“Rayman meets Super Meat Boy and Finding Dory.” It’s a bold claim, but based on what I’ve seen of 2D platformer Spryke, these aren’t just empty words. This makes it even more puzzling to me that the Kickstarter campaign isn’t attracting more attention. So far it has only reached 17% of its $40,000 AUD ($30,500) target.
Among the many positive facets, are the gorgeous graphics that immediately catch the eye. Comparisons to Rayman Legends are definitely justified, but Spryke is an iconic protagonist in her own right. This cute cyberfish is quick and agile, able to sprint and bounce off walls in the manner of Meat Boy. She has her own unique abilities as well, including being able to run on ceilings and temporarily float thanks to her ‘insta-bubble’.
The world of Spryke is equally beautiful, with developer Volnaiskra having added plenty of detail and game lore. This even spreads as far as introducing a specific alien language to be used in the game – reminiscent of the one used in the TV series Futurama. Gamers are also promised plenty of secret areas to explore, providing a bonus diversion from the main speed-running focus.
A cyberfish out of water
I’m actually so enamored with Spryke that I’m even considering the higher tier pledge levels, which I never usually do. The physical collector’s edition looks very tempting, while there’s an even a customized Xbox One Elite gamepad available, for the most committed of backers. Most interesting of all is the fact that free worldwide shipping is promised, which is far from standard.
So, why aren’t the pledges rolling in? Well for a start Spryke seems to be a PC exclusive, which would put off many console gamers. Including a demo would definitely have helped, although there is, admittedly, plenty of gameplay footage available.
Dave Bleja of Volnaiskra perhaps needs to do more to promote the project internationally. Currently, half of the backers are from his native Australia. Given how polished and comprehensive the Spryke Kickstarter campaign is, (Dave has backed 24 projects himself and it shows), I’m not really sure what else he can do.
However, there are still 24 more days to go so plenty of time for Spryke to pick up speed. And once it picks up a ‘projects we love’ Kickstarter badge, (which I’m assuming it will do at some point), hopefully more backers will spare it a second glance.
The soundtrack is damn good as well.