Latest news with #earlyaccess
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tales of Seikyu is coming to early access this month, meaning I can finally continue my journey into its enchanting world of dateable yokai
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Tales of Seikyu, the fantasy farming simulator set in a world of cheeky yokai, is coming to early access on May 21. In the announcement post shared to Steam, details were shared on what to expect from the early access version of the game. You'll be able to farm and explore the countryside as you could in the demo, while also mastering three yokai transformations and uncovering a handful of secrets about the playable characters' ancestry. There is a limit to how much you can do though, and you won't be able to progress much further than the first chapter to start. Within this chapter, you'll be able to do all the classic activities of life sims. So, farming, fishing, cooking, and home/character customisations. You'll also have the opportunity to romance six villagers at the start, but according to the Steam announcement the game will be updated regularly with more romance options and heart-event progression. If you played the Steam Next Fest demo, you'll also be able to pick up where you left off without having to start fresh. So if you've made any sort of progress with the yokai inhabitants of Seikyu, you won't have to sacrifice your relationships to keep playing in early access. A release date trailer was also released to coincide with the early access announcement, showing off the world, snippets of farming and decorating, and interactions with several characters. Having played the demo, it doesn't seem like there is a huge difference in the game's visuals, but that doesn't make it any less enchanting. Although I've already expressed my gripes with how empty the world seemed within the demo, there does seem to be a bit more life in its rolling hills in the early access release. The Steam announcement also revealed that the team behind Tales of Seikyu is keen to hear any sort of feedback or suggestions coming off the back of Early Access to help "shape the future of the game" and shared a link to the official feedback form, alongside the social media pages for the game should you encounter anything worth sharing during your adventures in Seikyu.
The Review Geek
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival (2025) Game Review – A challenging underwater roguelike
A challenging underwater roguelike Note: This is an add-on to the review previously published in 2024. I had the privilege of playing the early access edition of Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival when Retrostyle Games, the game's developer, invited me to delve into their latest game in the early summer of 2024. After loading up the game, I was quickly plunged into an underwater world where I was tasked with digging up resources on the bottom of the ocean floor. Piloting a spider-like mech, I traversed the pretty (but occasionally sparse) environments and entered caves where I could mine the materials that were needed to upgrade my initially fragile mechanical transport. It quickly became apparent that this was not a simple crafting game. If it were, I could have explored the ocean at my leisure, taking my time to explore every nook and cranny of the world RetroStyle had created. Unfortunately, my life in these underwater surroundings was not so simple. Spoiling my peace were endless hordes of sea monsters which attacked my mech in swarms. Needless to say, I died, many, many times, making very little progress as a consequence due to the harsh gameplay and frequent difficulty spikes. Fast forward to 2025, and the full version of this challenging roguelike game has been released. Did it kick my ass into underwater oblivion, as it did before? Well, yes! However, those who played Ocean Keeper in early access will be glad to know that it's a tad easier this time around. The game is essentially the same – you still need to explore various excavation sites and battle swarms of ocean creatures, both large and small – but your path to doing so is made easier by the enhanced tutorial and improved customisation screens that make improving the mech easier. These aren't the only changes made to the game. Previously, it was fun to play, but more than a little aimless due to the thin narrative that did little to explain the whys and wherefores of the adventure. But this time around, RetroStyle have incorporated a story that makes the game more meaningful. As such, you will have more reason to keep playing, as you'll feel like you're making progress towards an endgame with clearer objectives and a greater understanding of the mission you have been handed. The underwater world you explore is now more detailed, with added landmarks to minimise the chances of getting lost on the ocean floor. The game was already good looking and atmospheric, but with new lighting and colour grading, it's even more beautiful now, though you won't have a lot of time to gaze in awe at your surroundings due to the tense countdown situations where you're encouraged to complete your objectives quickly before the next swarm of enemies arrive. The enemy types are now more varied, with different attack patterns and new ways to defeat them. Thanks to the improved mech controls, it's easier to survive in the early stages of the game, though you'll still need to upgrade your vehicle to counter the harder enemy waves and boss battles as you progress. Thankfully, the improved UI means upgrading the mech is less fiddly than it was before, so you'll find it much easier to improve your craft's capabilities. These include new weapons, including a powerful Rail Gun that can pierce through multiple enemies (especially useful when overwhelmed), and new mining tools that make cave explorations that much simpler and faster, which is a godsend when up against the strict time limits. If you're after a challenging roguelike, then Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival comes highly recommended. The updated version of the game is only available on Steam at the time of writing, but RetroStyle plans to bring the new changes they have made to the console editions of the game at a later date. For more on Ocean Keeper, check out the gameplay trailer above and check out my original review of the game.
