What Kickstarter Video Game Campaigns Launched Oct 11 – 17

Every week we take a brief look at all of the Kickstarter video game campaigns that launched in the previous week.  This isn’t to say that all of these projects are worth your hard earned cash, but with any luck having all of them in one place will make it easier to educate yourself on the projects you’d like to back, and which ones to run from.  You’ll find two types of campaigns listed, “featured” and “the rest“.  Featured campaigns are those that contain a significant amount of game information, are from known developers, or are significant in some other way.  The rest of the games are usually smaller campaigns that are lacking in information, are from unknowns, have unanswered questions, or have not yet stood out for one reason or another.

Featured Campaigns :

Game : Void Destroyer 2

What it is : Gary wrote: “Indie developer Paul Zakrzewski has returned to Kickstarter following his successful Void Destroyercampaign. This time, he’s hoping to secure funding for the game’s sequel, Void Destroyer 2. Most of the game’s funding is being pooled from Void Destroyer’s success, with Zakrewski hoping to raise a further $10,000 from the Kickstarter community for additional support, which isn’t a huge ask if you’re a fan of the original. The man did quit his day job to work on this project, after all, so you can be sure he’ll be putting his all into it. Gotta make them bucks, after all. No room for half-measures.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Hello, Neighbor!

What it is : Serena wrote: “Hello, Neighbor! is essentially a survival puzzler for all intents and purposes. You get caught you die. Or at least thrown out of the house unceremoniously. You can try again but be wary of traps and barricades set up to keep you from attaining your ultimate goal of being the neighborhood’s snoop. That’s pretty much it. You dodge your neighbor and his deterrents, find a way through the basement door, and discover whatever it is that he’s so keen to keep you out.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Wanderer

What it is : Gabrielle wrote: “The best way I can describe Wanderer is that it seems to be many genres in one. You’ve got the layout of a 2D cinematic platformer inspired by Heart of Darkness, Another World and Flashback. Then you’ve got RPG pseudo turn-based combat inspired by Paper Mario, Valkyrie Profile, and Rogue Galaxy. Not to mention puzzles, decision making, interactive dialogue, and atmospheric visuals thrown into the mix.

Wanderer has blown my mind, and I haven’t even played it yet!”

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Valthirian Arc: Red Covenant

What it is : Gary wrote: “And if you’ve never come across Valthirian Arc before, it’s a JRPG series, though I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now. What’s so special about this latest game? Well, it brings the series from its 2D origins into a fully-rendered 3D world now, though developer Agate Studio plans on keeping the characters sprite-based so as to maintain the classic JRPG feel of its series.  It’s set to contain a bunch of interesting features too, such as a newly improved real-time battle system, an upgradable school with students that can be recruited and trained at the player’s will, multiple endings, and a crafting system.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : The Nullpoint

What it is : Serena wrote: “First contact with aliens can usually go one of two ways. You can have a benevolent race who wishes to coexist with humanity and you have those that just want to destroy us and do nasty things with farm animals. The Nullpointfalls much closer on the darker side of the spectrum. In the early 22nd century mankind sent out a probe to explore deep space and what they found was a dark void where all forms of radiation were absent. Upon closer examination we discovered a derelict space station just outside of the orbit of Saturn. Being the inquisitive sort we sent teams in to investigate.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Mist Valley

What it is : Serena wrote: “The basic backstory of Mist Valley is that sometime in the late seventeenth century a series of witch trials were held in the land now occupied by more-or-less abandoned buildings and a deep penetrating mist. In the same vein as the infamous Salem witch trials several young girls and women were accused of practicing witchcraft and were subsequently found guilty and tried for their treason. Testimonies by other townsfolk cemented their fate and the village became quite the bloodbath. The village literally became a ghost town as the centuries passed. To this day you can still hear their screams on the wind, or so the legends claim..“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Friday the 13th: The Game

What it is : Gary wrote: “Gun Media‘s Friday the 13th Kickstarter project certainly has momentum on its side. With 25 days to go, the asymmetric 1 versus 7 multiplayer game based on the classic film franchise has managed to raise a massive $440,824 of its $700,000 goal, and the number continues to rise. With 6,815 backers, it’s safe to say it has support. I wonder how much of that has to do with bringing industry legend Adam Sessleron board to help pitch the game. Nonetheless, outlets big and small have brought the game to a wide audience, and it seems as safe a bet as any prominent Kickstarter project can be.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Prehistory

What it is : Serena wrote: “The best part about Prehistory is in the way that you learn about the past. As you explore the land, build new tools, and just advance the story you’ll see notifications pop up periodically on your screen prompting interesting historical tidbits to teach you about the world during that time period. In addition to these little pieces of information you’ll also be treated to external links that you can check out after you stop playing.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Wars Across the World

What it is : Gary wrote: “Who doesn’t love war? Oh, right. Well, war games can sure be fun to play, and as you might have picked up from the title, Wars Across the World aims to give players a whole lot of battles to engage in.

Wars Across the World is the first Kickstarter project from French developer STRATEGIAE. It’s pitched as a strategy game that features conflicts from the entire range of human history, as well as fantasy and sci-fi scenarios. The team even plans to develop a Lovecraft-inspired scenario based on The Shadow over Innsmouth. There’s a lot of variety on offer, anyway, with the team planning to bring new scenarios to the game through packs.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : War of Rights

What it is : Gary wrote: “Prospective backers have until the 14th of November to help the game reach its £70,000 funding goal. This marks the first Kickstarter project from Campfire Games. The CryEngine-powered War of Rights is set to feature two primary game modes: Historical Battle and Skirmishes. The former will focus on fighting over a large map, where as the latter will scale down the battlefield to key area. It’s also set to feature a range of cosmetic customisation options, so if you want to rock a well-waxed moustache, you’ll have plenty to choose from.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

Game : Song of the Firefly

What it is : Gary wrote: “Song of the Firefly is pitched as a story-driven exploration platformer following a boy named Sam on his quest to find a missing friend. Oh, and the world has ended. That’s a pretty important thing to include, too. It’s a 3D side-scroller (2.5D, technically) with a gloomy art style and shadow creatures that are very reminiscent of the dark antagonists in Ico. The three-man team known as Arpeggio Games hope to raise at least £8,000 to finish the game, and they’ve raised almost an eight of that already. This relaunched campaign is just getting started, too, so they still have the better part of a month to reach their new goal, which has been toned down from their original £15,000 target.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

The Rest of the Campaigns :

Living World : A game with big aspirations of simulating the world, but zero to show.

ArcadeKid : More adventures of DMCA violations.

Boxing Game: The Pugilist Path : The idea of this is fantastic, unfortunately what’s being shown does not necessitate the massive funding goal.

FastMan : Ok, so it looks really rough, but the funding goal is only $100.

Dear Child : Yes, the developer is really asking for over $300k for this.

The Town That Was : I love the idea of a horror game being set in the infamous Centralia, PA., but I don’t love what’s being shown here.

Baku Baku Revival : It’s always risky to launch a Kickstarter for IP you don’t have the rights to, even if you’re in talks with the owner.

The Forgettable Dungeon : Yes, it’s another blocky game, but this multiplayer roguelike looks pretty cool.

Quatros Origins : A 3D rotating Tetris style puzzle game, looks promising.

Scribbled Arena : The artwork may remind you of 12 is Better Than 6, but this twin-stick shooter is completely different.  One to watch!

My Pet Bug Farm : It’s like a modern Sim Ant.

Witch’s Coven : There’s enough Visual Novel competition on Kickstarter that starting a Kickstarter for one without showing the game is a bad idea.

Highschool Possession : Our friend AJ Tilley is back!

Chubby Ninja : The days of raising thousands of dollars with nothing but a talking head video are over.

AggroAI : The idea of a fighting game based on AI parameters that the player writes is cool, but this is looking a bit too rough.

Death Stair : A funny looking multiplayer game where you compete against others to climb stairs.

Hit Tank PRO : A rough looking tank shooter, but at least there’s plenty of information, and a demo, to go off ot.

Life Simulator : A $2 funding goal means that this developer will be getting your money if you back this.

Elemental World Rise Of The Guardians : This game had a failed Kickstarter back in 2013, but it looks like the developers have been busy at work since then.  Huge improvements all around.

The Candlemaker : Not just another first person horror game, this one has strategy elements.  Interesting!

Warriors of Valor : A 16bit JRPG, not too many of those this week.

Caecus & Mim : A cute and disturbing looking 3D platformer that needs to show off some gameplay if there’s any hope of being funded.

The Enemy Silence : A sound-only horror game.  Makes screenshots tough to come by.

Graveyard Smash : A classic style arcade game that reminds me of Tapper, except in a graveyard.

The Refuge of Ether Saga Odyssey : The typos in this are crushing.

That’s it for last week’s Kickstarter video game campaigns.  Watch your wallets!