Was Steam EA Bad Move?

As half the people on Steam do not even check on the state of the game before purchasing and automatically think whatever price point the game is set to means they should be getting that much out the game in it’s current state, I really think Steam EA was Last Epoch shooting itself in the foot here. As I only want to see this game shine it is really disheartening to see it sit currently around 65% review score. Basically every negative review says the same handful of things; “not worth price”, “bugs”, “clunky ui/animations”, etc. This could of easily been avoided by having keys only sold through Last Epoch website where people can at least be more informed about what they are paying for to avoid the people who will write off a game because they “liked the screenshots” but it isn’t ready for mass consumption yet. List the game on Steam EA but make them come here to learn before they purchase.

Just my .02

Most of this people probably aren’t even able to READ that is beta,so if they buy something eye closed,it’s their fault.In italy we have a word to define them “bimbiminchia” match perfectly in this case.

Not saying it isn’t their fault, it completely is. But for the sake of the game it may be the best move to have it purchasable through Steam this early on.

You may be right. The game is getting bad reviews just because of simple things like the graphics being completely messed up till you change any graphical setting (even utube streamers think its a strange bug that keeps resetting). Oh that graphical bug was in alpha too.

There are many things the developers could have easily changed and made the game look much better. E.g. many people dont even realize that half the advanced mastery is hidden under a button. I see streamers having issues finding passives they saw just because they dont realize to unhide it and these are ARPG dedicated streamers. The developers could just not hide it…

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Early games in ARPG tend to be boring and frustrated people stop before touching core

I have recommended this game in a small Japanese community, but the members enjoyed it very much by answering questions within a simple build guide and range, especially the build and craft system is popular.

Most of the steam reviews are frustrations of optimization and graphics, so if they are improved they will be fun!

I’m not good at English and I’m sorry if I have a rude part

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the move was a double edged sword imo
they need to put it in there to jumpstart the revenue immediately and develop quickly
but it will rack up bad reviews for the future

the best way to get out of the bad review cycle is to be laser focused and develop super fast which i think they anticipated(based on how they are going atm)

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Steam is always a two-edged sword, but it’s a tremendous platform to reach gamers. I’m not sure anyone really pays any attention to Steam reviews anymore. With few exceptions they are pretty much “This is my axe to grind and I’m going to grind it” pettiness.

Streamers probably have far more impact.

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Just some changes to keep retention numbers up for beta players.

  • Graphical Bug that has existed for awhile. that keeps reverting screen resolution to one that makes everything blurred.
  • Extremely bad technical issues with downloading patches (been around for a long time on patch days)
  • Early game is a bore. They can increase mob variety and density in the first few areas. Check d2,d3,poe, grim dawn.
  • Get rid of the button in the advanced masteries hiding half the passives. Add explanation that you are limited to x mastery points, so spend wisely.
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大丈夫だった

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Very true. If a shouty nobody like Quinn can bring a ton of people to a game, then focusing on streamers should be priority #1.

Not really a bad move. It has 68% positive feedback right now. It’s not that bad; the game will get better % with time.

That being said, there was a bad move: not stating that people weren’t buying a game in beta, but they were buying the Ardent Gladiator Supporter Pack, including pet, cosmetic points, forum badge, soundtrack and game at release (it IS stated in FAQs, but most people don’t read the FAQs in the webpage, even less a Steam player).

IMO the game would have received less negative feedback. Most complaints and negative comments are about the “price for a game in beta/EA stage”.

Also I’m agree with Omegaai here:

Even more when so many people would see the early game in the streams. Firts impressions are really important for a product. Early game is where the majority of people decide if they like the game or not.

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I am also sad to see the Steam reviews. All the bad ones are players that didnt even stay more than 2 hours on the game. They have no clue of EHG work, no clue it is a TRUE beta and not a false early access from AAA games. They expect things that are not even supposed to be here from a true beta game. I stopped reading Steam reviews it triggers me so much. I would have rather prefered EHG kept the game out of Steam for the Beta and make an awsome Steam start at the game release.

Anyway, I hope it won’t back fire EHG and I wish all the best to them. On my side I keep having fun and I am super happy to follow the evolution of the game since pre-alpha and Kickstarter.

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The early part of the game is only a bore because the enemies die so fast and basically can’t hurt you, they need a buff. Early LE and early PoE both have around the same enemy variety imo. PoE just starts with sand spitters and zombies, and then adds the cannibals and rhoas. LE has mostly void enemies in the beginning but while they all look a little similar there are a bunch of different types of them.

Also yeah the people on the steam forums just make me face palm most of the time, but games really need to hit steam now if they want to make decent money.

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Early game is a tad slow, I like others opinion on adding density. Slow starts seem to be an arpg staple, what game starts with a bang? GD, PoE, D3…all these begin sluggish as well. Some of us actually enjoy the leveling aspect tho, I get bored at high levels.

The game is a blast tho. Currently level 70 hc beastmaster, having a great time messing with skills and crafting. Hitting those t5 mods feels so good.

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How is the gear looking at that level? I’ve seen a few complaints that gear variety is lacking at the moment, and low level character armours dont look much different then high level armour sets

i mean, many games have a very slow beginning/early game and are succesful - path of exile is an example :stuck_out_tongue: they have adjusted mob density, but everything early game is pretty bad and people who want super fast action from the get-go… i don’t think arpg’s are for them

I think people on Steam expect too much from “Early Access” titles.

To be honest, Last Epoch, in its current state, is more polished and performs better than a lot of “finished” games that I’ve played. That’s not to say that the game doesn’t need more polish or optimization; it does, even though I can run the game at max settings with occasional frame drops (though, my PC is pretty high-end, to be fair).

its early access, in my opinion reviews eventualy will even out to the “real” ones that will be given to the game

Most of the early bad reviews I saw there when I went to purchase the game seemed to be people that played less than an hour. I get that some games you can tell early on they aren’t for you, but that isn’t a game anyone should be reviewing in my opinion.

I wondered at the price at first. I will say the developers on certain twitch streams helped me make my decision to buy it. In the end it looked fun and seemed to already have enough game for me to buy it.

One character at about level 60 and just started a new one last night and I already feel my money was well spent. The game is fantastic and so many different ways to go with builds. In a much easier to grasp way than some other similar games.

I like following build guides in PoE, but while I’m sure I will do that in time with Last Epoch, I feel it is easier to figure out my own builds in this game, which makes me want to keep playing as I understand the systems better.

Basically I think this is a game that could end up less intimidating for some players, without sacrificing depth for more advanced players.

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