Ethan Crossfield 
Players looking for a compact, retro-styled tactical RPG have a new Steam release to watch. Entropy, the latest game from Lovely Hellplace, launched in Early Access on August 18 and has earned a 94% positive rating from its first couple hundred user reviews. The opening build includes the full first act, making it possible to judge the game's core systems now while deciding whether to wait for its later chapters.
What changed with Entropy's launch?
Entropy moves Lovely Hellplace away from the first-person, real-time structure of Dread Delusion and into party-based tactical role-playing. Players command up to six characters, manage stats, perks, gear, and spells, and can recruit mercenaries when companions fall. The combat shift gives the studio's unsettling fantasy style a very different gameplay rhythm, with battles built around party development and strategic choices rather than direct action.
The game begins in Draenog, a settlement in a world where humanity has gradually declined without one catastrophic event defining its collapse. A theater performance is disrupted by a demonic attack, sending the player's group into a conflict that expands into an effort to stop the invasion behind the game's central story. Choices are intended to influence both the world and the broader narrative.
Who should play now, and who should wait?
Entropy is best suited to players who enjoy classic JRPG-inspired party systems, tactical combat, and deliberately rough retro presentation. Its low-poly 3D visuals favor unusual creatures and hostile environments over realism, continuing Lovely Hellplace's interest in strange, horror-tinged worlds.
The current Early Access version contains the Gloaming Isles, the complete first act and approximately one-quarter of the planned game, according to the developer. That act includes two towns, three dungeons, additional locations and challenges, plus a range of characters, weapons, armor, and spells. Players who want a substantial starting slice can begin now; those who prefer a finished campaign may want to follow development instead.
What comes next for the Early Access roadmap?
Entropy is planned as a three-act RPG, with each act taking place in a separate region and offering its own towns, quests, dungeons, and characters. Smaller patches are expected between larger content updates. Act 3 will be divided into two parts, with its second half leading into the 1.0 release.
Lovely Hellplace expects the game to remain in Steam Early Access through the second half of 2027. The studio says development is fully funded and that Entropy will reach version 1.0 regardless of Early Access sales. Its $11.99 price is also expected to increase gradually as content and features are added, giving interested players a reason to assess the current build before later updates raise the cost.
What players should know
- Entropy is a dark fantasy, party-based tactical RPG from Lovely Hellplace, the studio behind Dread Delusion.
- The game launched on Steam Early Access on August 18 and currently holds a 94% positive rating from its first couple hundred reviews.
- The opening build contains the complete Gloaming Isles act, estimated to represent about one-quarter of the finished game.
- Players can control up to six characters, recruit mercenaries, and customize stats, perks, equipment, and spells.
- The minimum PC requirements are modest: 4 GB of RAM, 1 GB of storage, and older-generation Intel, AMD, and Nvidia hardware.
- The $11.99 price is planned to rise incrementally as development adds more content and features.
Expert View
Entropy's early reception is encouraging, but a 94% score from a few hundred reviews is an initial signal rather than a final verdict. The complete first act and low system requirements make the Early Access version approachable, while the planned multi-act structure gives the project room to grow. The main reason to wait is not a lack of content in the opening build, but the long development timeline and the uncertainty that naturally comes with an unfinished RPG.
