You can play Peter Molyneux’s new god game, Masters of Albion, before it launches in early access

22cans is on the cusp of kicking Masters of Albion into early access, but if you need more convincing before you splash out on the latest game from legendary overpromiser Peter Molyneux, there’s some good news, as the studio is hosting a closed beta.

You’ll need to hurry if you want to participate, though. Registration for the closed beta ends at 6 pm GMT on March 25. To sign up, you’ll need to hop on over to the Discord, hit up the closed beta channel, and answer a few questions.

The studio’s looking to get feedback to help it “refine and improve” the game before release, which is, erm, less than a month away. It’s arriving in early access on April 22. That’s cutting it a bit close.

I’m definitely one of those in need of more convincing. Ignoring the fact that 22cans is yet to design a game that lives up to any of Molyneux’s big promises, Masters of Albion just seems a bit scattershot and lacking in much commitment.

In Josh’s recent Masters of Albion preview, he notes that some of the actually-quite-interesting systems could be rendered superfluous by 22cans’ unwillingness to let players experience actual friction.

After detailing what sounds like a genuinely clever crafting system, he notes: “It’s a fun system, and a way of imposing your will on the world in a more granular way than you’re used to in something like a Black and White, but it is also, emphasizes Molyneux, kind of optional. ‘This is another philosophy of the game: for those people that just want to do things quickly, it’s incredibly quick… if you don’t want to be bothered with [design], just drag parts in.’

“This concerns me, rather than reassures me. The design system was the most interesting part of what I saw, but the fact that it can apparently be skimmed over leaves me unconvinced that it will have much depth or go very far in ‘revolutionising’ citybuilder play. I suspect this is a decision made not to impinge on anyone’s time—if you come to Masters of Albion for its Fable-esque gameplay, 22cans doesn’t want to bore you with a load of meticulous pie-design, and so on.”

And while the prospect of playing Fable, Black and White, and Dungeon Keeper all in one game is tantalising, none of Masters of Albion’s distinct layers sound quite as engaging as their inspirations.

Despite this, I remain intrigued by the whole endeavour, and I’d love for it to all come together. Crucially, this was a hands-off demo, so maybe it will all click into place once we get to fiddle around with its myriad systems.

22cans hasn’t said when the closed beta will kick off, but given how imminent the early access launch is, we won’t be waiting for long.

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