Alabaster Dawn expands Early Access

Alabaster Dawn is an indie action RPG — the next game from Radical Fish Games, the studio behind CrossCode. That matters because CrossCode built a very specific kind of trust: hard combat, dense puzzles, and a fanbase willing to wait if the result feels polished. The gap was simple. People had a demo, trailers, and a lot of anticipation, but not an actual game they could buy and push through. That changed on May 7, when Radical Fish put Alabaster Dawn into Steam Early Access with a much bigger slice of the game than the old demo offered. ### What actually launched? The Early Access version is live now on Steam for PC. Radical Fish says this first public build includes the story through the middle of chapter 2, plus side content, and is meant to feel polished even though the full game is not done yet. Steam’s store page also makes the long runway clear — the studio expects Early Access to last at least 2 years while it finishes the full campaign. (radicalfishgames.com) ### How much bigger is it than the demo? Quite a bit bigger. The studio says the launch build contains the full first area, the complete first dungeon — the demo only had half of it — then a large new area after that, a second settlement, extra story scenes before and after the demo endpoint, six optional side quests in Lyhamn, two optional dungeons, another larger puzzle segment, new enemies and bosses, another element, another weapon, and more Divine Arts. (store.steampowered.com) Saves from the demo can carry over, though progress gets nudged back a bit so players do not skip new material. ### How long is the current build? Right now, Radical Fish pegs the Early Access version at about 6 to 10 hours, depending on playstyle, and calls it roughly 20% of the planned full game. The store page says the finished release is targeting 7 chapters and around 40 hours total, so this launch is not a tiny vertical slice — but it is also nowhere near the whole thing. Basically, you are buying into a substantial opening arc, not a near-finished RPG. (radicalfishgames.com) ### Why go Early Access with a story RPG? That is the unusual part. Early Access is common for sandbox games or systems-heavy roguelikes, but less common for narrative RPGs where pacing and payoff matter. Radical Fish’s pitch is that the foundation is already stable after years of development, playtests, and demos, and that Early Access gives the team time and money to keep building without rushing the ending. (radicalfishgames.com) The studio is also leaning on experience here — CrossCode benefited from a long, community-shaped development cycle too. ### Are players showing up? Yes — fast. Steam shows the game at an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, with 96% positive across 505 user reviews at the time of capture. That does not prove long-term momentum, but it does show the launch landed well with early buyers. Creator coverage spun up immediately too, with launch-day first looks and playthrough videos appearing as soon as the build went live. (radicalfishgames.com) ### What is the catch? The catch is patience. Radical Fish says the price may rise in later Early Access updates or at 1.0, and the team only promises that save compatibility will be maintained on a best-effort basis through development. The bigger issue is time: if the studio’s estimate holds, the complete version is a 2028 story, not a summer 2026 one. (store.steampowered.com) ### So why does this launch matter? Because the question around Alabaster Dawn was never whether it looked promising. It was whether Radical Fish could turn that promise into a real, playable start without losing the density people loved in CrossCode. Now there is an answer. The game is out, the opening chunk is sizable, and players can finally test whether this follow-up has the legs to carry a full 7-chapter RPG. (store.steampowered.com) (radicalfishgames.com)