As game development becomes increasingly complex and it gets harder to squash every single bug, the idea of a perfect launch has turned into a rare beast. Because of this, I adore the Early Access model that's taken over PC gaming in recent years. Not only has it enabled smaller studios to create games they couldn't have otherwise created, but getting fans in on the ground floor means that developers have an unparalleled opportunity to foster a shared creative vision with players.
It's for this reason that I've been following the Early Access window for Endzone 2. I'm a sucker for city-builders that go above and beyond to get you involved with their world beyond juggling resource meters – in my eyes it's a big reason why Manor Lords and Frostpunk 2 found so much success in 2024 – and Endzone 2 gets this. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, you're not just expected to help a town scrape by, but encouraged to chart the world yourself in search of loot and new locations to build settlements.
From there, it's a matter of surviving everything thrown your way – think deadly radiation, lethal raiders, and catastrophic weather phenomena – to perhaps not flourish, but at least scrape by. In a Civilization-style twist, you can even pick where your first town is built and pick through long-forgotten ruins to recover lost technologies. While I think Endzone 2's worth checking out for the setting alone, it's these more emergent factors that really help it shine in what's now a pretty crowded genre.
Aside from shiny new things, Early Access has also allowed for the community to have their say in Endzone 2's systems. Radiation – which was also pretty unforgiving in the first Endzone – was dialled back fairly recently, in large part thanks to the fans who pointed out it was functioning a tad too brutally. I find a lot of hardcore leaning features in games can take awhile to find the right balance between realistic and frustrating, so excuse me if I seem a tad too excited about radiation.
Besides addressing an ultra-specific bugbear of mine, this is exactly the sort of change I hold up as an example of Early Access done right. Radiation being out of whack is an issue that GentlyMad likely had no way of predicting would be an issue, but because of that extra time in the oven, it was caught as a problem by players and resolved by the studio long before the game's full launch gets it out to the masses. That sort of community-driven development takes a willingness to engage from the studio, along with players who are genuinely passionate enough about a game to push for changes, so it's not something you necessarily get from every Early Access project.
If Endzone 2 sounds like a city builder you can see yourself sinking a frankly ludicrous amount of time into (no judgement here), I'd recommend checking it out on Steam and seeing whether its Early Access stage is for you. That comes with the usual caveat that it's still in development, so perhaps hold your horses if you don't enjoy games as they're being worked on – personally, I've got so many Early Access games on the go right now that I'd be more shocked if something wasn't pre-launch. But if you're anything like me and can't resist the prospect of creating post-apocalyptic high society, I'd also suggest joining Endzone 2's Discord to have a say in how the game shapes up. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to pick out a plot for the wasteland's hottest up-and-coming suburbia – see you there?
