Beastieball Announces Preview Playtest Set For Next Week
Earlier today, Beastieball, the adorable turn-based volleyball RPG from developer Wishes Ultd. (Chicory: A Colorful Tale & Wandersong) and publisher Klei Publishing (Don’t Starve & Oxygen Not Included), announced a preview playtest. In a post on Substack, Wishes Ultd.’s director Greg Lobanov detailed the decision to launch a playtest and what players can expect. The playtest will cover “the first major area of the game, including some story, boss fights, online features and other surprises…” Players who sign up will be randomly chosen on June 10th when the playtest begins. A small selection of content creators and all Kickstarter backers will gain access as well.
Beastieball is a charming creature-collector RPG where players coach a team of beasties in games of turn-based volleyball. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the beastie designs and mixing of 2D sprites and the 3D world were enough to catch my eye at last year’s Summer Game Fest, and it’s been on my radar ever since. It seems only fitting that this playtest begins just as this year’s Summer Game Fest draws to a close.
From playing the demo and watching trailers, I understand that part of Beastieball’s story is climbing the ranks to become the top coach, but I am sure there will be more to discover in this playtest. It will also be exciting to see what kind of online features this game will have. Will players be able to play co-op against bosses and story or will it be more to do with battling and trading? Stick to FinallyGotAroundTo for future info. Even if I don’t get into the playtest, I’ll watch out for others who do.
If spoilers for this game are something you’re worried about, especially if you don’t get the chance to partake in the playtest yourself, Wishes Ultd. has you covered. Going forward, the Beastieball newsletter will not contain any new information from the playtest and will instead continue to release news and information at the same steady pace it has been. This will be important for any fans out there because this new playtest will debut new beasties, introduce new characters, and will be the first opportunity for players to evolve their starting beastie to the second level.
The playtest starts in just under one week, but if that’s not soon enough there is still a free demo on Steam that will give you a good idea of what to expect. To sign up for the playtest, simply go to Beastieball’s Steam page and click the “Request Access” button. Remember that this does not guarantee access, but it’s your only way in (unless you backed the Kickstarter or are part of the small selection of content creators). I’m crossing my fingers that maybe I’ll qualify.
Currently, there is no release date for the full game, but this playtest is something to look forward to. Will you be signing up for the Beastieball Preview Playtest? Let me know in the comments! Maybe we can use those online features for a battle sometime.