On the first day of its campaign, Tokyo Dark was a success with backers and nailed its $33,000 funding goal. This 2D mystery point-and click adventure game is the latest from the Square Enix Collective, a platform that has certain similarities to Steam’s Greenlight in that gamers can vote on games that are pitched to them within a 28 day period. The key difference from Greenlight is that if a game project passes this process, Square Enix will then aid the developers in assessing their work and promoting its crowdfunding campaign. Other titles that have successfully been aided through Kickstarter include Moon Hunters, Black the Fall, and Goetia.

Tokyo Dark Gameplay

Tokyo Dark’s design seems tight, the gameplay elements intriguing, and the production value definitely looks good. The basic premise of the game is that a female detective’s partner has gone missing, and what at first appears to be a straightforward case quickly becomes complicated and nightmarish. Cue multiple story choices, non-linear puzzle solving, and a deep branching narrative. There are also 10 possible endings. When discussing videogame inspirations, Cherrymochi invoke the names Clock Tower, Heavy Rain, Shenmue, and The Blackwell Legacy. For visual novels, they bring up Higurashi When They Cry, and Corpse Party: Book of Shadows.

Tokyo Dark Menu Preview

Basically they hit all of my geek buttons with little effort.

Tokyo Dark has a lot of things going for it. It crushed its funding goal quicker than the Flash. It has the backing of a powerful game giant. It’s even already greenlit on Steam. One thing to keep in mind is that Cherrymochi are a young and small developer, and that might be enough to take a calming breath. Still, Square Enix’s support is nothing to turn your nose up at!

Track the progress of the Tokyo Dark Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.

About the Author

Amanda French

Amanda French first cut her gaming teeth by playing such classics as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Super Mario World at the ripe age of four. From there spawned a lifelong love of video games, particularly narrative heavy adventures and open world games. A creative writing graduate of Full Sail University, Amanda writes fiction novels in her spare time. You can find her work at the Independent Author Network under the pseudonym, Illise Montoya. Amanda’s all-time favorite games include Dragon Age: Origins, Fallout 2, and Tekken 5. She lives on the California coast with her husband and young baby son.

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