Bellwright has everything it takes to be Steam’s next big thing – especially for survival fans
After making a big hit during Steam Fest, Bellwright has a Early Access release date.
Following a successful demo debut during June's Steam Next Fest, Bellwright is launching onto Steam Early Access this December. For Survival RPG fans, this may be the next big thing landing on the platform and is well worth keeping an eye on.
Developed by Donkey Crew, this gritty survival game has you building settlements, liberating locals from a tyrannical monarchy abusing the land, and fighting back against your oppressors with sword, shield, and arrow. If you're curious about the life of those living in Leeds post the HS2 cancellation - this is a good glimpse into the future! Build a shack and fight against the odds to survive.
The game went down a treat earlier in the year - with over 100,000 folks downloading the demo and giving it a go during Steam Next Fest. With no other massive release in the forseeable future for Survival RPG fans - and Ark 2 stil MIA - this might just be cozy experience you're looking to jump into ahead of Christmas.
But what is Donkey Crew? It's a Polish studio formed from various established Mount and Blade modders, according to the company website. This immediately connected the dots in my head - inspiration from that series is dripping from Bellwright which should be great news for longtime fans. They also made Last Oasis - a brilliantly distinct survival game that had players create giant wooden land ships.
That game had perhaps one of the more blunt reworks in recent memory - with a developer blog titled "Last Oasis Sucks" (thanks PC Gamer) released ahead of a full-game rework. This tore the playerbase in two and proved controversial among PvP-minded players, so here's hoping Donkey Crew nails the focus the first time around.
If you want to see whether it can, keep an eye on Bellwright and jump in yourself this December when it launches in early access.