The Day Before built up their Early Access launch over the past few weeks. Despite numerous delays and even a legal challenge, the developers at Fntastic persevered, and now that Early Access is live, the veil has dropped and we’re now starting to see exactly what we expected. A game that was released to the public far too early.
At one time The Day Before was the highest wishlisted game on Steam, and the numbers still somewhat support that. Although the game is struggling to handle the 38,000 players (and climbing - though they may not all actually be playing) that have flocked to the game after waiting through multiple delays, it’s important to note that each of these players, and probably hundreds if not thousands more, have purchased the game for $39.99 USD to partake in what many hoped would be a somewhat flawless launch.
Of course, that wasn’t meant to be, with servers filling up quickly, kicking players out, and blocking them from returning, there’s an argument to be made that this is normal launch day hijinks. Unfortunately, The Day Before is so much worse than that. Although I was able to get in personally, create my character (with a surprisingly decent, though limited on options, character creator) things were looking up. But shortly thereafter, I died, mid cutscene, and couldn’t continue along with playing, because I couldn’t get into the door to see the doctor after death. (Skip to 4:19 to see the "whole story")
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many players are reporting that they’re falling through the world, getting stuck in walls, dying randomly or crashing completely. Those are the lucky ones that were able to get into the game at all, and these aren’t specific server connection issues. Most of this could have been averted had Fntastic done what they stated they would do – test the game ahead of release. They said that they would allow players to get into the game to test, which later turned into, they’ve been using internal testers and don’t need external testing.
While there are quite a few servers available across each region, North America, Europe and Asia, the team knew well in advance that the game was highly wishlisted, and it feels as though they were ill prepared even with that advanced knowledge. It also is somewhat suspect that the game went on sale the day it launched into Early Access, not allowing for any preorder, preload, or an early start, that would point to a modicum of forethought into what would actually happen come launch day. Fntastic saw the train leave the station when players Wishlisted the game, watched it come around the bend as players were hyped at the release date, and then stood on the tracks as they let that train run right over them without a second thought, with what seems to be little to no backup plan.
Then they had the audacity to tell players regardless of whether they’ve been critical or not, that Fntastic is making this game for them and that nobody should consider this game a “scam” because they haven’t taken money from anyone.
?? #thedaybefore #fntastic pic.twitter.com/nKJ3mqSHnt
— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) December 4, 2023
Yet, here we are on launch day, where the developer has taken quite a huge sum of money from players, built around the concept that the team has reached a state capable of being considered an “Early Access” launch, and has since gone silent yet once again stating simply that there’s an “Overload on North American Servers”.
Overload on North American servers. The servers are working. Fills up too quickly. #thedaybefore
— Fntastic (@FntasticHQ) December 7, 2023
Players are flooding the Discord complaining that they aren’t able to get into the game, or in the slim chance that they do, they crash or have alternate issues that results in a lot of wasted time. We're also hearing that each server can only house 32 players as the limit (currently unconfirmed and will update if Fntastic responds), which puts this game far under what a traditional MMO would encounter, and even worse, places Fntastic in an even worse position. If the player count is true, they didn't even attempt to meet player demand with the number of servers currently available.
Now that The Day Before has released into Early Access, the curtain has been pulled back, and what we’re seeing is a game that, despite Fntastic finding a way to gain mass appeal, is exactly as lackluster and premature as many players expected. But just because The Day Before began this way, it doesn’t mean that it has to continue this way either. There could be something fun built into the bones of The Day Before.
But if history is our guide, it’s going to be a long and arduous journey from this point, as we’ve seen with plenty of lackluster MMOs in the past. Fntastic has eroded a lot of faith that players have kept bottled for them over the years. This isn’t a tale of a poor launch. This is a story of a title that promised too much, a team that lacked transparency, and a game that released too soon – even for Early Access. The story doesn’t have to end here; just like with The Day Before, things can rise from the dead. We just hope that TDB can fix the issues before it stays dead for good.
