Steam is no stranger to those who like to play computer games. There are quite a lot of games available for purchase, and it is also a platform that major manufacturers will never miss when they put it on the shelves. In my spare time, the author loves playing games, especially simulation games that can be built and operated. Steam is my favorite platform. I don’t know if you have noticed that there are more and more “early experience games” on Steam, then Should I buy these games? What are the advantages and disadvantages? This time I will analyze it in detail for you.
What is an “early access game” on Steam? Should I start buying?
The games on Steam are mainly divided into two categories, one is the official version, and the other is marked as “early experience game”, you may have some doubts about this, what is the difference between the two.
What is “Early Access”?
Simply put, an early access game is a game developed while selling, which means a semi-finished product. By releasing Early Access, players can enter the game first and report some suggestions, game bugs, etc. to the developer immediately through the developer’s Discord community or feedback in the game. And developers can make in-game direction corrections, adjustments and other additional content development in the existing schedule and development plan based on the opinions of players that are continuously collected, so as to achieve a balance between the official and the players and avoid being caught behind closed doors. Make the game more in line with the expectations of the general public.
▲ Early access games will be clearly marked. (By the way, this game is quite fun, I will introduce it to you when I have the opportunity)
What are the advantages of Early Access?
Of course, although the early access game can shorten the waiting time and let you enter the game early and meet your expectations, it also has advantages and disadvantages. Let’s talk about the advantages first. For players, you don’t have to wait too long to play the game you want to play, and some games are cheaper in the early access stage than the official version, and you can start new games at a more cost-effective price.
If a game has a large scale and a wide range of content, the development time required will also be extended. After development, it will take a long time to test and modify, catch bugs, etc. Even if there is an original scheduled release time, it is often delayed, so you can I saw some 3A masterpieces that have been honed for many years before they were officially launched. The profit of a game only starts after it is put on the shelves. The previous development stage is completely self-sufficient. If there is no strong capital, it will be quite difficult, and it is difficult for small development studios to bear. The early access game can be sold after it is put on the shelves, which is equivalent to generating income while developing, effectively relieving the financial pressure of developers.
What are the disadvantages of early access?
After talking about the advantages, the author believes that the disadvantages are more important, and it is more worth considering for those who are eager to try the “early experience game” but do not understand its definition. First think about whether you can accept these things that you will encounter. Usually at the beginning of the game, the player will be vaccinated, telling you that the game is still under development, please be more tolerant, and don’t look at it with the same critical eye on the official version.
Since the early access game is like the “earning by doing” we mentioned earlier, you may find that some functions are incomplete and unusable when you play a certain chapter, or some plots and bridges in the game. Or directly tell you that there will be content that will be updated after the development progress catches up, so if you progress too fast, you may not be able to continue halfway through the game, or some game experience will not be so complete.
Since it is still in the development stage, it is very common to encounter unstable games, many bugs, and incomplete translations. Map jams or game crashes may occur, so you have to be patient. For example, the “Coral Island” that I have been playing recently often appears to be translated by Google Translate. The picture below is to put things into a full storage box, but for some reason it was translated as “full chest” ( It should be the storage box is full), which is quite strange.
On the other hand, I hate this very much! For some early access games, you may have played for a long time and accumulated a lot of wealth, but after the next update, you are told that the previous progress is not compatible with the existing version, which means that you must cut off and re-train, all all over again. Storyline-type games are mostly pushed down section by section in planning, and each update is continued, and this problem is less likely to be encountered. This situation usually occurs in unit games, which will greatly change the content of the previous game due to the addition of a certain function. For example, the game below does not provide water and electricity distribution at the beginning. After the update, you need to distribute water and electricity coverage when installing electrical appliances, so the previous archives cannot be used.
To sum up, if you want to buy an early access game, you must have the determination to endure various situations. As for when an early access game will be transformed into a full-fledged game, it depends on the developer’s time progress, which can be as short as a few months, or as long as 2 or 3 years are possible.