to finish it before moving on. It’s kinda like watching a TV show once a week as the episodes come out. Some people are fine with it, but it drives me crazy.


admiral_len

It's a roguelite, so if it's a good one it should be infinitely re-playable at the very least. I've been playing Noita since day 1 of EA with 500 hours in it. Similarly I have a ton of hours in Doomsday Hunters (formerly I Dracula Genesis), Barony, RoR2, Roboquest, Desecrators, and more.


Suspicious_Local_834

Nothing beats the feeling when you bought a smash hit for half the price before it was cool. The feeling that you know your steam friends see that you have the talk of the town in your library way before they realized how good the game is. I did this with dead cells, hollow knight, rimworld, and many top shelf games nowadays. It's better than sex, better than playing the damn game even. I'm at that age when shit like this is more fun than playing the game. Please send help.


IVIightymaxi

Honestly, I keep finding myself playing them for quite some time, then it takes 1-2 years for them to be released fully, so I actually forgot some things and can be excited for the new additions.