Don’t Starve Meets Borderlands: Lux Arrives on Kickstarter

There’s a certain irony behind developer Chimera Company’s name of choice, given that their latest Kickstarter project is clearly a hybrid of popular games that have come before. That’s not a knock on Lux. Indeed, the team behind the survival-based MMORPG appear to be passionate fans of the genres at its foundations, and I get the sense from the pitch video on Kickstarter that the developer is passionate about this project. I truly believe Chimera Co. believes in Lux, and that’s a great first impression for a Kickstarter campaign to make, especially one that aims to raise $200,000.

So what is Lux, exactly? Judging from what I can see on the campaign page, the game very much looks like Don’t Starve. I mean that in the most literal way possible: the hybrid 2D/3D, biome-based art style should be a familiar chimera to players of Klei Entertainment’s indie darling. The gameplay looks similar too, Lux being a survival game at its core, but its where the MMORPG elements come in that separates Lux from other survival games.

Like Borderlands, Diablo, or even Fallout, Lux emphasises the hunt for loot. Survival, after all, is meaningless if one can’t show off their fancy new gear. You know what I’m talking about. Better yet, Lux allows players to look good while fending off hostile players, which is where the MMO elements come into play. Killing fellow players can have empowering benefits, but it can also make your loot easier to lose. Throw a bunch of unique characters with their own special abilities into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a fairly deep game.

At first sight, Lux might seem like a mere clone of Don’t Starve, but upon further inspection, you’ll find that there’s a lot more to this particular chimera…perhaps enough to be classed as a beast of its own.

For more information, check out the game’s official Kickstarter campaign.  Track the progress of the Lux Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.