Stunning sci-fi shooter Beacon launching on Itch.io next week

Developer Monothetic announced today that Beacon, their top-down sci-fi shooter with permadeath and procedurally generated levels, will launch in 'First Access' on Itch.io on Monday, April 30. First Access, er, access will cost you $20, and anyone who purchases a key will also receive a Steam key when Beacon officially releases. Only 1,000 keys will be available initially, but more may be made available to meet demand.

Beacon first caught our eye in March 2016, and we only became more interested after talking with its creators earlier this year. You play as Freja Akiyama, a young military prodigy lone wolfing it in her souped-up spaceship, the Ouroboros. As Freja, you crash land on the unknown planet Kovus-18 and must search for a beacon you can use to call for rescue. As you explore, you'll fight against several alien factions and inevitably die. Luckily, you can create infinite clones of yourself back at the Ouroboros and modify them using whatever genes you harvested from enemies in your previous life.

Here's what's included in the First Access build, and how it compares to the final release:

Four levels (out of six)
Six weather types
75+ items (out of 100+)
50+ weapons (out of 75+)
50+ mutations, or DNA upgrades (out of 75+)
25+ enemies (out of 35+)
One boss fight (out of six+)

You can learn more about Beacon's creation and inspirations, like cyberpunk anime and architecture design books, in our chat with Monothetic.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.