Behind the Beyond will enter Early Access on 30th September!
What better day to pick for release than the Day of Hungarian Folktales (A Magyar Népmese Napja)? It is celebrated in Hungary on 30th September, the birthday of Elek Benedek, one of the great Hungarian storytellers and collectors of folktales.
Is this a dream...? Or is it really happening...?
This project started as a small game jam entry about ten years ago, and there were quite a few moments along the way when I wasn't entirely sure whether I'd ever get to write this post.
But here we are.
A few things before we get there
First of all, let's talk about languages.
At launch, Behind the Beyond will be available in full English audio and text, and Hungarian text. Some of the other languages that have appeared on the Steam page before will temporarily disappear from the game.
This isn't because we've changed our minds about supporting them. The localisation work simply isn't finished yet. They'll come back once the translations have been updated and are ready for the current version of the game.
And speaking of Hungarian…
Yes, there will be Hungarian voiceover!
This is something I really wanted to do, but unfortunately it won't be ready for the Early Access launch. The plan is to start working on the Hungarian voiceover after Early Access begins.
So Hungarian voice acting is coming - just not on day one.
Wait… Early Access?
Yep. This is an Early Access release, and I want to be very clear about what that means.
The Early Access version contains Chapter I of the story.
The rest of the story is still being developed, and you won't be getting the entire fairy tale on 30th September. Chapter I is the foundation of the game: you meet the characters, learn how the world works, discover the different gameplay systems, and start working on the Three Trials.
The good news is that the story of Chapter I isn't going to suddenly change because of Early Access feedback. The major story beats, characters and narrative direction are already in place.
What I'm much more interested in hearing about is everything surrounding it.
Did you enjoy the way the game works?
Did the different skills and abilities actually give you interesting choices, or did they just make things confusing?
Did you find the solutions to puzzles satisfying?
Were there clues you completely missed?
Were there solutions that made absolutely no sense to you?
Did you discover some clever approach that I didn't even think of?
And, perhaps most importantly: where did I fail to hit the target?
That's the kind of feedback I'm really hoping to get during Early Access.
I've spent a very long time looking at this game from the inside. At some point you stop being able to tell whether something is genuinely clever or you've simply stared at it for too long.
This is where you come in.
Come talk to me
If you play the Early Access version, please don't be shy about telling me what you think.
You can leave feedback here on Steam, of course, but I'd especially love to have you join the Sugarpunch Games Discord.
That's where we can discuss the game in more detail, talk about things that work (and things that very much don't), and perhaps even argue about the best way to solve a particular puzzle.
Honestly, I'm really looking forward to that!
And if you haven't already, please consider wishlisting Behind the Beyond on Steam. It really does help a tiny indie game like this get noticed, and Steam will let you know when the game is released.
So... that's it.
We have a date.
30th SEPTEMBER 2026
See you in Behind the Beyond!