During the last Steam NextFest, there were a lot of new games to try, and one of the titles that really grabbed my attention was Polylithic by Polyperfect, a Czechian development team.

Polylithic is a 3rd-person crafting survival game set in the Paleolithic/Neolithic era. You, the player, can choose to play the game solo or build your tribe while you learn to survive, craft items, unlock new technology, and build your base. One of the first things you will notice about the game is the stunningly vibrant colors, the low-polygraphic world, and the atmospheric ambient music of the game.

Do not let the low-poly graphics of this game make you think it is easy. You may fail many times, but with each failure, you will gather the knowledge to overcome and survive the Polylithic era.

With this early release, you will be able to play the complete first era with save functionality, something that you did not have during the open demo during Nextfest. You will also be able to play through the story quest, unlock new technologies, build monuments, and command your tribe.

When you first start off in the game, you will need to walk around and learn to gather resources from the environment—not just berries and other foods, but also wood, stones, and other resources—to expand your knowledge of the world around you while you unlock new technologies.

Hunting is also a good way to gather food for your tribe, as you will be able to find and hunt all sorts of prehistoric animals, everything from rabbits, boars, mammoths, and more. Each creature you encounter will provide you with a different challenge to overcome, as some animals you are hunting can quickly turn against you and hunt you down.

While you are exploring the world around you and unlocking its secrets, you will also come to find the beauty in the world around you. As you travel through colorful, snow-covered hills and even rivers to be crossed, you will even come across the remnants of past tribes and build your own monuments to their memory.

Humans are communal animals, and there is safety in numbers, so take pleasure in growing your tribe, taking care of their needs, and showing them how to collect resources from the world. You do not need to do it alone. Give your fellow tribesmen tasks, and they will continue to increase their skills and eventually become elders of the tribe.

You and your tribe will embark on a journey through two different eras, each with their own core game play and challenges. The first is hunters and gathers, a small group just trying to survive in the world around you, but changing weather will make you have to migrate and follow the food. Eventually, you will reach the second era, where you will be able to unlock enough technology to unlock the mysteries of farming and settle down.

Not everything in the prehistoric wilderness is what it seems, as you will begin to uncover the secrets to stories foretold, starting with discovering the roots of a mysterious disease plaguing your people and unlocking the secret to your tribe’s history.

The game is launching into early access on Steam on November 9th at 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT.

Are you as excited about the release as I am? Are you going to play solo or build a big tribe? Let me know in the comments below.