Game Overview

The Beacon, a fantasy action roguelite RPG in development, offers players a free-to-play experience. Each playthrough presents a different dungeon where they engage in battles and maneuver through menacing monsters and dangerous environment traps to hone their combat skills and refine their playing styles. It requires time and practice for players to sharpen their reflexes and master real-time challenges.

Roguelite is a game genre that is thrilling yet challenging. The best part is that each time you play, you encounter new maps and gameplay, ensuring endless excitement and fun without getting repetitive. Key features of a roguelite are randomized maps, characters evolving in-game and no carry-over progression.

In this fantasy world, players assume the role of a Settler sent away by the city of Altaris on crucial missions. The Beacon, located at the city's core, is losing its protective strength, requiring the Settler to secure vital resources to sustain its power.

The game embraces the permadeath feature which players only have one single life to complete the dungeons from start to finish. If they die, they will restart the game from the beginning. This high-stake gameplay element adds a sense of excitement, as each decision and move must be carefully calculated. The fear of failure uplifts the gaming experience more thrillingly, making each victory even more rewarding.

In-Game NFTs

1. Founding Characters

When tuning into the Beacon, players have the choice between playing for free or purchasing a founding character t22o gain access. Free players can enjoy the game's core gameplay and will receive a character with standard cosmetics and default house decor. Conversely, players who purchase a character or possess a Founding Character will receive additional perks in the form of a pack of random cosmetics and house decor. Below are the differences between the two options:

2. Pets

Pets or so-called Moonfae are loyal companions of the Settler. The genesis pets or generation-0 pets were minted on December 16th, 2022, and now they can be purchased on the open market like OpenSea and Treasure (PlayonTreasure). Moonfae possess two types of traits: Body parts, which are cosmetic and encompass various aspects such as head, back, belly, body, eyes, and mouth. Some body parts, known as Ancestral Body Parts, are exclusive to generation-0 Moonfae and can only be acquired randomly at hatch time. All subsequent generations can inherit these traits.

3. Items

Items are the cosmetics or house decor that players obtain when completing the dungeon or quiz. After completion, players receive a chest containing 1 to 3 loot items, each with a chance of belonging to one of the 5 levels of rarity: common, rare, epic, legendary, or mythical. The house decoration feature allows players to showcase self-expression and personal style by customizing their houses with the obtained items.

Game Evaluation

Source: Dune Analytics (@treasuredao)

Based on the above charts, we can observe that there was significant excitement among players at the game’s launch. Early active players were able to make money by minting eggs, which then hatched into pets with a chance of having rare traits (if lucky). However, over time, the number of players has died off and this is reflected in the declining number of item mints. It is worth noting that the game is still in its beta version, with limited missions and gameplay diversity, which might have resulted in a drop in the number of gamers.

Additionally, people are not required to connect their wallets initially and can play the demo version (more basic and simple gameplay), so the chart may not fully represent the entire off-chain player base who just hop in to test a quick run. This situation could improve once the Alpha version is launched, expected in Q1 2024 with many more features.

Source: Dune Analytics (@treasuredao)

Similarly, the trading volume experienced a peak during the first two months after the launch (reaching ATH at ~$200k MAGIC), however, it has cooled off as gamers become less active. Notably, there was a surge in the number of marketplace sales in June 2023 due to the Beacon Harvester event which serve as an interoperable event between The Beacon and BridgeWorld. During this event, players could obtain a special item called Scale of Emerion upon completing a dungeon. The Scale of Emerion was then tradable for Ancient Permit on a 1:1 ratio, a specific NFT required for participation in the harvester mechanics. Each Permit allowed players to bond up to 2000 $MAGIC and became highly sought after, making them tradeable in the marketplace.

As for the gameplay, while it is entertaining, it is notably challenging. Completing dungeons may take players anywhere from 30 minutes to 2+ hours (depending on their skills), making it a game unsuitable for casual gamers. It is recommended that the game should strive for a balance that accommodates low-skill cap players to enhance retention and engagement.

Currently, the game is limited to single-player PvE mode, so it lacks social interaction. Once the game expands to multiple players option (estimated in 2024), it is expected to become more entertaining, as gamers enjoy playing with friends and in groups, fostering a richer gaming experience. Additionally, enhancing the pet (Moonfae) with additional gameplay functionality, such as assisting the Settler in battles as an extra hand, will deliver more hype and exciting experiences for gamers.

Regarding the future plan, the team's strategy is to attract more non-crypto gamers by enhancing accessibility through a desktop version with controller support, and they are also exploring the possibility of releasing a mobile version in the future.

Final Thoughts

The game offers a thrilling yet challenging experience. Even in its early version, it still provides players with a taste of its core gameplay. Should the game introduce new cooperative game modes, new missions, easier difficulty levels, and expand accessibility to desktop and mobile platforms, the game will have the potential to attract a broader range of gamers, enhancing its appeal and enjoyment for a wider audience.