First off, great game. Really excellent. even as it is in early access it's a multiplayer bargain at $10. The core loop is fantastic, the level of detail is very strong, there's a huge amount of replay value even after you've sorta seen everything there is once.

Reading through the early access notes the plan is to both never up the price and do a full release in April 2024, and I think it's likely that the game doesn't change a huge amount between now and then. It's a one person studio, and the game is really impressive already. Honestly my biggest hope might be that the creator realizes they're on to something, finishes this, and immediately starts a larger-scale sequel.

STRENGTHS:
- Big win for in-game audio, the communication and sound design in this game is delightful and really makes the whole thing work. Don't play via discord, you're cheating yourself.
- Core gameplay loop is solid, with the 10ish minute time limit per planet keeping things feeling very brisk. There's a lot of room for expression in the different roles you can take on for a given mission (screen watcher, loot runner, explorer, fighter) and mixing it up regularly makes the most of the systems.
- The good enemies are VERY good, they're strange unique enemies that you can act against directly (largely to avoid) but that dramatically slow the players down while adding a ton of tension. Really wonderful (coils/eyeless particularly).
- Dumb silly loot and dumb silly items are fun. Honk.
- Some of the planets have really excellent distinct personalities (particularly a fan of Rend).

WEAKNESSES:
- Though the majority of enemies are well designed, there are just too many where the optimal strategy is "just leave the planet" and those non-interactive monsters really drain the energy of the game. It's a huge shame, given how good the others are and how high the ceiling seems to be for enemy design (looking at you, :ghost:). It's a combination of first person stealth being tricky, enemy aggro being tricky, etc, but seeing the monsters where these systems work and comparing them to the run-enders really is a bummer.
- With a few shining exceptions, the planets mostly feel the same. Except March. I hate March.
- The weather might as well be a strict off-limits modifier. Rain is meaningless, every other negative weather condition is a run ender, which again feels pretty non-interactive.

Over all though, still highly highly recommend for a group of 3-4 players, and it's definitely a game and a dev to keep an eye on.