Checking out the Kickstarter page for Demoniaca makes it seem like the 1990s never went away with a grunge soundtrack, pixel graphics and a gothic atmosphere. But it’s the attempt to use ‘explicit violence and sexual content’ as a selling point that seems particularly outdated for this Castlevania-inspired effort.
Of course many modern games do feature adult themes but nowadays they tend to aim for a either a mature approach such as the Witcher series or a satirical portrayal as seen in titles like Grand Theft Auto. Demoniaca in contrast seems to be hoping that blood and some cheap titillation will attract interest. A censored version of Demoniaca will actually be available with backers able to choose between the two, but it’s notable that even with the cheaper price of €10 ($11) only one of the thirty backers so far has opted for the censored version with most going for the uncensored €13 ($14.50) option. What a surprise, the Internet is full of perverts!
Seriously though, I’m not aware of too many Kickstarter games where the sexualised content is a main feature (apart from some visual novel romance titles). However as a regular backer of Kickstarter comics I’ve witnessed (and avoided) plenty of amateurish projects that raised far more than expected due to explicit content so it is a valid tactic, although with the pixel graphics of Demoniaca it just seems even seedier than usual.
With a €15,000 target the promise of blood and boobs could potentially be enough to get Demoniaca funded but there are other issues that I imagine will put off most potential backers. While the brief clips of gameplay footage do look OK there is a real lack of concrete information about the project while developer Mnemosyne doesn’t actually seem to exist yet, with only the personal website and twitter account of the director/artist available, and that alone is enough to make me steer well wide.
Track the progress of the Demonaica Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
Dan Miller
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