The latest Stygian Sentinel update from OtherSide Entertainment contains news of a very promising milestone in Underworld Ascendant’s development: the release of a first build to (some) backers:

Tomorrow we’re releasing the very first build to Backers at the Lore Seeker and higher pledge tiers, who get as one of their perks early access to play these first prototypes. In a few weeks we will roll this build out more broadly to Backers at the lower pledge tiers. Details will be emailed out directly to Backers on how to download the build.

The Playground prototype all about physics-based puzzles set in a corner of the Stygian Abyss. The visuals have been intentionally dumbed down, since we’re avoiding trying to set any sort of visual bar with this prototype, and instead want to focus on just the gameplay aspects. So be forewarned, it looks as plain as vanilla can 😉

The fun is in the physics puzzles, where we challenge you to solve tricky bits using an early pass of the Improvisation Engine. Even at this early stage, there are dozens of ways to solve challenges, some which I’m sure our team has not yet discovered. Will you? The prototype also features a first pass on the magic system, which likewise feeds into the open-ended nature of solving challenges.

The Lore Seeker tier is a fairly high-level one; it’s set at $300 USD in OtherSide’s current crowdfunding campaign (and that’s also the price it was at during the Kickstarter campaign). So, not everyone gets to try this first build out…but some people will, and hopefully we’ll hear some good impressions thereabout.

The other piece of news in the update concerns the hiring of Nate Wells to the development team:

Nate has join the OtherSide team as our Studio Art Director. Nate has been the Art Director on some pretty impressive titles, like Irrational’s Bioshock & Bioshock Infinite, Naughty Dog’s Last of Us and most recently the new Rise of the Tomb Raider. Nate got his start back at LookingGlass as a level designer and artist onThief & System Shock 2. We are thrilled to have another one from the LookingGlass fold!

Click on through to find a lengthy treatise from Mr. Wells about his vision for Underworld Ascendant.