MirrorMoon EP, a finalist for the 2013 IGF Nuovo Award for innovation, took a long, hard look at itself and decided to open up pre-orders with beta access today, August 7. MirrorMoon is an exploration and mystery game set across thousands of Star Systems, wherein each planet holds a variety of artifacts, structures and puzzles to decipher.

The beta offers the multiplayer portion of MirrorMoon, allowing players to share Galaxy Maps and discoveries with each other. The first explorers to land on a planet get to name its Star System, making that name permanent and official for every other player.

"Each Galaxy consists of a thousand Systems: It will be possible to fully discover the mysteries of MirrorMoon EP only while collaborating with other players," developer Santa Ragione says.

MirrorMoon is set to launch on September 4 for PC, Mac and Linux via Steam and the Humble Store, with an Ouya version scheduled for fall. Pre-orders run $9, $1 off its final price, and are currently open to PC and Mac players. Early buyers will get a DRM-free version and a Steam key automatically upon the game's launch. You can't explain that.