The first episode of first-person sci-fi adventure Elea is available to purchase now via Steam Early Access.

The game is Bulgarian developer Kyodai Ltd's first title and is published by Dutch company SOEDESCO. The news of the game's launch was accompanied by a somewhat enigmatic teaser trailer, showing off the game's rather pretty Unreal Engine 4 environments and some of its narrative details. You can watch the trailer below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9DSCdARwIM

Elea: Episode 1 is titled "Memories", and is the first of a planned trilogy. This episode will focus on the titular Elea as she "embarks on a surreal journey through outer space and ponders the past events that led her there", according to Kyodai and SOEDESCO. The game takes place in a universe in which Earth was struck by a disease which killed Elea's family. Her husband, Ethan, joins a mission to colonize the exoplanet Solace aboard the starship Pilgrimage. Shortly after Pilgrimage's arrival on Solace, the ship goes radio silent. Elea must recover Pilgrimage, discover what happened aboard the ship and find out her husband's fate.

Kyodai Ltd and SOEDESCO promise the following features for players:

A rich, emotionally resonant story inspired by classic sci-fi writers

Amazing graphics and detailed environments courtesy of Unreal Engine 4

Unexpected narrative twists and turns

The team behind Elea describe the game as an "exploration game" and a "first-person sci-fi adventure". Episode 1 of Elea is planned to be part of the Early Access program for 2-3 months, during which Kyodai and SOEDESCO will be "paying close attention to [players'] feedback through the Steam Community hub" in order to determine "what still can be improved in terms of the story, flow, and overall gameplay elements". After this period, the full release will be available for both Steam and Xbox One. Right now, as the game has just launched, it can be purchased from Steam for 10% off the usual asking price.

Elea Episode 1 - Memories is available right now for $4.49. A deluxe version is also available which contains the game and soundtrack, and can be purchased for $8.53 at time of writing.

Does Elea scratch your sci-fi itch? Theories on what form the next two episodes will take? Let us know in the comments below!