The Best of Steam Early Access

Before the days of Early Access on Steam, being super excited about an upcoming PC game meant having to wade through an agonizing gauntlet of months or even years to get a chance to play it at launch. These days, it's a different story. The magic of Early Access lets you go hands-on with games that are still works-in-progress well before they're finalized. While that can sometimes be a double edged sword, it's a great way to support developers you like, play a role in helping to shape the design process as the game evolves, and have a chance to play it immediately.

Looking for some slick examples of interesting WIP games on Steam? Here's a quick peek at four excellent picks from the top of the Early Access pile.

1) We Happy Few

We Happy Few gameplay footage, courtesy of YouTube

Deciding whether to take mind-altering chemicals to put a cheerful rainbow-filter on the a grim dystopian version of 1960s England is a central part of We Happy Few's disturbing first-person adventure. You're free to choose your own path to survival as you explore the city's dark underbelly and interact with the addled citizens of this unsettling society. Will you step in line and follow the rules? Or incite mayhem and murder by being labeled a "downer" for shirking your government-imposed pharmaceutical responsibilities?

Recommended upgrades: Go for the ROG Strix Wireless or the upcoming Centurion 7.1 headset to experience the sound the way you were meant to—as an integral part of the experience. 

2) Slime Rancher 

Slime Rancher gameplay footage, courtesy of YouTube

On the far opposite end of the spectrum from We Happy Few, we have the adorable and slightly bizarreSlime Rancher—a game about wrangling cute bouncy slime critters and harvesting their feces (called "plort") to grow your farm. This colorful oddity sends you out with your vacuum gun to settle and explore on a distant planet, where you can grow your own food, battle alien life, and expand your farmstead as you work towards becoming the lord of psychedelic alien excrement. Good times!

Recommended upgrades: For vibrant colors in full, try the ROG Swift PG248Q gaming monitor or the curved Swift PG348Q. 

3) Besiege 

Beseige gameplay footage, courtesy of YouTube 

If you have a taste for building complex war machines and using them to wreak havoc, then the crazy physics combat in Besiege will no doubt scratch that particular itch and then some. This slick battle game has you crafting medieval siege engines of all destructive shapes and sizes -- complete with spikes, blades, cannons, flame throwers, and more. Once perfected, you then send your malevolent masterpieces into the fray to crush enemy strongholds, mow down peaceful villages, and turn your enemies into human mulch.

Recommended upgrades: Try the ROG Spatha for multi-tasking with one hand. 

4) Subnautica

Subnautica gameplay footage, courtesy of YouTube 

Taking a break from the more traditional land-based jaunts on this list, Subnautica thrusts us beneath the waves in a sci-fi tinged bid for survival among the alien denizens of the deep. Stranding on a distant world after your ship crash-lands in a vast ocean, this fascinating aquatic adventure tasks you with gathering resources and trying not to get eaten by freaky sea life as you build a sprawling aqua-base. It's a mish-mash of scavenging, survival and exploration in a captivating new setting we rarely get see in the genre.

Recommended upgrades: Try playing on the beach with the ROG Strix GL502 or the GL702. 

 

By Nathan Meunier