What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access? “With ESSENCE we want to dive into unusual territory.

ESSENCE is our new approach to the exploration genre and with Early Access, we see a great opportunity to enhance the game immensely with your feedback and participation. In this way, we can refine and perfect the game mechanics, design and story and bring it up to its true potential before finally finishing the game.” Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access? “Since ESSENCE will be released episodically in 3 acts, it will have several major updates which will add a lot of functionality and worlds to the game. It will approximately be in Early Access until the end of this year when everything goes well. For a more detailed Roadmap please look below.” How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version? “The first release of ESSENCE will contain the first major worlds and is enclosed as the first act of the game. We will release the second and third act afterward and then finish up the game with all incorporated player feedback later this year. Therefore, the world of ESSENCE will grow and improve over time. More worlds, gameplay mechanics, and puzzles will be added with every act and previously released worlds will be polished and perfected according to your feedback.” What is the current state of the Early Access version? “Currently, the first act of ESSENCE is available and we are already working on a major update for this act. It will be a major overhaul ranging from technical aspects to design. We are also planning to improving the puzzle and interaction possibilities. Currently, ESSENCE consists of 3 huge main worlds and several smaller shard worlds, which should make up for quite a lot of astonishment and exploration.” Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access? “No ESSENCE will have a fixed price for everyone. Also since ESSENCE was a Kickstarter Project we want to ensure fairness for everyone by matching up with the initial Kickstarter price.” How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process? “The incoming feedback and impressions from you are a very important aspect for us and we will listen

closely to every feedback we rceive. We encourage everyone to express their thoughts in the forums and we do everything we can to communicate and work with you together to bring ESSENCE finally to its true magnificence.”