Sulfur has left Early Access today on PC, and the extraction roguelite has also made a first appearance on PS4, PS5, Switch 1+2, and all the Xboxes. On top of that, just a few days ago, developer Perfect Random even confirmed that the game has sold 500k copies while in Early Access on Windows PC.
I just had a look through the notes over on Steam, and the big 1.0 update is a massive balance patch more than anything else. Yes, there are new things; in particular, the enchantments system is now complete and more diverse. However, Perfect Random has been working hard to make sure that when the doors opened on console, everything was in good working order. In my opinion, they’ve done a good job and, one minor UI bug aside, I’ve had a flawless experience today with version 1.0.
One thing that isn’t in the game at launch is multiplayer. The studio is planning to release that later, but it’s not in there today. When the online side of things will be ready isn’t clear, but with the devs planning to support the game through 2027 with free content updates and maybe even a DLC, I doubt it’s going to take too long.
I first wrote about Sulfur in my Early Access review. Having read through that article earlier today, most of it still applies now. This is a seriously characterful extraction shooter with clean but striking art, oodles of atmosphere, the gunplay is satisfying, and the roguelite elements are well implemented, creating decent replayability.
One of the things that has changed since I wrote my first review is that I think Sulfur has become more approachable. Perfect Random has done a good job making sure that the early game has more variety, and I noticed that you get more cool items, and you get them sooner. What’s more, some of your inventory items are very silly, and managing your gear is a really important part of the experience.
Another thing I noticed was how much more you could do to customise your guns. Between the enchantments, oils, and add-ons, you can seriously upgrade your favourite weapons. My starting pistol has a silencer and a laser dot, and my current shotty, also silenced, has boosted crit damage.
As for the overall arsenal, it has continued to expand throughout Early Access, and there seems to be decent variety, although bear in mind I’ve only tried a few of them so far.
My previous time with the game was spent playing as intended, on Hard difficulty. Today, after a couple of hours, I set up a second save and put it on Easy to see how things changed. As you get to keep your stuff, the extraction shooter element fades into the background, but you do get to see more of the game sooner. Each run sees you starting back at base – a mysterious church full of strange folks who’ll sell you stuff and say cryptic things – but on Easy you get to keep all your stuff, which makes things so much simpler.
While I enjoyed being able to relax a bit more, I’m probably going to go back to my old save, because I think Sulfur is at its best, at its most tense, when everything is on the line, when you’re risking it all. At the end of the day, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this one on Easy and Hard, so you do, and I think you’ll have a good time regardless.
