Do you play games in Early Access, or wait for the full release?

[icterine]

Random question because I've been curious about how other people approach this.

Do you play games while they're still in Early Access / active development, or do you usually wait until everything is basically complete before starting?

Personally I am very firmly in the second camp I don't purchase itch.io games before they're released in full and I have a Steam collection folder dedicated to games with pending content. And by pending content, I don't necessarily mean only games officially labelled Early Access either. If a game has DLC or other major updates planned, it goes there too, because I want a "complete experience" while my memory of the game is still fresh, rather than coming back months later for new content.

In addition, I do play demos if they're available, but only if the game is already out, so I can make a more informed purchasing decision. Otherwise, I don't touch the demos.

That said, I know there are also people who enjoy playing games throughout development - following each update, seeing the game evolve, discussing new content as it releases, giving feedback to the devs, etc.

So I'm wondering where everyone else falls

Do you:

• play demos, or avoid them entirely and dive straight into the full release?
• happily play Early Access and come back for each update? (granted, buying during EA always comes with the risk that the game may never actually be completed)
• wait even beyond 1.0 if you know major DLC/QoL/voiceover/updates are planned?
• just decide case by case depending on the game?

Happy to hear more thoughts

 

[Breeze Daydream]

I like to wait for the full version before playing the game, because in the trial version, when I reach the exciting part, there may suddenly be no storyline afterwards, which can be very disappointing. The full version is released again, and it feels like the experience version is like an early spoiler, having to replay the content of the previous experience version.

 

[dogiwall]

Another one in the full game camp. I might play a bit of demos, but I'm definitely not going to pay up for early access games lol

Unlike manga, tv series, or even MMOs and gachas, I don't think much early access games are going to get that much of engaging discussion in between updates, or they do and it quickly dies out. Also, there could be large gaps in early access updates and never get done until like years later as you've mentioned. In a few cases, the early access versions and the release version could be drastically different or doesn't live up to what the EA promised. I know Starbound is like that lmao

As for waiting for other things beyond the full versions, maybe I'll wait if it's like soon, it's substantial, and I have a lot of other games in my backlog.

 

[801_9ma]

I prefer waiting for the full game too!

I have had some early access games in my wishlist here and there, but I haven't purchased them yet and they're not my priority, I'd rather buy full games first. I'm also a bit hesitant with episodic games since you don't really know when the next chapters will drop, though I do feel FOMO when a new chapter drops and it's the only thing people end up talking about for months (although not an otome, I'm looking at you, Deltarune...)

I will try demos for games under development if the game caught my interest in some way, since it helps me decide whether or not I think I'd have fun with the full game. If I play a demo and it ends up boring me, it's usually a good sign I won't find the full game very exciting and won't bother following development.

As for what happens after the full release... to be honest, I kind of just live under a rock and don't even know when devs announce things like DLCs and extra stuff, so I don't know about them until months after. No need to wait for stuff when you're clueless like me!

 

[boji.8129]

I *WAIT for full release* for otome games!

For action games I do Early Access, but for story games? Never.

*I want to experience the TRUE ending with perfect CGs, not a buggy half story

 

[osanajimimi]

I follow the otomes that catch my interest. If they provide a demo, I'll play it. I check out new content about the system, cast commentary, and everything. If there's a major update after release, I'll wait a little, but for DLC that comes after finishing the story, I prefer to do it later.

 

[bravelyflee]

I also prefer to wait for the full experience.

But I have had a few times where I accidentally played a game not realizing it was early access until after playing. I should really be more observant...

 

[darlenexie]

I'm the type of person who, once I try a game and like it, I get really hooked and want to keep playing. That feeling is agonizing for me, so I choose to wait for the full game to be released and play it all at once.

 

[satory]

I play demos sometimes, when I want to decide if the game is worth buying or not. But I tend to stay away from early access, because it takes years for the creators to finish the game (if at all), and by the time it's out, I usually forget everything that happend and have to re-read. I understand why creators do it - it's good for feedback and collecting money, but as a buyer it's irritating. And yet it's more difficult to find a game that doesn't do it

 

[Pancito]

I prefer to wait for the full release. Since the game is still in development during early access, I'd rather wait for the final version so I can experience it with all of its content without having to worry about possible changes. (⁠ʃ⁠ƪ⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠）

 

[kokonefuwas]

Full release because of the time gap especially since I will likely to forget everything and I don't want to reread

 

[Rdddmi]

If I'm really looking forward to a game, there are times when I want to play it as soon as possible through Early Access. But generally, I prefer to wait for the full release.
Even if I play it early and decide that I want to buy it, I sometimes end up forgetting parts of the game by the time the full version is released...
When the full release gets closer, I'll play the demo if there is one.

 

[Venter]

Definitely fully release! Because I'm kind of impatient and quite greedy and want to finish something while I still have some free time on my hands (sometimes I wish I was a NEET lol)

 

[BiscuitB]

It depends on the game. I prefer to wait like everyone else has said, there's been too many times where I've played games in early access but then it's taken AGES for them to bring the game out fully. Then you start to replay it from the beginning skipping parts you've already played.