Parcel will be moving out of Early Access.

Yes, you heard us right. Early Access didn’t work for us. We had gone way over budget already, and wished that our EA time would buy us more time, which it didn’t. In these times of fierce competition over visibility, Early Access games have enormous trouble to get coverage in media, and we witnessed that first-hand, resulting in not-that-good sales numbers. The good thing is that the game is already at a very complete state gameplay-wise, so what players will be getting is a full, complete game. Early Access users had a unique chance to catch a glimpse of what is still to be added into Parcel. Or what we still dream of adding into it.

We’re a young team that couldn’t foresee all the trouble. A lot of sacrifices have already been made, and we reached a limit on those. To be frank, the past two years have been one massive personal sacrifice for some, myself included. We’ve given a huge portion of our youth and humanity to this project, and we were aware that this amazing opportunity to make the game we’ve dreamed of making would end at some point. Despite all the perfectionism that makes us see the flaws still present in the game, we should be thankful that we ever got even this far.

We didn’t rely on Early Access as a funding channel: we just genuinely hoped that it would work as such, so we could polish the game to a super shiny, perfect diamond. What we really, really wanted was to make the editor working smoothly and get the story fully implemented into the game, but when Plan A didn’t work and give us the possibilities we dreamed of, we’ll move on to Plan B and make the best of it. Of course the game isn't as polished as I would like it to be, but as we say in Finland, "aina ei mee niinku Strömsössä". It's still a great game with tons of content and 100% positive feedback at the time of writing. I find solace in that.

Our backup plan was what we’re about to do now: remove the dialogue and cutscene components (for now, at least). I wish to apologize to those of you who saw beyond the dialogue boxes’ usability issues and liked the story so far. As the creator of the story, I did, too. This was not a decision I wanted to make, but the harsh reality was that both the character dialogue and the mechanics through which it was conveyed are too incomplete to be included in our initial release build.

So, is this a full game? Yes. Despite our initial scope, Parcel is an intact gaming experience. Is it the full game that it was envisioned to be? It will be, as long as we’re able to continue our operations. The editor works already and the story wasn’t that much work-in-progress; the decision to scrap the dialogue and cutscene components altogether for now was due to usability issues that we simply didn’t have time to fix. Nevertheless, the full release of the game will be a full game, with over 120 lovingly crafted puzzles - over 160 if you count the tutorials.

Basically, what we want to say is: buy it, feel free to already love it, tell your friends and stay tuned for improved and added content later. Parcel is a major challenge for the brain, and we’re confident that both newcomers and seasoned puzzle fanatics will enjoy their stay. No matter how much we needed to cut back, there’s still years of love contained in this game.

A huge thank you goes to Frozenbyte for supporting us all this time and being patient with our constant stumbling. Among all the focus on sulking over the negative things, I’ll always remember that the project (which started as my school project two-and-a-half years ago) would never have gotten even this far without our arrangement with Frozenbyte. Without them, Parcel would have crashed and burned a long time ago. Now it has a fighting chance, and taking Parcel out of Early Access enables it to fight for its right in the spotlight.

But most of all, to everyone who found the game, saw its potential and supported us during our short stint on Early Access: Thank you so much. Your positive feedback, kind words and support have made the grueling life of game development feel worth it. Hopefully, with this next step, we'll reach an even bigger community of people to puzzle.

- Pyry Takkunen, Creative Director

Parcel will be moving out of Early Access.

Yes, you heard us right. Early Access didnt work for us. We had gone way over budget already, and wished that our EA time would buy us more time, which it didnt. In these times of fierce competition over visibility, Early Access games have enormous trouble to get coverage in media, and we witnessed that first-hand, resulting in not-that-good sales numbers. The good thing is that the game is already at a very complete state gameplay-wise, so what players will be getting is a full, complete game. Early Access users had a unique chance to catch a glimpse of what is still to be added into Parcel. Or what we still dream of adding into it.

Were a young team that couldnt foresee all the trouble. A lot of sacrifices have already been made, and we reached a limit on those. To be frank, the past two years have been one massive personal sacrifice for some, myself included. Weve given a huge portion of our youth and humanity to this project, and we were aware that this amazing opportunity to make the game weve dreamed of making would end at some point. Despite all the perfectionism that makes us see the flaws still present in the game, we should be thankful that we ever got even this far.

We didnt rely on Early Access as a funding channel: we just genuinely hoped that it would work as such, so we could polish the game to a super shiny, perfect diamond. What we really, really wanted was to make the editor working smoothly and get the story fully implemented into the game, but when Plan A didnt work and give us the possibilities we dreamed of, well move on to Plan B and make the best of it. Of course the game isn't as polished as I would like it to be, but as we say in Finland, "aina ei mee niinku Strmsss". It's still a great game with tons of content and 100% positive feedback at the time of writing. I find solace in that.

Our backup plan was what were about to do now: remove the dialogue and cutscene components (for now, at least). I wish to apologize to those of you who saw beyond the dialogue boxes usability issues and liked the story so far. As the creator of the story, I did, too. This was not a decision I wanted to make, but the harsh reality was that both the character dialogue and the mechanics through which it was conveyed are too incomplete to be included in our initial release build.

So, is this a full game? Yes. Despite our initial scope, Parcel is an intact gaming experience. Is it the full game that it was envisioned to be? It will be, as long as were able to continue our operations. The editor works already and the story wasnt that much work-in-progress; the decision to scrap the dialogue and cutscene components altogether for now was due to usability issues that we simply didnt have time to fix. Nevertheless, the full release of the game will be a full game, with over 120 lovingly crafted puzzles - over 160 if you count the tutorials.

Basically, what we want to say is: buy it, feel free to already love it, tell your friends and stay tuned for improved and added content later. Parcel is a major challenge for the brain, and were confident that both newcomers and seasoned puzzle fanatics will enjoy their stay. No matter how much we needed to cut back, theres still years of love contained in this game.

A huge thank you goes to Frozenbyte for supporting us all this time and being patient with our constant stumbling. Among all the focus on sulking over the negative things, Ill always remember that the project (which started as my school project two-and-a-half years ago) would never have gotten even this far without our arrangement with Frozenbyte. Without them, Parcel would have crashed and burned a long time ago. Now it has a fighting chance, and taking Parcel out of Early Access enables it to fight for its right in the spotlight.

But most of all, to everyone who found the game, saw its potential and supported us during our short stint on Early Access: Thank you so much. Your positive feedback, kind words and support have made the grueling life of game development feel worth it. Hopefully, with this next step, we'll reach an even bigger community of people to puzzle.

- Pyry Takkunen, Creative Director