I have to start out by saying I am very biased. I've been following this development team for about
15 years. Originally they were planning to make an MMO and I absolutely loved their design ideas.
A skill based progression system instead of levels so you could specialize the way you wanted.
A perma-death over time system so there was real risk in the game and nobody could be on top forever and you'd have the opportunity to start fresh and try something new as in rogue-like games.
A ton of races including dragons and set up so there would be real conflict and asymmetric power levels.
Deep settlement building, crafting, and religious systems.
I participated on their forums, I was even a moderator for a while. I've chatted with the developers in chat rooms and private messages. I pledged to the kickstarters for the MMO that ultimately failed. I donated money through the website so they were able to develop a demo for their second kickstarter. I watched disappointed fans turn away and
trolls heap hate on them for being fake devs. I also watched them never give up. They have vision and passion and drive and integrity.
They've never promised anything they couldn't deliver.
And eventually they said, "
We are not giving up. We're not abandoning the
fans who donated money to us and believed in us." And they started developing ToA: Exile, a survival game using some of the same mechanics they had planned for the MMO. Their goal was to make an enjoyable survival game that can stand on its own merits, and, if it does well enough, eventually get back to work on the MMO we were all waiting for for so long.
As a prior supporter and active community member, I was invited to help alpha test Exile once it was far enough along. I've enjoyed every minute of testing and I'm thrilled the game is launching in Early Access now. It's definitely Early Access, there's no doubt about that. But it's also definitely fun to play as it is, and if you get it now you'll have the opportunity to give your feedback to a development team that I can promise is open to constructive criticism and works hard to make necessary changes to the code and design.
If you like skill based progression, a deep crafting system, or if playing as a giant spider or trying to raise a dragon from weakling to powerhouse sounds interesting to you; or if you want to host your own server for you and your friends and customize it to your liking, what are you waiting for?! This game is for you!