F2P fighting game Rise of Incarnates coming to Steam Early Access in November with tons of new content

If you’re a fan of the fighting game genre, you may already be aware of Rise of Incarnates, Bandai Namco’s latest play in the 2v2 multiplayer fighter genre. But you probably haven’t played it. The game’s beta isn’t even available in Asia at present. But you may get the chance to get your hands on it before the year is out, as the game will be coming to Steam Early Access this November.

(See: Ultra Street Fighter IV review: a lackluster single-player experience but the genre’s best multiplayer)

At its core, Rise of Incarnates is a 2v2 fighting game. There are six playable characters at present, mostly inspired by existing mythologies and stories. The characters have special abilities as well as melee and ranged attacks, and players can also explore their backstories further through an official webcomic on the game’s site. The game itself is free-to-play and there’s no stamina system; like in many other f2p games, users can only pay for cosmetic upgrades.

But even if you did play the beta, there are a lot of reasons to give the game a second look when it hits early access in November. Bandai Namco says that since the beta they’re optimized the game, improved the matchmaking, tightened the controls, and sped up the gameplay a bit while reducing the duration of stuns. Plus, when the early access comes it will include two new characters (Ra and another, as-yet-unannouced one) and one new stage.

Looking even further into the future, Bandai Namco says there’s tons more that will be added to the game. New custom matches (playable with friends), a single-player PvE mode that puts you against Zeus as a final boss, a deep customization system, a new ranking system, new quests and a new “circle” system—these are just some of the additions you can expect to come to Rise of Incarnates as time goes by.

The “circle” system is especially interesting. A circle is a bit like an informal clan; if you play with the same people a lot, over time you’ll be able to collectively unlock unique rewards. Bandai Namco says the goal behind this was to make joining clans less intimidating for new players. They want the experience to be more informal, like going to the arcade with your friends.

Speaking of arcades, don’t expect to see Rise of Incarnates in one, or even on a console, anytime soon. We asked, but were told that at least for now, the team is focused quite squarely on making this a Steam game.

How good the game is remains to be seen, but it’s obvious that Bandai Namco is taking things pretty seriously. The development team is pretty large (around 100 developers at present), and includes talent from staple fighting franchises like Tekken and Soul Calibur. The project is headed by Byking Inc. CEO Shinichiro Obata, who had more than a decade of experience working on fast-paced action games for Capcom before splitting off to create his own studio.

Rise of Incarnates certainly has potential. But whether it can—forgive me—rise to the challenge remains to be seen.