Developer, U7 Committee spent almost a year creating a vast and intriguing new science fantasy world, The Universe of Seven. Now they have taken to crowdfunding to find a community willing to explore this new frontier. The team has launched their first Kickstarter campaign for their curiously compelling, point and click visual novel, Minotaur.
Seeking to combine the best features of both genres, Minotaur is a multiple ending, story-driven experience, full of animated backgrounds, and clever gameplay mechanics. One of the characters is also a massive sentient penguin, so there’s that.
The story follows 9 characters (including the penguin), 5 of whom are playable. The group suddenly finds themselves trapped in their home, the Royce apartment building. As tensions rise it quickly becomes clear that their captivity is no accident, but an elaborate trap. Each character has their own unique skills to help them reveal their captor’s identity and motive. Players unlock different character routes in succession with their actions and choices impacting the over-arching story.
What Is This Even?
Really, the premise alone is enough to set Minotaur apart from the average campaign, but U7 Committee takes it further. While the style undoubtedly mirrors that of a visual novel, many story elements are conveyed through exploration and interaction with the world. This keeps the experience from being too “text heavy” and bogged down with dialogue.
While already notable, the project also features full English voice acting as well as themed playlists from various composers. The voice over is included in the demo version so potential backers can get a feel for the project before pledging towards the $32,016 funding goal.
Currently, U7 Committee is planning a Q4 2017 release date. Minotaur will be available for PC and Mac through Steam, GOG, Game Jolt, and itch.io.
