Lobodestroyo has completely eluded our attention here on Cliqist, getting only a brief mention in a Yooka-Laylee article a year ago. Fitting, since like that game, Lobodestroyo sells itself on being just like Banjo-Kazooie. Unlike Yooka-Laylee though, Lobodestroyo is influenced by other games, like Mega Man and Metroid.
It’s a 3D platformer with the typical mascot animal characters you’d find in the genre, but with a more stereotypical Latin flair. There are wrestlers, there are masks, there are over the top Spanish accents, and a surprising amount of wolves. As you might have guessed, those masks are what give your puny main character his powers, and is where the Mega Man influences come in, as you defeat bosses to gain their masks which contain their abilities.
The game looked incredible, and something I would have backed had I known about it back in 2014. Saying that though, I’m also glad I didn’t.
In the years that Lobodestroyo was funded, meeting it’s $35,000 and then some, the team behind the game has gone dark. Left-Handed Games didn’t go quietly, to their credit. They posted a steady stream of updates that delved into the development process for many months – years even – after getting funded. There is one thing that has seemingly brought development to a standstill.
Much like Super Dwarf Fortress, Lobodestroyo was part of Ouya’s ill-fated Free the Games Fund. This fund was a program started by Ouya that gave an amount of money equal to the original funding goal to successful Kickstarters, effectively doubling the developer’s budget. The Ouya failed though, and as a result, the Fund fell through. This left Left-Handed Games in a pickle, leaving them without half of their budget. Already working on the game in their spare time and for free, it development has taken a backseat to their day jobs.
I cover the situation in more detail in our latest episode of Crowdfunding Analysis Time, and come to a surprising revelation in doing so. Expect more coverage of this one in the future.
