Here’s another in-development MMORPG that’s just about ready to enter Steam Early Access: It’s called Key to Heaven, a 2-D MMORPG that encourages players to fight and explore a variety of islands alone or together, with weapon crafting, boss fights, PvP, and fully customizable character stats and skill points. The game leans into its more casual nature, warning potential wishlisters that “while the game features many hours of unique gameplay, do not expect endless content with massive explosions.”
This title stands out mostly due to the fact that it’s a solo-built labor of love from Björn “William” Johansson and his one-man Far Side of North Studio, whose 16 year-long journey to bring Key to Heaven from its initial creation in RPG Toolkit and Visual Basic 6 to its current state was chronicled in a Vice interview. The interview offers a lot of insight into Johansson’s personal journey and how he managed to pull together a game that he’s worked on since he was 10 years old.
The game’s Steam page notes an early access release sometime soon, while the Vice interview notes a release window for sometime in March. In any event, a whole lot of work appears to be very nearly complete.
