Every week we take a brief look at all of the Kickstarter campaigns that launched in the previous week. This isn’t to say that all of these projects are worth your hard earned cash, but with any luck having all of them in one place will make it easier to educate yourself on the projects you’d like to back, and which ones to run from. You’ll find two types of campaigns listed, “featured” and “the rest“. Featured campaigns are those that contain a significant amount of game information, are from known developers, or are significant in some other way. The rest of the games are usually smaller campaigns that are lacking in information, are from unknowns, have unanswered questions, or have not yet stood out for one reason or another.
[divider]Featured Campaigns :
Game : Nefarious
What it is : Julie wrote: “Nefarious brings us a humorous take of the kidnapping process and warding off any heroic individuals determined to take her back. Filled with reverse boss fights, evil minions, and oddball princess, Nefarious is a strange sidescrolling action platformer game that I’m really looking forward to.”
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Game : Vagante
What is it : Julie wrote: “In a world filled with demons, monsters, and ruthless scavenger lurking everywhere, it’s mighty dangerous to go forth on an adventure. But many starry-eyed folks with a hunger for the gold coin search far and wide for whatever riches they can get their hands on, ignoring the dangers. When word spreads of a sizable treasure hidden within a cave at the edge of the woods, an adventurer (you) sets out on a journey that which no man returned from.”
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Game : Ray’s The Dead
What is it : Nathaniel wrote: “Ray’s the Dead is a charming and thoughtfully constructed game that, while related to zombies, is really centered on the main character, Ray. You’ll play as living Ray and zombie Ray, trading off between discovering your origin and converting humans into zombies. It’s an interesting way to constantly draw parallels and memories from each time in Ray’s life (and unlife) while maintaining a well constructed and forward-moving narrative. Gameplay consists of puzzles, flashbacks, assimilation, and saving innocents. You’ll discover your past, explore your future, and unlock the tale of what went so horribly wrong, all in a charming 80′s-themed setting.”
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Game : Age of Grit
What is it : Nathaniel wrote: “The most remarkable thing about Age of Grit, however, is its great RPG elements. You set out into a vast frontier world, each section controlled by a different faction, and you, as the captain of your steam-powered airship, must move forth and “blow the crap out of stuff” in strategic turn-based battles where you must manage the steam pressure in your airship to divert power to different facilities when you need them. It sounds like it’ll have a bit of an FTL feel to it, but turn-based and steam-powered. Characters will all be suitably fleshed-out, and your characters will progress in a way that demands thought and attention to synergy. If you don’t build your characters to work together, your crew won’t do their jobs very well. Airships are fully customizable, both in cosmetics and abilities, so you can look forward to deep and strategic gameplay both in battle and in preparation.”
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Game : Super III
What is it : Nathaniel wrote: “(Super III) is structured in a very familiar way, but if you check out some of the gameplay shown off on Super III‘s Kickstarter, you’ll start to notice that this isn’t just another platformer. Sure, you have your standard gameplay elements such as hazards, enemies, bosses, and environmental puzzles, but all of that is changed by your range of abilities. When you realize that the edge of the screen doesn’t stop you – it instead moves you to the other side of the screen – you’ll deal with problems in a new and interesting way. Pair that with the teleportation ability and varied enemy types, and you have a formula for a mold-breaking puzzle-platformer that will test your abilities. Instead of levels built to incite frustration, each level shown is a great example of challenging, thought-provoking design.”
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Game : Uncrowned Skies
What is it : Julie wrote: “Uncrowned Skies is an open world action adventure game with some RPG elements. How many games can you say you beat a guy to death with a toaster in it? Toasters aren’t just good for blunt force trauma – the combat for Uncrowned Skies is sure to be creative and comical, including burnt pastries for smoke screen and electrocuting enemies in bodies of water. Death by a toaster would be such a CRUMB-y way to go (Eh? EH?).”
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Game : Trouble in the Manor
What is it : Julie wrote: “Trouble in the Manor is divided into four game modes, including Murder, in which the strangers are divided into groups: murderers and bystanders. Murderers simply do that, murder. Bystanders must try and avoid being murdered. Once the numbers are down, someone will release Count Murdock from his coffin, thus teleporting him to a random bystander and turning them into a vampire as well. The more deaths, the more points, and who doesn’t want the highest score?”
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Game : Adventures of Pip
What is it : An adorable looking platformer in which your character, Pip, grows from a low pixel count boy to a beautiful 16bit-era looking hero. Julie wrote: “Adventures of Pip takes place in the Pixel Kingdom, where the conniving skeleton queen acquired all pixels in the Kingdom after capturing the Pixel Princess. But there is one pixel that is different, one who has always been a pixel. Pip takes it upon himself to save the Pixel Kingdom and put an end to the Skeleton Queen’s tirade.”
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Game : Norse Noir: Loki’s Exile
What is it : Julie wrote: “Norse Noir: Loki’s Exile is a beautiful hand drawn point and click adventure game set during the roaring 20′s developed by KreativeSpill from Norway. The story centers around a Norse immigrant, Lars Kristiansen, who’s just barely scraping by during some rough financial times. Mobsters are breathing down his neck, Lars hardly makes any money, and everything around him is looking bad. All of which happens in an environment appearing straight out of a comic book.”
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Game : Parkitect
What is it : Julie wrote: “In Parkitect, we are the owners and builders of our very own theme park. Everything is limited only by our creative ability and theme park spirit as we design every aspect of the park: rides, concessions, scenery, etc. But it’s more than happy go-lucky make an awesome theme park times, it’s also about testing test managerial abilities. Employees are what makes this place run, so players have to monitor both the customers’ and employees’ needs to keep things running smoothly. Fail to take care of your park – face the consequences.”
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Game : The Midnights
What is it : Julie wrote: “The basis of The Midnights is to survive at all costs in seven different environments, all scattered throughout a barren city. With use of the crafting and decision making systems, the ending is determined by the player’s actions and strategies. There are seven different endings planned out at the moment and many of them aren’t very pleasant. With a small inventory and just a sliver of insanity, The Midnight appears to be incredibly challenging”
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Game : Hurried Heroes
What is it : Nathaniel wrote: “Say you and your buddies are waiting in line for something. Better yet, say you’re waiting for a pizza. You have 20-30 minutes to kill, and you and your buddies don’t have anything to do in the mean time. All you have are your phones and one computer. Maybe, Hurried Heroes will be able to reach its reasonable $8,000 goal, and you can fire the game up on your PC, plug in a few controllers and play 4-player split screen. Wait, there are 8 of you? I hope you ordered a lot of pizza. I also hope you have your phones, because if your other 4 friends have their Android devices, they can play with the local folks at the computer. That’s right, folks, 8-player dungeon crawling with up to 4 players on one machine.”
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Game : Boy and His Pup
What is it : Nathaniel wrote: “In the words of Boy and His Pup‘s Kickstarter, “Boy and His Pup tells a compelling story with real life lessons,” and it actually takes place pre-apocalypse if you still recognize that phrase after a decade of everything being “post-apocalyptic”. However, to keep things interesting, the setting is only a bit pre-apocalyptic, and there are monstrosities springing out of the ground like murderous, grotesque daisies. Persevering through all of this mayhem are the titular Boy and Dog, armed with a wrench, buildable artillery, and wit, and with those tools, you must defend your home from a vicious onslaught of nightmares from myths, legends, and folklore.”
[divider]The Rest of the Campaigns :
Royal Heroes : A great sounding strategy game, with a campaign that seems to show footage from the developers previous, and very similar, game.
The Waiting Room : An intriguing sounding horror game about waiting rooms; and a campaign that features a ton of other environments that I’m not sure about.
Feline 49 : A chaotic platformer starring a cracked-out cat; not to be confused with Catlateral Damage.
Wilderness : A survival game with a Kickstarter campaign features pictures of trees and a brief feature list.
Country Life : A farming and hunting simulator that steals its cover image from The Hunter 2014.
Outbreak: New Day : A zombie survival strategy game that needs a bit more time in the oven.
Star Dagger : A vertical scrolling shooter for a slightly confusing range of platforms.
Sienna Storm : A Star Chamberish action card game from a star studded team. Their campaign has been troubled, though.
Johnny No Pants: Week Trek : A platformer with retro graphics, gameplay mechanics, and gimmick.
Pray For Death : A horror survival game with some seriously disturbing concept art, and not much else.
Overdrive Road Rally : A 90’s style road racer that needs some more work before asking for $15k.
SCP-899: The Lost Children : A survival horror game with an impressive looking DJ setup.
Escape The Void : A retro 2D side scroller with a suspenseful horror twist.
Horror Puzzle Game : A first person adventure puzzle game that’s in need of funding; and a title.
Silent Mark : A horror game featuring mannequins, but no video or screenshots.
Land of Traps : A colorful 3D platformer that brings back memories of the N64.
Taien : A relaunch of a previously unsuccessful campaign; this time with even less info.
1877 Unfolded : A historical first person shooter without a campaign image.
Rising Angels: Fates : A visual novel that’s a sequel to Rising Angels: Reborn; continuing the story of military investigator Natalie Puccile.
Jelly God : A Molyneux style strategy world game comprised of jelly blobs instead of humans; complete with appropriately cartoonishly colorful graphics.
The Game : A hybrid RPG board game in need of a campaign overhaul.
Epic Life RPG: Revolution : A next gen MMO that may very well change the world; just don’t go looking for video, screenshots, gameplay details, music, or much else.
Battletoads : Remember the classic Battletoads game from the 90’s? Someone wants to remake it; just as soon as they get the rights.
Ripper: Dead In London : A 7 day campaign to raise 30k for a Jack The Ripper game that doesn’t have any assets to share.
[divider]That’s it for last week. Watch your wallets!
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Thanks for including Jelly God, even if it wasn’t featured!