I propose 2024 is the year of early access games boycott.
Bring back completed games only.
Eh, early access isn’t the problem. Palworld has been wrecking Pokemon despite being Early Access
Can 2024 instead be the year of bad game boycott? When an early access game is better than most AAA completed games, then there’s a serious problem
If we could all just agree to not preorder, I’ll negotiate from there.
Preordering made sense when games came in nice boxes, and you wanted to be sure to play it on the day of release instead of waiting for restocking. With digital downloads now which are not limited in quantity it is just stupid.
This, 100%. The only value of preordering is guaranteeing stock of a physical item that threatens to be out of stock if you were to buy it walk-in. In the modern digital age where downloading tens of gigabytes that take up no space, ship near-instantly on demand, and have theoretically infinite supply, preordering is pointless if the actual game itself is all you care about.
Early Access is a problem when big publishers try to do it. It makes sense that indies do it so they have cash flow at all. Big outlets have funding on hand, but are trying to leverage it, anyway.
Using us as test dummies is still better than releasing an unfinished piece of shit for full price.
The thing is, early access games aren’t necessary unplayable.
If they are good enough in their current form to warrant the price, then that is a good time to buy them. The updates are only a bonus at that point.
But don’t buy early access for the promised features, since they may never arrive.
RimWorld, Subnautica, darkest dungeon, streets of rogue, project zomboid, oxygen not included, starsector, skull the hero slayer, dead cells, caves of qud quasimorph and universim are games i bought in early access that I do not regret in the slightest.
I’d say the biggest problem is these big companies who release “finished” games that are clearly not finished and the people who keep pre-ordering them
The games I have bought in early access:
- Kerbal Space Program
- Factorio
- Satisfactory
- Subnautica
Early access isn’t the problem.
I mean, just do a little due diligence, Jesus. I’ve bought PalWorld, Planet Crafter, Traveler’s Rest, and more in early access and had a blast with all of them. In fact, I’d say it’s some of the best bang for my buck in the last ten years of gaming. I’ve also not bought early access games because the five minutes of due diligence suggested that it was a garbage game.
I particularly think it’s fine with small, indie studios that don’t have a lot of devs or resources. No way in fuck am I buying an early access AAA release.
