Massive Work Studio’s sci-fi horror action RPG Dolmen has returned to Kickstarter with a brand new campaign after its previous attempt this past May failed to meet its goal.
Using the Soulsborne RPG genre mold, Dolmen is a combination of Lovecraftian cosmic horror and futuristic sci-fi. Set on a long forgotten planet known as Revion Prime, you play as a stranded astronaut who must explore, battle, scavenge and craft to survive.
Dolmen first appeared on Kickstarter back in May, where the developers were asking for a lofty $90,000. They only managed to pull just under $43,000 before the campaign ended unsuccessfully. It was then, by “pulling a few strings” that Massive Work moved the project over to Crytivo, reassuring disheartened backers that plans to develop would continue despite the setback.
Now they’re back at it again with a much more humble goal of $15,000 and have already passed the halfway point with over a month to go.
Based on the encouraging numbers it’s likely Dolmen will be fully funded, but the sheer amount of hoops these guys have been jumping though muddies that certainty. Overall the game looks great – it’s visually stunning and utilises some very popular elements in games right now. Trailers and the original demo show gameplay and combat that looks engaging and fluid, if unfinished.
If it Looked So Promising, Why Did it Fail?
$90,000 is a lot, and it’s possible the developers were being over ambitious with what they were asking for. This time they’ve made the sensible choice to dial down their asking price.
It’s worth pointing out that they only waited three months until trying again and jumping back in as soon as possible might be a myopic move. They haven’t addressed any reasons behind their first failure but with a much lower goal and help from Crytivo it’s possible they’re more ensured than they seem.
They explain in their FAQ that they’ll be combining the support of both Crytivo and Kickstarter. They’re also making the rather odd choice to remove their demo build from Steam with the assurance that they’re working on an updated one.
Pushing a project into life can sometimes be a scramble. With funding spread across two sites and three campaigns, if Dolmen is successful it’ll have certainly taken an unconventional route to getting made. Lining up nicely with the incoming wave of Lovecraftian games, Dolmen aims to release in 2019.
