Hey! This release is an alternative to subscribing to one month of our Patreon or SubscribeStar. Our patrons/subscribers don't receive every future release, nor a $30+ retail game for a single $5 pledge.
The idea is to help fund the game. If that's not your thing and you'd rather wait for the retail release then no problem! It's clearly stated in the description though.
Viewing post in Pure Onyx - Alpha Release August 2022 comments
Yes, some creators on Patreon share the exclusive content of their games here on itch for the same price of a pledge, so people that want to help fund the development but for some reason can't subscribe to Patreon or rather have that month's version on their library can still give a hand on the very expensive process of making a game from scratch =)