I suspect Alta, just as much as its fans, doesn’t really know what Township will even look like a year from now. The enormous community of dedicated professionals and intrepid explorers collaborating both in-game and through online wikis has been nurtured as much out of necessity as it has passion. Every time Alta adds something new there are several other layers of gameplay affected by it, making it hard for the studio to convey direction. Township is already a rich online RPG with thrilling eight-player design, but it’s also an uncontextualized one. Even several years in from Early Access launch this town-building sim is laying down the tracks just ahead as it steams forward, and that’s as frustrating to watch as it is fascinating. Mainly, though, it’s because the game is absolutely awful at helping you find your way through it. It’s also because the developer plays its cards close to its chest in hopes of surprising you at every turn. In part, that’s because Alta’s online adventure is staggeringly deep, aflood with intricate interactions, resources to plunder and lands to explore to a degree few other native VR games can match. It takes a heck of a long time to really ‘get’ A Township Tale, especially enough to pass any sort of judgment on the game. However, as Facebook doesn’t label games as Early Access on the Quest store, we’re giving it a full review that we’ll update as new features arrive for the title. It’s still in Early Access on PC and the Quest version is essentially the same experience. Note: Our A Township Tale review is based on the Quest edition of the game. But even this early on, you can tell it’ll be a VR great. A Township Tale is still under construction.

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