Menace Early Access: We Played the Demo But Know Nothing About the Game (Ep.67)
Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming · Critical Moves Podcast
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Show Notes
Menace released into early access yesterday. We recorded this episode ten days beforehand having played the demo and knowing almost nothing about what the early access version would include.
The demo showed solid turn-based tactical combat with a complex action point system, deep squad customization options, and strong art direction. It also showed a game from respected developers Overhype Studios and publisher Hooded Horse that had somehow reached nine days before early access without communicating basic information about content, roadmaps, or the strategic layer completely absent from the demo.
This raises questions about whether these studios are trading on goodwill from Battle Brothers and previous Hooded Horse releases to avoid the scrutiny a major publisher would face for the same approach. We discuss what worked in the demo, what the information vacuum means for early access, and whether the game's tactical depth compensates for questionable design decisions around unit specialization and equipment balance.
The game might be great. The marketing and communication is not.