VR isn't for everyone. Financially, the entry point is relatively high; then there's the potential nausea that comes with it. Plus, all that space required should you have one of those fancier rigs.

The worst part is that if you stop playing for a while, you'll have to re-discover your "VR legs," which means another round of nausea, a problem I complained about with Resident Evil 4 VR mode. For some, the nausea never goes away, keeping them from an otherwise innovative platform.

This is a problem NeuroSync is attempting to overcome with the C-Infinity, which advertises itself as a no-nausea device for VR games. According to NeuroSync co-founder Dr. Slobodan Paessler, "playing action games in VR does not have to cause nausea and that true feeling of locomotion in VR is possible in a safe and practical way."

The project managed to reach its Kickstarter goals in three hours, and while it's not commercially available yet, the site does have a form to let you know when it's ready for pre-order. Skeptical? Well, there's good reason to be. The device has a tall mountain of problems to climb in front of it, and it might need to be a pioneer if it wishes to justify its enormous price tag.

Why the green face?

The problem of VR nausea isn't a simple one, nor does it stem from a single source. One of the biggest issues is motion sickness. VR has your brain telling you that your body is moving, yet your physical body is still. That causes a mismatch of information and the consequence is that queasiness we call motion sickness. You can experience it in a car sometimes.

Naturally, games with a lot of movement will trigger this a lot more. Some titles have tried to minimize how hard the motion sickness hits by "snap rotation," which ensures you aren't moving too fast in the virtual world, or by reducing depth of field.

You should be aware that this is far from an open-and-shut case, with one research paper pointing out that "forty factors shown or believed to influence the occurrence or simulator sickness were identified." This leaves the C-Infinity with a tall task ahead of it that should keep you on your toes as you delve into its marketing.

On a side note, if you're feeling nausea during gameplay, stop immediately. The debilitating after-effects are not worth it. You will feel incredibly sick for hours. There are unproven solutions shared among VR players like eating ginger, but nothing beats rest. Your game will still be there, waiting for you, after you take a break.

C-Infinity and Compatibility

Dr. Paessler explains that "years of research and testing led us to this point, and we are beyond excited to share this VR breakthrough with the current community of gamers and future VR gamers and participants."

Commenting to Destructoid, Scott Robertson explains that the C-Infinity has "been successfully tested with  PC/Android/Standalone/PS4 & PS5.  Plus ALL top PCVR headsets from leading brands like HTC, Meta (including Quest 1, 2, Pro, and 3), PlayStation VR, Pinax, Valve Index, Pimax Crystal, HTC Vive Pro 2, HP Reverb G2, Varjo XR-3, and more!"

It won't work with all devices that have been unofficially modded from flatscreen to VR, as they can be unpredictable. However, Robertson lists several that do work, including "Cyberpunk 2077, FarCry 6, Horizon Zero Dawn, Skyrim VR, Doom VFR, Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 7, VR Chat, and 11,000+ more."

An experience that costs a pretty penny

Despite the confidence, it is evident that NeuroSync has several hurdles to overcome before it can be trusted to do what it advertises. Hypothetically, if it does, the only question left is whether there are any downsides besides the size.

It's the price tag. At $799, in addition to the price of your headset, it's a device best left for enthusiasts. I've explained the shortcomings of PlayStation's headset and while the Quest 3 leaves me far more satisfied, $799 is still $799.

Will the C-Infinity ever become mainstream? No, not even VR is managing to do that. But it does claim to provide a solution to the puking problem that plagues the platform.

The post C-Infinity wants to help anyone with VR nausea & $799 burning a hole in their pocket appeared first on Destructoid.

A new indie action RPG has been gaining traction on Kickstarter. Anima - Song From the Abyss is the latest game from Spanish-based studio Anima Project.

The group has been around for a while, forming in 2005 and having several published games, but Anima - Song From the Abyss is the studio's first Kickstarter and most ambitious project. Stylish action games like NieR Automata and open-world titles like The Witcher are influencing the title's direction.

Previous Anima titles were self-published and are solid games in their own right. Things like the budget were noticeable, but an interesting world and lengthy journey showed the team's passion. It's worth seeing how Song from the Abyss stacks up to NieR Automata given the first game's influence on the previous entries.

One notable difference is that Song From the Abyss is more colorful than its predecessors. The Kickstarter states Zelda as an influence, and it's noticeable with how saturated the environments are.

Beyond that, Song of the Abyss' main appeal is opening the series up with a bigger budget game. The series always had an open-ended structure, but this expands the concept further. It's not open-world but ensures environments have a lot to explore.

A notable feature returning from Gate of Memories is character switching on the fly. If executed well, stylish action game fans will be satisfied with stylish combos while alternating between protagonists Soren and Noein.

Seeing new and interesting projects from small teams is always exciting. Anima Project is a three-person studio, and its previous efforts cut above what a team of that size can do with an action RPG. The good news is, the Kickstarter campaign has already cleared its initial funding goal. Hopefully, a bigger budget will help the team achieve its ambition and it will come out on time for its projected November 2024 release.

The post Kickstarter action-RPG Anima – Song From the Abyss draws on Zelda, DMC appeared first on Destructoid.

It's September 2023. We are eight years removed from the debut of the Bloodstained Kickstarter, and four years removed from its full launch. You could say...it's been a while. Time management seminars aside, that's exactly why I admire the raw tenacity of Bloodstained director Shutaro Iida and producer Koji "IGA" Igarashi (and their team); who have been working on a single release for this long in an era of fleeting live service games. And it's still being worked on, as two new modes are on the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X_54wp1xiU

A new Kickstarter update has promised more info is coming soon (September 14) on the upcoming VS and Chaos modes, which will add an online component to Bloodstained. Publisher 505 Games clarifies that Chaos mode will have local co-op, and we'll see more details "next week."  Here's the full statement from the team:

"First, we apologize for the long delay between updates. The development team has been busy working on the new VS and Chaos modes, both of which include online multiplayer play for the first time. This has resulted in some challenges and delays that we that we did not expect, but we continue forward! We are nearing completion of the new content.

We will share more on how Chaos and VS modes work on September 14th.

Until then, we hope this small preview of the new modes and upcoming premium DLC will give you an idea of what is to come!"

Apparently, there is more to wrap up after that: "Once these two modes are completed we will begin to work on the final physical reward remaining to be delivered: the Physical PC version of the game." Wild that this hasn't happened yet.

All that work updating the game seems to have paid off; as the team just announced in that same update that Bloodstained has cleared the "over two million copies sold" milestone since June of 2019. 505 also gabs about sequel talk, noting: "We want to finish up Ritual of the Night before we talk about it, but it was leaked that a sequel is in the works."

Hey, that announcement could be any day (or year) from now!

The post Bloodstained is somehow still chugging, info on new modes coming soon appeared first on Destructoid.

The Kickstarter campaign for Ratatan, a new game from the minds behind Patapon, has ended with a whopping total of almost ¥220,000,000 Japanese Yen, close to $1.5 million USD, in pledges from more than 14,500 backers.

This makes Ratatan the 34th most funded video game in Kickstarter’s history. The campaign FAQs say that we can expect a full release of Ratatan by April 2025, with a closed beta starting in late 2024.

Ratatan is a strategy rhythm game where you play a Ratatan leading an army of adorable cyclopic Cobuns in battle. The gameplay is reminiscent of the Patapon series, originally released for the handheld PlayStation Portable in 2007. This is no coincidence. The campaign information proudly announces that many of the creative minds who made Patapon are also involved in this new project, making Ratatan a spiritual successor to the PSP classic. The dev team includes producer Kazuto Sakajiri, director Kenei Nakasha, game designer Hiroyuki Kotani, and composer Kemmei Adachi, among others. 

[caption id="attachment_400938" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Ratata Arts[/caption]

The original Kickstarter goal of ¥20,000,000 (around $137,000 USD) was reached in under an hour. (Disclosure: I also personally backed this Kickstarter.) From there, backers proceeded to fulfill several stretch goals to add features like orchestrated music and additional game modes. At campaign's end, the campaign tallied up ¥219,314,335 in contributions from 14,598 backers.

With the stretch goal for console releases being met, Ratata Arts has stated a desire to release Ratatan on all current-gen consoles (including Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4 & 5, and Nintendo Switch) as well as Steam.

Jump to the rhythm

More gameplay details were revealed in a Kickstarter-closing livestream along with a brief liveplay demo. Player commands are issued using a seven-beat rhythm input system, and the Cobun chant a response while performing an action. The fever bar from Patapon returns, with higher combos filling the bar, strengthening your team, and increasing the intensity of the music. Like the various types of Patapon, there are different types of Cobun you can recruit into your army based on which Ratatan you are controlling.

The similarities to Patapon go beyond just the gameplay. Many of the character designs in Ratatan also feature a similar single-eyeball, small-bodied aesthetic, albeit with a much more diverse and vibrant color palette. There may even be a cameo of an old Patapon enemy named Dodonga, except he’s now called Dekadon and has had a bit of a facelift.

[caption id="attachment_400940" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Ratata Arts[/caption]

The Patapon series had a limited audience since it was released solely for the PSP, then remastered in 2017 and 2020 for the PS4. After more than 20 years, it seems we’re finally getting a fresh entry with this call-and-response tactical rhythm formula.

The post Patapon spiritual successor Ratatan Kickstarter ends with over $1.4 million raised appeared first on Destructoid.

Die. Mutate. Repeat.

Acclaimed roguelite Dead Cells is getting set to bring its compelling and amorphous adventure to your local coffee table, courtesy of a brand new board game currently in production at Le Scorpion Masque.

The Montreal-based studio, which has previously produced board games such as Decrypto, Zombie Kidz, and Stay Cool, launched a Kickstarter for Dead Cells, which will be the company's first licensed title. While the crowdfunding kicked off with a modest target of around $30,000 USD, the campaign has, at the writing of writing, surpassed a staggering $250,000, with 15 days still to go. As such, the game will now go into production. A release window is yet to be announced.

https://youtu.be/rfl-gb3M520

The Dead Cells board game will look to retain both the visual aesthetic, immersive atmosphere, and general gameplay of Motion Twin's 2018 release, as 1-4 players pick their way through ever-shifting dungeons in co-operative action, as they battle through High Peak Castle en route to a confrontation with the nefarious Hand of The King. One of four uniquely skilled Beheaded can be chosen, and the board will retain the Die/Repeat nature of its roguelike origins.

You can check out a breakdown of a pre-production copy in the video below, courtesy of the board game fans at Good Time Society.

https://youtu.be/qny-UMI4y1Q

Explore biomes, level up your character, defeat enemies, conquer challenges, and lose it all on the turn of a card. Level up your Beheaded, earn permanent upgrades, and work with your fellow team members to defeat what seems, at first glance, a near-insurmountable challenge. But strategy, synergy, and persistence can pay off in the end, or you'll simply die, and die, and die, and die trying.

You can check out a full breakdown of Dead Cells on the official Kickstarter.

Dead Cells is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and iOS/Android platforms.

The post Dead Cells smashes its Kickstarter for board game adaptation appeared first on Destructoid.

Octopi and secrets and drag, oh my!

The era that arguably made me the gamer I am today was the three-and-a-half-year span the Game Boy Advance ruled my life. I was 16 when it was released, and it was the first video game device I purchased with my own money. I didn’t have to wait for a birthday or holiday. The September after it first dropped, I took the bus over to the next town and dropped around $150 on the indigo purple version along with copies of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Super Mario Advance. Five days later, I would return to the store to get a light for the screen because it was dark as hell.

That was a difficult year for me. Having a GBA got me through some very tough times. The toughest of which was my move from Washington to California. A new city. A new school. Having to start from scratch to make friends. It wasn’t easy, and I spent more time than I’d like to admit with my nose inches away from my Game Boy Advance screen rather than being around other people. Because it was there for me at such a pivotal point in my life, there isn't another gaming device, handheld or otherwise, that brings me as much nostalgic joy.

I’m always looking out for games that can transport me back to that time in my life—even though I’m well aware that recapturing your youth is impossible. I just like the look and feel of games from that generation, which is why for the past week, I’ve been infatuated with Tako no Himitsu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OSjg_zyKb8

Tako no Himitsu is the second game from Christophe Galati. About five years ago, I corresponded with him about his first game, Save me Mr. Tako!, in the weeks leading up to its release. I was hopeful for the game, but the release version of the game wasn’t up to snuff. Some behind-the-scenes drama between publisher Nicalis and Galati ensued, and a few years later, Galati re-released Save me Mr. Tako: Definitive Edition with the assistance of Limited Run Games.

"I had to pause everything in order to re-release Tako as a Definitive Edition," Galati explained, "even though I was told to give up and move on. I’m proud I did it even though it was like starting over. Thanks to the Limited Run Physical version, the game is finally earning me money, four years after its original release."

I can’t imagine the difficulty of making one indie game, let alone having to make it again. But that’s what Galati did. It was a massive undertaking. But he wanted to save his original vision for Tako, which was to pay homage to the various gaming generations that helped him growing up. As he told me in our first interview, Galati got his Game Boy Color right around the time I got my Game Boy Advance.

"I ended up getting the Game Boy Advance not too long after, when I was nine I think. It became a really important part of my teenage years," Galati said.

[caption id="attachment_379880" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

As it did with many, the GBA had a profound effect on Galati growing up. He said he got it when he started developing his own tastes and didn’t have to rely on his older brother’s game collection for something to play. He could actually ask for games he wanted to play or buy them with his allowance. It was during these years he discovered his love of the RPG, and if there is one thing the Game Boy Advance had no shortage of, it was quality RPGs.

"The GBA is the platform where I experienced Final Fantasy for the first time, starting with Dawn of Souls (I & II), then IV, V, and VI, which stayed my favorite of the series," Galati said. "I spent a lot of time playing Golden Sun, which also became one of my favorite games. A friend lent me a small guide at school to find all the Djinns, and I remember the hype when I discovered Golden Sun II (The Lost Age)."

He cites many other classics of the era, including Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Those titles and more are helping shape Galati’s ambition with Tako no Himitsu. But it’s two specific games that are at the root of his inspiration.

A clear inspiration

"Illusion of Gaia had a huge impact on me growing up. Quintet Studio’s games had this kind of melancholy around them, a very unique aura," Galati says. "I took inspiration from that and wanted to create a simple action RPG with kind of a lite aspect in terms of mechanics and items, like Terranigma, but with many playable characters and a unique mood. Golden Sun also inspires me a lot due to his awesome gameplay. Its psynergy feature directly inspired the Tako no Himitsu magic system, as you can pair characters with an octopus that can use magic spells both in battle and for exploration puzzles. I hope I can do really cool dungeon puzzle design, as well as hiding a lot of secrets in the world."

[caption id="attachment_379883" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

So what exactly is Tako no Himitsu? On his pitch deck, Galati describes the game as an action RPG whose gameplay and aesthetics are inspired by the Game Boy Advance. In the game, players will take up a party of characters with unique movesets who can be paired with octopi that grant magic skills for combat and exploration. Galati’s description notes Tako no Himitsu will have simple gameplay and combat against a legion of shadow monsters, a rich world filled with secrets to explore, and a story that explores how secrets impact us and those around us.

"The code name of the game was Himitsu Project right from the start," Galati explains. "Himitsu means secrets in Japanese, which was handy because I kept the heart of the project secret for a long time, but also because 'secret' is the main topic the game is dealing with (for both the characters and the world). The goal of the game is to explore how secrets become shadows in people's lives, and how people in power use them to rule the world. Tako no Himitsu can be translated as Secret of the Octopus. It was hard picking a name, because as a sequel it needed to have Tako in it, and the team got attached to Himitsu, so why not keep both? As the game development started in Japan, having a Japanese name was also a cool nod to its roots."

Five months at the Villa Kujoyama

The origins of Tako no Himitsu can be found far away from Galati's native France. Following Galati’s fallout with Nicalis, he applied and was accepted into a French Artist Residency program that sent him to Kyoto, Japan. It was here, at Villa Kujoyama, that Galati would heal from the less-than-stellar launch of Save me Mr. Tako!, commit himself to revising the game for the Definitive Edition, and set about on the sequel.

"I ended up pretty burned out and a bit disgusted by the game industry I would say," Galati says. "Spending time at the Villa Kujoyama in Japan really helped me to heal, it gave me the determination to save Save me Mr. Tako! and continue making games. I had to fight abuse my whole life so giving up was not an option for me. It’s very hard for marginalized people and I want to prove to myself that I can exist in this industry."

Galati documented his life at Villa Kujoyama in a Medium post that detailed his five-month stay. It’s an interesting summary of food, the Japanese indie scene, and the first stages of development for what would eventually become Tako no Himitsu. Galati says this spiritual sequel to Save me Mr. Tako! will be a lot more personal and take inspiration from events in his life.

It will also take inspiration from the people in his life. One of the playable characters in Tako no Himitsu is Karan, a drag artist. I was curious about the inclusion of Karan in the game and if Galati was aware of the incredibly stupid and dangerous push in the United States to rebrand and ban drag performances as some sort of sexual act.

[caption id="attachment_379879" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

"I’m pretty much aware of what is happening in the US regarding Drag Ban laws, and sadly the same thing is starting to happen in France too," Galati says. "I was introduced to this art form in 2016 by my friend Mirage who was starting drag at the time. It was before RuPaul's Drag Race became available on Netflix, it was less mainstream so I had to follow her to small dark bars in the middle of the night in Paris, I’ll never forget this magic. I stayed close to this world and wanted to portray it in my game. I already put some queer representation in Save me Mr. Tako!, but I want to go a step further this time with a queer main character as I think it’s important to do my part in representation, especially with everything that is happening right now. I stayed in touch with many drag artists from all over the world in order to portray the drag scene properly in Tako no Himitsu. Karan was also inspired by people I dated in my life, he will be very important in the story."

Karan will be just one of several characters players will take control of throughout the adventure. Galati says he is taking a Final Fantasy VI approach to the narrative where there isn’t one main character but a large cast who have their own struggles. I’m curious about all the characters revealed so far, but I’m also interested in how the game will incorporate the octopi.

Imagine a world with no takoyaki

Tako no Himitsu takes place roughly 800 years after the events of Save me Mr. Tako! While that game ended on a positive note, the years between the two titles reveal whatever peace was achieved at the end of the first game didn’t last long, and octopi were soon wiped from the world. In Tako no Himitsu, the characters you take control of will discover there are octopus heroes who survived extermination and are ready to assist them in their world-saving adventure. Taking inspiration from Golden Sun, players can expect to use their octopus pals in combat and environmental puzzle solving. The octopi you collect can be raised and powered up by spending time with them in the Octopus Garden Tako Fountain.

"I played Sonic Adventure 2 on the Gamecube a lot, the Chao Garden definitely inspired the Tako Fountain feature in Tako no Himitsu," said Galati. "In order to use magic spells, you have to pair characters with octopuses. The goal of the garden is to increase your bond with octopuses and make them stronger. By fighting shadow monsters, you’ll get shadow gems that you can throw in the fountain to make fruits grow and feed your octopuses. There are also a few other items you can use there to boost magic and stuff like that, the mood of your octopuses as an impact on the spell power. I can confirm already that you can pet octopuses in Tako no Himitsu!"

[caption id="attachment_379884" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

All of this sounds right up my alley, and seeing the game in motion is like gazing into a past I’d much rather be in than our current present. Galati is aiming for a 2025 launch for Tako no Himitsu on PC and consoles, including whatever Nintendo device is out in the world at that time. He’s also not doing it alone this time around. Galati has teamed up with a small group of artists, including Valentine Seiche, Pixel Boy, and Challenger.AAA to develop the art for the game. Having a staff means having to cut checks. Galati has secured some funding already, but more is needed to fully fund the project.

Later this year, a Kickstarter campaign for Tako no Himitsu will launch with a 50,000€ goal. His ultimate goal is to move away from being a one-man-band indie developer and actually having a team work with him at his studio Deneos Games. A team would give Galati the ability to make bigger, bolder, and hopefully queerer games. It would also help him take the logical next step for his Tako franchise. If this series is to pay homage to the handheld eras of the past, then a sequel to Tako no Himitsu would jump us to the Nintendo DS, right?

"Who knows what the future holds! I have a pretty good idea of what my next game will be, but first, we need to finish the development of Tako no Himitsu," said Galati. "What I can say is that I’d love to make a game with a 2D/3D mix like it was done in Grandia and Xenogears."

The Kickstarter page for Tako no Himitsu is now available, and the game is available on Steam to wishlist. Galati hopes to launch the game on PC and consoles—though he is just focusing on PC right now—in Q2 of 2025, with a demo in Q3 of this year.

The post Save me Mr. Tako’s sequel looks like a long-lost GBA RPG appeared first on Destructoid.

Roll Die to Pay Respects

Activision, in association with tabletop producer Arcane Wonders, has announced a forthcoming board game based on the former's billion-dollar military shooter series, Call of Duty. The tabletop adaptation of the long-running and hugely successful series is expected to begin crowdfunding this summer.

While slight on details, Call of Duty: The Board Game will be set within the Modern Warfare universe, and will feature all your favorite bullet-tossers including Soap, Ghost, and, of course, Cpt. Price in real-time strategic action. As is the style of the time, a Kickstarter will be launched in the coming months for interested parties to plonk down their pre-orders, likely offering up several stretch goals and/or expansion packs. Arcane has already hinted at popular Zombies side-mode making an appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ4zKUYwLqg&ab_channel=ArcaneWonders

"[Players] simultaneously plan out moves secretly and then resolve those at the same time out on the map," said designer Bryan Pope, describing gameplay in comments to Polygon. "Line of sight is easily determined by colored lines on the map, and when you do have eyes on your opponent, combat happens. It’s all about outsmarting and outmaneuvering your opponent to get in the best possible position to win in a fight."

Perhaps the most interesting element here is the realization that Call of Duty, decades down the line and billions of dollars in the bank, is yet to receive a board game adaptation. Transitioning a multiplayer-heavy first-person-shooter to the meticulous, turn-taking world of tabletops has always been a challenge, but it seems that the team at Arcane Wonders is confident that they have found a way to recreate the breathless and bombastic action of the video game to a board game environment. It will be interesting to follow the title's progress and see quite how the expansive universe of CoD makes the physical leap.

Call of Duty: The Board Game will launch its Kickstarter campaign this summer. We'll be sure to give you a heads-up right here on Destructoid.

Call of Duty: The Board Game kicks off a series meant for competitive and co-op play [Polygon]

The post Call of Duty board game, incredibly not a thing yet, coming from Arcane Wonders appeared first on Destructoid.

A good scissoring (demon)

Solo-developer Wegenbartho-Games has launched a Kickstarter for their murder mystery adventure, The Murder Hotel. The campaign runs until May 3, 2023 and is seeking €8,500.

This is kind of hilarious. The Murder Hotel is a murder mystery, but rather than figure out the murderer, I guess you already know: It’s some scissor-wielding demon. The demon won’t let you leave unless you pin their murders on the various guests. Like, they didn’t actually do it, but you have to come up with a super-plausible theory that “proves” that they did. So, you’re just deliberately accusing innocent people.

[caption id="attachment_373827" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Wegenbartho-Games[/caption]

You need to convince a demon council, so maybe there won’t be any real repercussions for these people you accuse. I choose to believe they’re just going to be sucked down into Hell. I’m feeling really malicious, so I want to just creatively screw some digital people over.

Beyond the concept being delectable, the campaign is pretty informative on where the project is and what planning has been done. It’s enough information to build confidence and outline all the plans.

The downside is that the plan is for The Murder Hotel to launch in December 2024. That’s a reasonable development period, but I want it now. There are stretch goals for more languages and another to have actual voice-over. I hate when people talk to me, so that’s not a must-have feature for me.

The Murder Hotel is slated for release on Switch and PC. The Kickstarter campaign runs until May 3, 2023 and is projected to release in December 2024.

The post The Murder Hotel, a mystery game where you pin the blame, launches Kickstarter appeared first on Destructoid.

Update 112 involves IGA (Koji Igarashi) streams

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night launched its Kickstarter in 2015, and not all of its campaign promises have been delivered yet. Now that comes with the territory for some Kickstarters, but it's absolutely wild to see that I'm still getting original project Bloodstained Kickstarter updates in 2023. This week, backers just got their 112th update.

It's not info on anything coming up for the game update-wise, though. Rather, it's a tease for a "promise from eight years ago," where Bloodstained boss IGA will have dinner and stream with "IGAventure reward tier" backers.

Here's the full context of the most recent update:

"The time to fulfill the promise from eight years ago has finally come! I will be having dinner and streaming with the backers who backed the IGAventure reward tier. The game streaming will take place on our YouTube channel at JPN time 13:00-14:00 on Friday, March 24. (That's 4 AM UTC, or 9 PM Pacific on March 23.) We will be playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as we can start playing right away. It would be a short amount of time, but please come watch."

What's left for Bloodstained to deliver?

Well, beyond some folks who say they're still waiting for physical copies, there's also some more content on the way. Back in June of 2022 an update from the Bloodstained team noted that they were getting "closer to the completion of development," which involves more free DLC. There's a crossover for the Journey franchise, as well as Chaos and VS modes (which includes online co-op and PVP), more outfits for main character Miriam, and Classic 2 (a "new premium mode").

Here's the latest info we have on everything beyond the Journey crossover: "We have not finalized the release timeframes for the new outfits and Classic Mode 2. They may be released separately, together or grouped with Chaos and Vs Modes. We will make that decision later."

The post Getting Kickstarter updates for Bloodstained in 2023 is wild y’all appeared first on Destructoid.

Probe the rich

Purveyor of (often romantic) visual novels, Winter Wolves, has launched a Kickstarter for their latest concoction, Save the World. They are seeking €4000 for the project, and… oh, they already met it. Good for them.

Save the World appears to be a yuri visual novel. The Kickstarter doesn’t explicitly say that, but all I see are women, and the two mentioned romantic options are both lesbian. It involves one such woman being abducted by aliens. Their leader, Xen, explains that they aren’t invaders, but rather they travel about saving worlds and asks for the protagonist, Ekiya’s, advice on what’s ailing Earth. Her response is about the unbalanced distribution of wealth, and the aliens follow through by simply eliminating a lot of rich people.

Boobs and eating the rich. I am captivated.

[embed]https://youtu.be/jz4oi9nFJVc[/embed]

I find the narrative crux of Save the World to be quite interesting. It has you consider if, given the opportunity, you would use an alien race's technological force to address the world’s problems. How far would you go? Would it even be worth it? Maybe the world’s problems are humanity’s alone to fix, or perhaps a drastic — possibly violent — course correction is the only way to save it.

Meanwhile, you also have the option to romance two of the characters. Because there’s no better way to unwind from a moral quandary than with a little grind and bump. Stretch goals include more CG scenes and extra outfits, some of which are sexy or completely explicit (another kind of sexy).

I’ve enjoyed a fair few of Winter Wolves’ previous visual novels, but with this sort of thing, it mostly comes down to the writer and artist.

Save the World’s Kickstarter is going on right now and will continue through to March 23, 2023. The development is expected to take one year, with Save the Earth becoming available on PC in March 2024.

The post Winter Wolves launches Kickstarter for new visual novel Save the World appeared first on Destructoid.

Bit of a wait

Apogee has announced that Wreckit Games’ open-world adventure Elements has succeeded in its Kickstarter campaign and is set to drop into Steam Early Access in the second quarter of 2024, followed by a release on various consoles in 2025.

Elements is a vibrant-looking open-world game set in the land of Elemythia. The game gives some mad Breath of the Wild smells, but it looks to differentiate itself by providing some home-building mechanics and two-player co-op. The developer is also touting a “Hollywood screenwriter” and the voice actress who lent her cords to Princess Zelda in Breath of the Wild.

[embed]https://youtu.be/j7DmJuYzD3Q[/embed]

I’m a bit of a fan of Apogee’s reinvention of itself. Utilizing its name recognition for publishing small and independent titles feels a bit like a return to the company’s original manifesto. I doubt we’ll be getting a rebirth of shareware, however.

With that said, while Elements definitely has a charming look to it, I think I’m hitting my tolerance limit for open-world games. It’s a genre that grows and grows as the years go on but still somehow stays exactly the same.

Nevertheless, the people have spoken, and the Kickstarter campaign sits at around $200,000 Canadian Loonies as of writing. The campaign runs until Friday, March 3, 2023, at 6:00 PM PST, so there’s still a bit of time to nab a tier if this all looks interesting.

If not, Elements will hit Steam Early Access in Q2 2024. The full title is expected to come to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC in Q2 2025.

The post Apogee’s Elements makes Kickstarter goal, set to release Q2 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

And I could not be more excited

Slay the Spire is one of my most-played games of all time, so it's always a pleasant surprise to see the little indie game that could from 2017 in the headlines. This time, there's a Slay the Spire board game in the works, and in all honesty, I'm not much of a board game person, but I am willing to be if it means I get to play a physical version of my favorite deckbuilding roguelike.

Apparently I somehow missed the announcement that Slay the Spire was getting a board game adaptation two years ago, but the Kickstarter page for the project is officially launched. So far they've raised over $1.5 million, and I don't really have any clue how much money it takes to make a board game, but that seems like a pretty substantial chunk of change in my book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGfSp3Kz7rk

There are four pledge tiers ranging from $1 to $210 -- the lowest tier gets you access to updates and the Pledge Manager at the end of the campaign, the $100 tier gives you the base game, the $145 version gets you the base game plus some extras like character play mats and metal coins, and that fancy $210 version gets you the game and a whole bunch of extras, like the aforementioned mats, coins, and some beta art, among other things.

There are already some reviews of the board game up online, and with all the little bits and baubles (that I am bound to lose) it seems that the mechanics are a very faithful adaptation of what we're used to seeing in the video game. It looks to me like a pretty luxe purchase for collectors and fans of the game, so I'd probably suggest giving the original a few runs before playing if you haven't already.

The post A Kickstarter for the fancy Slay the Spire board game is live appeared first on Destructoid.

The Pull-Out-Dining-Room-Tables Between

Bandai Namco is teaming with Steamforged Games to produce a board game variant of its stellar RPG release, Elden Ring. As reported by Eurogamer, the tabletop edition of the mega-selling 2022 release will launch a preliminary crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter "soon."

While there are very little in the way of images or details pertaining to the adaptation, Steamforged Games has revealed that Elden Ring will see one to four Tarnished players embark on a whole new adventure in The Lands Between, visiting familiar locations and locking steel with a rogues' gallery of recognizable and formidable opponents. The board game will feature "characteristically challenging" dice-free combat, relying on strategy and adaptation in order to survive the encounter.

"Elden Ring is a stunning, genre-defining video game, and we are humbled and privileged to be bringing it to your tabletops. To say our team is passionate about the game would be an understatement," says Steamforged CCO Mat Hart in a press release. "Our mission is always to deliver authentic tabletop adaptations that capture the essence of what fans know and love about the IP. Fans should expect a dark, richly-realised tabletop world of mystery and peril, with satisfying combat and rewarding exploration. Prepare to lose hours to this game, and to be glad about it."

This is not, obviously, Steamforged's first rodeo in the world of tabletop video game adaptations. Previously, the company has developed board and card games based on popular franchises such as Dark Souls, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Pac-Man, and Devil May Cry. We will be sure to give you a heads-up right here on Destructoid when the Elden Ring campaign goes live.

For more information on the new game's format, check out the official Steamforged Games website.

The post Elden Ring board game campaign is coming to Kickstarter appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming in 2023, the controller works with Nintendo Switch Online games like you'd expect

Retro Fighters is coming out with a new version of the Brawler64, a modernized N64-inspired controller, and it should pair well with the Switch Online library thanks to its button placement. The Brawler64 Wireless Bluetooth Switch Edition is compatible with Nintendo Switch and PC and it's currently drumming up support on Kickstarter.

That said, the crowdfunding campaign has 20 days left to go and the funding threshold has already been crossed with $12,000 pledged. It's happening. Backers will get their orders shipped before retail customers, with an ETA of February 2023.

There are three colors — Classic Gray, Transparent Blue, and Arctic White — and the Brawler64 Switch Edition is tied to $45 pledges, which will be a $5 discount from the eventual MSRP. This tier also includes a USB-C charging cable and instruction manual.

[caption id="attachment_343932" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{The Transparent Blue model.}[/caption]

More buttons and a Swap ability

According to Retro Fighters, the goal of the Brawler64 Switch Edition is "easy connectability." The gamepad has rumble and more buttons including screenshot, home, and minus buttons. Curiously, there's also a "Swap" button to "switch between [the Nintendo Switch Online] button layout and traditional Switch Pro layout."

Wireless? Yep, there's Bluetooth — no "dongles or extra setup" needed.

As for stretch goals, Retro Fighters has promised to add motion control capabilities at $100K raised, and a future "Gold" special edition controller at $200K raised.

I haven't used the prior Brawler64 controllers, but I've heard them come up in conversation among folks who like N64 games but aren't exactly stoked to use an N64 controller to play them. Especially with this iteration, the design feels like a nice balance between modern comfort and nostalgia. I'm already set with Nintendo's own N64 controllers for Switch, but I am intrigued. I do love candy-colored transparent controllers.

[caption id="attachment_343944" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Syncing the new Brawler64 with a Nintendo Switch.}[/caption]

If you'd like to see it in action, the Kickstarter page has a short demonstration of the Brawler64 Switch Edition — there's footage of a "functional prototype" gamepad playing Super Mario 64 via the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, including the sync process.

Even if I won't use the vast majority of them, it's great to see so many controller options.

The post This new Brawler64 controller is a modern way to play N64 games on Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

Two more retro-inspired RPGs are locked in

The double Kickstarter for spiritual successors to the Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts series has hit its minimum. Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood have cleared their initial goal on Kickstarter and are now climbing for stretch goals.

Creators behind the Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts series revealed their crowdfunding plan last week, with an interesting twist. Rather than individual campaigns, the two projects would share a pool as a double Kickstarter. Contributions towards one spiritual successor would help the other.

The two games are Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood. The former takes after the Westernpunk concept of Wild Arms, with a distinctly animated style. Penny Blood, meanwhile, picks up the dark and moody side of Shadow Hearts, using alt-history as its backdrop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qflxCRQ-E0E

With the goal of ¥100,000,000 met, both projects are now considered funded. As per release, the Kickstarter site estimates delivery of a digital version of Armed Fantasia or Penny Blood as March 2025.

As the developers remind in their "Risks" section though, things can change. But while delays are one thing, the creators assure that both games are being developed by professional teams, and you "don't need to worry about them not being released" when they get funded.

Reach for the sky

The team posted a thank-you message for hitting its minimum goal within one day's time. They also say that, due to popular request from backers and potential backers, a new add-on for digital and physical versions of the OST has been added.

The double Kickstarter crew also plans to do three updates a week, spotlighting different aspects of the two games each day. As for the stretch goals, the campaign's Combo Meter (a shared stretch goal meter) includes console versions. Everything else beyond is currently obscured, but there will likely be more goals and features to fund.

It's neat to see this campaign hit its mark so fast. Both series have such an interesting and distinct style and approach to RPGs, and I'm keen to see what this team brings to bear further on down the road. The campaign will run through September 30 here.

The post Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood have hit their minimum goal on Kickstarter appeared first on Destructoid.

Two RPG classics are back in spiritual form

The creators behind two RPG franchises are joining forces to crowdfund. Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts are teaming up for a "double Kickstarter" to fund spiritual successors to both series.

Shadow Hearts creator Matsuzo Machida and Wild Arms creator Akifumi Kaneko announced the news today. The double Kickstarter campaign is for two games: Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood.

The first, Armed Fantasia, is a follow-up to Wild Arms set in a similar Westernpunk world. Kaneko will handle lead game design and scenario writing, while Tomomi Sasaki is on the character design. Music for Armed Fantasia will be by Michiko Naruke, Noriyasu Uematsu, and Elements Garden. From the screenshots they release, it's definitely got some Wild Arms style, blending technology and the wild, wild west.

The other game is Penny Blood, a dark tale set in the 1920s. It follows an investigator who takes on dark evil during a time of international unrest. Penny Blood looks very much like its predecessor in Shadow Hearts, with character design from Miyako Kato and music by Yoshitaka Hirota. And boy, does it looks dark.

Going back to the classics

The two teams are combining forces in one concerted effort. And I mean, if you want to make a play for the hearts of old-school JRPG fans, these are two good picks. Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts are two series that certainly stand out thanks to their mechanics and settings, and both could see a big revival through these successors.

As for funding, the Double Kickstarter will support both team's projects. Backers will have the option to fund Penny Blood, Armed Fantasia, or both. The shared "Combo Meter" for the campaign will continue to unlock new content for both games as it goes up.

The Double Kickstarter will launch on August 29 with a minimum mutual goal of $750,000 for both projects. Each pledge will contribute to whichever game is backed, while also adding to the shared Combo Meter. It's a novel idea, but I'm pretty intrigued by it. Classic games getting spiritual successors has been successful on Kickstarter, as we've seen from the rollout of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and its related content. And I could be really interested in successors to both these series.

The post Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts creators announce double Kickstarter for spiritual successors to both series appeared first on Destructoid.

A little frog on a big adventure

For years now, crowdfunding sites have been one of the best ways for indie games to secure development. Because fans get to directly support the projects they want made, we've seen some of the most creative and innovative titles of the past decade come from platforms like Kickstarter and Fig, including Outer Wilds, Undertale, and Hollow Knight, just to name a few. I'm always on the lookout to see what new games are up for funding, because you never know what hidden gems you'll find. This time, I'm trained on A Frog's Tale after spotting its Kickstarter campaign on Twitter, and it looks like it could be an indie darling in the making.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/normanfrog/a-frogs-tale

A Frog's Tale is a retro RPG, with pixel art inspired by SNES and GBA classics, and gameplay inspired by titles like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Kingdom Hearts, and Tales of Symphonia. It features musical turn-based combat and set pieces that are synched with the game's score, making for a truly unique experience.

Frogs have been a recent trend in video games, and considering how adorable A Frog's Tale looks, you certainly don't see me complaining about it. The whole thing looks incredibly polished and sleek, and while we only have a few short clips of gameplay so far, it's already feeling like it has what it takes to stand out from the crowd.

A Frog's Tale went up on Kickstarter last week (four days ago as of the writing of this post), and it will probably meet its $60,000 goal in the next few hours. There's still nearly a month left for the funding campaign, so the future is looking bright for this game. There are some pretty great rewards available for backing A Frog's Tale, so if it seems like something you'd be into, I definitely recommend checking it out.

The post A Frog’s Tale could be the newest crowdfunded indie darling appeared first on Destructoid.

It's cool to see someone carry this torch

Not that long ago, I was out here publicly wishing that Wario Land 4 would show up on Nintendo Switch Online as my one true hail-mary GBA pick, and I'm still trying not to get my hopes up. Admittedly though, my attention is better spent on Antonblast, an upcoming PC and Nintendo Switch indie platformer that taps into the dearly departed series' vibes.

Antonblast is already winning over fans on Kickstarter, who have pushed past the game's baseline $75,000 goal on Kickstarter with a month left in the crowdfunding campaign.

If you're anything like me, the retro action-platformer footage sells itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEuT3k1Y2ts

Summitsphere, the studio behind Antonblast, says it was directly inspired by Wario Land 4, Crash Bandicoot 2, Metroid Dread, Sonic CD, Shovel Knight, and Cuphead — quite the list!

The developers are specifically focused on delivering "tight platforming, hand-drawn animation, banger music, and crazy characters," and they're coming off of Antonball, a brick-breaking game in the vein of Mario Bros. that we've covered before on Destructoid.

One interesting wrinkle gleaned from the Kickstarter pitch: every world in Antonblast is a "mini-metroidvania with a half-hour or more of exploration each on first run."

They're echoing Wario Land's end-of-level "hurry up!" concept, which is something I used to stress over but have come to really appreciate later in life. The pitch also mentions Hard Mode, Time Trials, and a Boss Rush to complement the "five-hour" main story mode.

[caption id="attachment_323101" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Dynamite Anton in the flesh.}[/caption]

"Thank you all sincerely for your support," tweeted studio producer JB Long.

"This is a life-altering moment for all of us at Summitsphere, including myself. To see something we created rocket to viral overnight & raise its entire budget in like 7% of the allotted time is nuts. I still don't quite 'feel' it."

PlayStation and Xbox are stretch goals

Should the Kickstarter drive continue down its current path, I'd expect to see players knock out at least a few more stretch goals starting at $100,000 — more worlds, alternate playable characters, and PlayStation and Xbox versions are also possible.

Antonblast is coming to Nintendo Switch and PC, and $20 pledges include digital access to the finished game once it's out. There's a free demo, in the meantime.

The post Antonblast has real Wario Land energy and it’s coming to Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

Scariest tabletop since Atmosfear

[Update: The Dead by Daylight board game is now officially available to pre-order from Kickstarter. Both the Standard and Collector's Editions are now live at the prices noted below. Pre-orders close April 21, with copies of the game expected to ship in time for Halloween 2022.]

Behaviour Interactive's Dead by Daylight is surely one of the scariest multiplayer games on the market right now, but do you know what would make it even scarier? If you added CARDS. Think of the risk of papercuts. If you agree with me, (which you shouldn't), then you'll be happy to hear that the asymmetrical multiplayer will be headed to a tabletop near you later in 2022.

The developer has teamed with game-maker Level 99 to produce a board game based on the survival horror title. Typically titled Dead by Daylight, the new game hopes to transpose the hide 'n' hunt nature of the video game to your dining room, complete with teams of survivors, a variety of deadly killers, various missions and tasks, generators. and even a cute plastic equivalent of DbD's "hook-hanging" sequence.

"As fans of the original video game, we worked hard to capture the tension between the Survivors and the Killer on every turn," says Level 99 designer D. Brad Talton Jr. "The moment when you commit to your move and then have to hold your breath while the Killer makes their play — to me that’s the essence of Dead by Daylight."

The new game, like so many licensed board games of the modern age, will be crowdfunded on Kickstarter, with funding opening on March 29. A Standard Edition, priced at $49.99, will include six Killers, seven Survivors, and two maps, while a prestige Collector's Edition, priced at $99.99, 16 Killers, 17 Survivors, and four maps. Level 99 promises an entire cast of characters leading up to the release of the All-Kill DLC — so a lot of your favorite slashers will be in the mix.

We'll be sure to give you a reminder when the Dead by Daylight Kickstarter opens, March 29.

The post (Update) Dead by Daylight board game pre-orders now live appeared first on Destructoid.

Already surpassed the 60% mark

Independent studio Red Candle Games has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its next project — Nine Sols is a very attractive looking action-RPG that looks to blend ancient Asian culture with modern neon technology, backdropping a lone hero's efforts to rescue their realm from its cruel oppressors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luKV9hpDvw8&t

Nine Sols, described by Red Candle Games as a "Taopunk" adventure, will feature beautiful, hand-drawn 2D visuals, bringing life to a cast of mythical creatures in a tale of bravery, honor, and salvation. Set in the realm of New Kunlun, players will take up the role of long-forgotten hero Yi, who is awoken by a child in a last-ditch effort to free the world's people from the tyranny of the land's rulers: The 9 Sols.

The zen-like adventure blends platforming action and deep exploration with "deflection" based combat, with FromSoftware's samurai hit Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice cited as a major influence on Nine Sols' combat. As Yi traverses New Kunlun on their quest, they will encounter a wide cast of allies and enemies, while uncovering deep lore about the realm, its denizens, and the events that led to the protagonist's rebirth.

Utilizing gathered Jade — as well as a unique ore known as Jin — Yi is able to improve their weapons and abilities, and example of Nine Sols core philosophy of combining traditional aesthetics with futuristic, cyberpunk-style mechanics and technology.

All of this adventure and intrigue will be scored with a soundtrack that will use contemporary electronic sounds with traditional Eastern instruments, once again blending the past with the future to create a distinct hybrid of both generations. Red Candle Games hopes that this unique and distinct score will provide a "pleasant albeit experimental" auditory experience.

From details ascertained from the in-depth write-up on the official Red Candle website, combined with the great-looking test footage above, Nine Sols is already looking like something of a real gem, and has already cemented itself a spot on my watchlist. While Red Candle Games has not offered up a release window nor platforms for its exciting project, the studio notes that it has acquired PlayStation and Nintendo Switch development kits.

Full full details, check out the Nine Sols crowdfunding page right here.

The post Crowdfunding begins for stunning ‘Taopunk’ title Nine Sols appeared first on Destructoid.

On forced vacations, palette limitations, and other ruminations

"The Shovel Knight guys." That's what people call Yacht Club Games. The fact that many members of the team there worked on Contra 4, Double Dragon Neon, and many other classic IPs is often glossed over. Between five years of massive updates to his original 2014 adventure, multiple cameos in other games, and all-new titles like Pocket Dungeon and the upcoming Shovel Knight Dig, Shovel Knight casts a big shadow.

But for now, the blue burrower is taking a break, giving the spotlight on a hollower named Mina. But what the heck is a hollower? And why is the company's next big marque title a pseudo-Game Boy Color game about a whip-cracking mouse?

We got into all that in an interview with Sean Velasco, co-founder of Yacht Club Games, and Alec Faulkner, director of Mina the Hollower (currently in its last hours on Kickstarter).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7P3LNdosok

Of course, they had a lot to say about Mina, but I also wanted to "dig" into what really defines Yacht Club Games. As it turns out, this is the kind of company that sees an intern's passion for the NES games in the original Animal Crossing and takes it as a sign to hire him full-time. Not only do they discourage crunch, even in the midst of a massive Kickstarter campaign, but they also allow their staff unlimited vacation days, and force them to take at least some time off every year. And they also aren't ashamed to let you know that they may not have quite as much cheese in the bank as many may think.

It makes sense then that their next big game is about a tiny rodent who spends much of her time out of sight, concocting geo-magic underground, never sure of exactly what will happen when she pops her head up next. Ever since Yacht Club's first game, I've had a theory that each of their titles is an unintentionally autobiographical metaphor about who they are and where they're at in their careers.

We get into that too, but this time, Sean actually returned the favor. In the email chain that led to this Mina the Hollower interview, he let me know that while the rest of us see this...

He sees this.

And I couldn't be more flattered.

The post Yacht Club Games’ Intern-Turned-Director takes charge on Mina the Hollower appeared first on Destructoid.

Mina the Hollower was the big reveal

Yacht Club Games Presents kicked off yesterday, and delivered a full Nintendo Direct-style stream that revealed a new game, alongside of updates for old ones. Here's a recap.

Mina the Hollower is now on Kickstarter

As you may have heard, Yacht Club Games has announced their first non-Shovel Knight game in...forever. It's a "60 FPS Game Boy Color homage," with strong themes of Link's Awakening. It's on Kickstarter right now with a late 2023 intended release date.

You can find this portion of the stream here.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is getting a free update and DLC

A free update is coming to the existing Pocket Dungeon game, which just recently launched. It includes control over "how fast the board fills up when you fall in battle" (likely a heavily requested feature to make things easier), multiplayer tips, new portraits, and more transparency for the CPU level. It's also launching three DLC packs eventually with online vs, mod support, and new characters, enemies, bosses, items, and secrets.

You can find this portion of the stream here.

Shovel Knight Dig is "in the final stages of development"

The studio teased a new area (Grub Pit), and noted that Shovel Knight Dig is "nearing completion."

You can find this portion of the stream here.

Cyber Shadow is on sale for its one-year anniversary

We're not getting new content for Cyber Shadow per se, but it is one year old now, and it's 30% off on Switch, Xbox One, and Steam. The sales vary a bit, with Switch and Steam on sale now and running through February 15, and the Xbox sale will commence on February 8 and run through February 14. The soundtrack is on Bandcamp, too.

You can find this portion of the stream here.

If you'd rather just check out the entire 12-minute stream yourself, you can find it below.

Yacht Club Games Presents (February 1, 2022):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRq57N2egNw

The post Here’s a recap of the 2022 Yacht Club Games Presents stream appeared first on Destructoid.

A 60 FPS Game Boy Color homage

Today as part of the G4 'megaton' announcement tease, Yacht Club Games has announced Mina the Hollower, a Game Boy Color action homage.

This is the first game produced directly by Yacht Club Games under its development banner since anything Shovel Knight related, and it will also be going to Kickstarter like its older sibling. Yacht Club describes Mina the Hollower as a "bone-chilling action adventure," with a Game Boy Color aesthetic, but with a focus on 60FPS, top-down adventure framework, and "a world full of mystery and horror." The studio, like many before it, describe as a mix between "Link's Awakening meets Castlevania with a sprinkle of Dark Souls."

The studio says the game is "currently in the thick of production," but that the ideas for it are still taking shape, and there is plenty of time for feedback to form that shape. Yacht Club explains that the reason for another Kickstarter is to "return to their roots," and that although they are financing "a majority" of the project, they want to make it "more expansive." They also mention the value behind the community that's inherent to Kickstarter.

Demos are being sent out soon to various outlets, so you can expect plenty of initial impressions soon! That's a good sign in terms of their overall confidence with the product, as a suite of impressions should help people decide what to do with the Kickstarter. You can also check out the wonderful key/concept art below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oips_iKKCig

Mina the Hollower Kickstarter link

When it's ready, that Kickstarter link will be located here.

[gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="306505,306506,306507,306508,306509,306510,306511,306512,306513,306514,306515,306516,306517,306518,306519,306520,306521,306522,306523,306524,306525,306526,306527,306528"]

The post Mina the Hollower is the Yacht Club Games megaton announcement appeared first on Destructoid.

'The Panda Controller'

If you backed the Kickstarter for the new GameCube controller, you may want to check your email: it was just canceled entirely.

Earlier this year, the "Panda Controller" Kickstarter came onto the scene, boasting a new GameCube controller that could work on Switch, GameCube, PC, Wii, and Wii U, that was upgraded and customizable. Some of the incredibly ambitious features include additional buttons, custom-length triggers, a tactile/upgraded d-pad, braided cables, expansion packs, and subtle enhancements on the original design while keeping the core intact. It also had "weight pack" add-ons so you could change the actual weight of the controller to suit your comfort level, and had an optional wireless connectivity pack.

Alas, with all of the issues with global distribution (mainly the worldwide semiconductor shortage) and "ongoing rolling blackouts" at their distribution center, it wasn't meant to be. In an update this week, the creators talk about how while the project was a labor of love for three years, that there is now no way they can make their intended December 2022 delivery date.

The good news? Full refunds are being issued for the project (as they are not being collected), as the creators look for outside investment. Here's the full statement: "As of today, we’ll be canceling our Kickstarter early with all pledges fully refunded while we pursue outside investment to continue the project internally. We know how disappointing this is for many of you. We can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve given us to help make our dreams a reality."

The community seems to be supportive, as the team is hopeful that they can still make this project a reality. While it might happen years from now, at the very least people are getting their money back.

The post That nearly two million dollar Kickstarter for a new GameCube controller was canceled appeared first on Destructoid.

Co-hoperative farming title coming October 19

On one of my frequent circuits of the information superhighway, I came across Reky Studios' incoming Steam release, Bunhouse, and felt obliged to share it with all of you. It's been a pretty long week, after all, and we could all use a little of that "Team of Bunnies Maintaining a Greenhouse and Small Ownership Business" vibe this morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzoDgyTMc8U

As you can see from the trailer above, Bunhouse sees players guide a small team of our hippity-hoppity friends as they develop, build, and maintain a greenhouse, caring and nurturing for a bedrock of various plants and flowers, before marketing the more mature plants for profit, which can then be spent on expansions, new plants, and further improvements to your garden of wonder. Thanks to generous Kickstarter backers, Bunhouse hit multiple stretch goals, adding a selection of fun hats, a range of emotive animations, and even a fishing mode to the available activities.

Described by its one-man dev team as a "cute and simple" adventure, Bunhouse has been designed as a stress-free distraction from the hustle and bustle of the everyday world. Players can work on their gardens solo, or team up with friends in relaxing couch co-hop play. There are no enemies, no strict competition, just our furry friends, a pleasant setting, some plants that need watering, and a greenhouse full of possibilities.

Oh, and you can also learn a variety of yoga poses... Look, I didn't make it... Just go with it.

Bunhouse launches on PC via Steam October 19.

The post Bunhouse could prove to be the most wholesome game of 2021 appeared first on Destructoid.

You'll have to supply your own door opening sequence

The horrors of Raccoon City are set to enter your dining room, with the coming of Resident Evil: The Board Game, which is currently in the pre-production stage at Steamforged Games. The tabletop producer has announced that it will begin crowdfunding for the new title this month, with a Kickstarter campaign set to go live on October 26.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFF2F3o-hP0

Resident Evil: The Board Game is an adaptation of Capcom's original survival horror classic, and will see 1-4 players take up the roles of S.T.A.R.S. operatives, tasked with exploring the terrifying Spencer Mansion in intense co-operative action. Promising tricky puzzles, narrative twists, vicious enemies, and a labyrinthine open-world experience, the Resident Evil tabletop hopes to capture the tense, nervous horror of its notorious digital counterparts.

Check out dinky Jill!

This endeavor is Steamforged Games' latest video game adaptation, having previously produced tabletop editions of games such as Dark Souls, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 2 & 3, and, most recently, Capcom's own Monster Hunter World. Steamforged has noted that the Kickstarter for Resident Evil: The Board Game will be a 16-day "choice-driven" campaign, reflecting the adventurous nature of the survival horror franchise itself... I don't know what to tell you about that, sounds pretty odd. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Interested parties can sign up for notifications on Kickstarter right now, ahead of the campaign's October 26 launch.

The post Resident Evil: The Board Game Kickstarter campaign opens October 26 appeared first on Destructoid.

Crowdfunding site raised $13m in first half of 2021

Among the myriad half-year financial reports currently doing the rounds on the internet, Kickstarter has also dropped a slew of statistics pertaining to the various projects that have emerged on the crowdfunding site in the first half of 2021.

As noted by GamesIndustry.biz, Kickstarter has welcomed a total of 649 video game-related projects in 2021 — an increase of 61 projects on the same period in 2020, (Kickstarter notes that the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has a major effect on the amount of launched campaigns). Of these projects, 184 managed to hit their goal, raising a grand total of around $13 million USD in total. 2020 saw Kickstarter raise a total of $23 million for the whole year, so it looks like the group is on track to match and possibly smash that record.

"Overall, 2021 so far is following the same stability we have observed for video games projects on the platform," reads Kickstarter's report. "There is a steady flow of video games creations that find funding on Kickstarter, and there is no sign of decline in sight."

The most successful video game Kickstarter campaign in 2021 to date is the incredibly popular video game/web show brand Friday Night Funkin', which raised $2.2 million back in April. The second highest was farming sim Coral Island, which smashed its initial target in just 36 hours back in February, ultimately raising $1.6 million. While a pretty hefty 465 projects did not hit their goal, history has taught us that sometimes these lost projects still find fruition outside of Kickstarter, having at least gotten the ball rolling and some solid publicity. In total, over six billion dollars has been raised by Kickstarter — across all of its projects — since its initial launch in 2012.

Have you personally backed anything on Kickstarter this year? A game? A tabletop adaptation? A Star Wars remake? Let us know in the comments below! Me? No, of course not. All my money goes on coffee, tablets, and Faberge eggs.

The post Have you backed anything on Kickstarter in 2021? appeared first on Destructoid.

The card game Kickstarter launches this week

[Update: The Earthborne Rangers Kickstarter has blown past its goal, and is in the final stretch of the campaign. At present, the team has released a Tabletop Simulator (TTS) demo module for people to try before they pledge.]

Andrew Navaro has been looking to change the tabletop industry for the better for some time. If you're keen on card/board/miniature games you may have heard his name come up. He was with Fantasy Flight Games for nearly two decades, working his way up from a senior graphic designer all the way to head of studio, with one of his most recent works involving overseeing production of Marvel Champions. But in the last few years he's been working on a passion project that's very nearly ready to be unleashed into the world via Kickstarter this week: the cooperative card game Earthborne Rangers.

We had the chance to not only play a small module of the game, but speak to Navaro about some of its concepts that he hopes will change the industry forever.

You may have immediately noticed the striking art (much of which is done by Evan Simonet), and I don't blame you. Art and theme can make or break a lot of card games, and Navaro wanted to heavily focus on both of those aspects for Earthborne Rangers. I inquired about any potential Studio Ghibli influences, and Navaro was very quick to respond:

"We're trying to hit something similar to what you might see in an animated film: simply colored and shaded characters set against painterly backdrops. We're very much inspired by the work of Studio Ghibli and of Moebius, though the list of artists and creators that have influenced and inspired us throughout our lives is a mile long."

One huge aspect of the game, which the art conveys strikingly, is ecological preservation: both in the actual card game and in real life. Earthborne takes place in a civilization where the world's superpowers actually united and saved the planet, but there's still more work and stewardship to be done. As a result, Navaro is specifically aiming for a pacifist focus for the game, where problems aren't always solved through violence like most cooperative card games (or games in general really). Navaro is putting his money where his mouth is, and when asked about how that ecological production would take place, gave us an interesting reply:

"It will all come down to the total number of Kickstarter backers and where those backers are located geographically. Many Kickstarter campaigns feature a litany of stretch goals that get thrown into the product as financial milestones are met such as miniatures, cards, or more miniatures.

The Earthborne Rangers campaign will approach stretch goals differently. It will stay in the spirit of sustainability, and speak directly to the mission of the company."

As a result, Navaro will be unlocking "regional manufacturing stretch goals," which will involve separate print runs for the US, UK, and EU. This significantly cuts down on waste, as the tabletop industry enters an uncertain era with myriad shipping freight issues. He also has a very unique take, backed by decades of experience, on why it's important to move the industry in this direction, and why the winds of change are so important:

"I feel that a lot of companies are stuck in that same rut, continually trying to keep PPU [price per unit] costs as low as possible, and it's the most significant factor in their perceived inability to adopt more sustainable practices. It simply costs more money right now to manufacture games sustainably than to not. Plain and simple.

I feel like they don't believe that customers care, or think about, where their products come from or how they're made. As a result, regardless of how they may feel personally about the environment or sustainability, they're terrified of raising prices to compensate."

According to Navaro, all he needed is a little help from a friend:

"I took a lot of things for granted, and I made a lot of inaccurate assumptions, while part of a massive business that was set in its ways. It wasn't until I had made the decision to leave the company that the fact that I could do things completely differently fully dawned on me. A friend of mine who worked with me for a short time on Earthborne turned me on to a book called The Responsible Company by the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, and a lot of what Mr. Chouinard wrote in that book really resonated with me. The premise of the book, in simplest terms, is that as humans we like to make things.

Everything we make causes some harm to the Earth, so if we're going to make things, we should do as little harm as possible. Once I started thinking about what that could mean for the tabletop industry, and I considered just how far we could go if we were willing, I started to embrace the idea of trying to make an ambitious hobby-style game that was sustainable from top to bottom."

So how is the game? True to his word, in the hour-ish walkthrough/playthrough I experienced, it does feel unique to Navaro's vision in that there is a large emphasis on exploration and emergent role-playing rather than an overwhelming amount of conflict. Many cards feature small numerical reference numbers that are linked to passages in an insert that are read aloud, which adds an "NPC" element to the game and adds potential narrative choice. As a ranger (described as a mix between a park ranger and a peace keeper) you'll explore sections of Earthborne in "day" chunks, which end after a certain period of time (like following an emptied deck). According to Andrew Fischer (game designer and FFG veteran of 10 years), who demoed Earthborne for us, it's "less about good and evil and more about what is the best approach."

From there, the deckbuilding and choices begin. Navaro wants to move away from cookie-cutter deckbuilding and more toward "backstories," which add more of a narrative aspect to your deck and how you play. This is facilitated through roles (classes), which plus-up said strategy based on the deck you choose. For the purposes of the demo, we had access to the Artificer (which is keen to build up an engine of cards to diversify their options on any given turn) and the explorer (who is more focused on one-off cards and comboing them at the cost of fatigue, a value that can end your day quicker).

Think of Earthborne Rangers like an open world RPG. You'll embark upon a campaign for multiple days, and each day is a session. Players start subsequent days in the same location you ended the last one in, with the ability to pursue the critical path or embark on side missions. Navaro explains that the booklet for the game will contain a map, with different mission objectives available throughout your quest. Our mission for the demo was to explore White Sky and make contact with the villagers there; parleying with them and reaping the benefits of their fishing skills. Along the way various elemental hazards and hardships got in our way via the encounter deck: itself made up of various modules that you can mix and match, some of which involve the region you're in.

Taking on those hardships is represented by committing tokens (which are a set value at the start, but can be acquired through various means) or cards to a skill test. From there you'll draw a card from the "challenge deck" (which is a lot like the chaos bag in Arkham Horror: The Card Game), which modifies that final value. If you succeed, usually something good happens like additional progress toward an objective, or it grants a bonus effect (like healing fatigue). If not, you fail and are often fatigued.

It took me a bit of time to parse all of the different tokens and tests, and how to commit to each one, but over time it all started to come together. Even with our brief time with this limited module I really dug how out of the box the game is, as most publishers are absolutely not keen on making games that are more about the journey than conflict. Even in the small chunk of the game I played I was able to see Navaro's vision come to life. How everyone else will respond to that vision is going to be very interesting to see in the coming months.

If you want to change up how the game is played, you can swap in or out different "weather effects," which are akin to environments that drastically alter how easy or difficult a particular run is. It's a clever way to dial the difficulty level down or up without sacrificing the core throughput. But I had to follow up with Navaro to get a feel for what audience the game was for. As it turns out, basically everyone:

"If a stiff challenge is something that you enjoy, there will be an 'insane level' weather card (or cards) that will make the game far more difficult. Beyond that, since the game utilizes modular sets of cards, those sets can be combined in all sorts of ways to provide additional challenges to players who want it. Alternatively (or additionally), players can tune their decks and their stats in such a way as to make the game more difficult even without tinkering with the path deck or playing with a punishing weather card.

I will say, however, that if old school punch-the-player-in-the-face co-op mechanics are what you're looking for, this game probably isn't for you. There are plenty of other games out there that provide that experience. With Earthborne Rangers, I'm hoping to do something different. When you play it, I hope you'll discover that there's more to this genre than what you may have thought possible, and that there's a lot of fun to be had outside of constant conflict and desperate struggle."

To that end, Navaro has ensured that the game is extremely welcoming, and was "sure to play with both experienced card gamers and newcomers." He explains that both groups picked up the game quickly, before elaborating further on how low the barrier of entry is:

"From my experience, I usually have no idea what I'm doing for the first hour or so when I'm playing a card game for the first time, and then the game steadily begins to make sense by the end. I think Earthborne Rangers avoids that problem because of how the narrative actions are presented on the table.

When the choices on your turn are things like, do I want to avoid this mountain lion, or would I like to speak with this villager, or would I like to soak my feet in this hot spring, you can make decisions based on theme, not get bogged down in the technicalities of the rules, and just have fun with it. I feel that Earthborne Rangers is a great entry point to the genre. Not only because the rules are relatively easy to understand, but because the theme and the art are so approachable."

So what's in store for the future of Earthborne? Just this Kickstarter? Not if Navaro has anything to say about it:

"A lot will depend on the level of success of the Kickstarter campaign. If we get a ton of support, we'll be able to increase our production capacity and develop all sorts of content for Earthborne Rangers and for the game system we've developed. The world of Earthborne is much larger than the mountain valley in which Earthborne Rangers takes place. It is my hope to craft more stories in the setting and shine a light on other areas of the game world.

I have ideas as to where I'd like the story to go next, but we'll need the support of the community to make it happen. I'd love to do all sorts of expansions for Earthborne Rangers along with big, splashy products as massive as the core set that introduce new geographical regions to the game. When and how those products manifest will depend on the level of support we receive and on what portions of the game resonate the most with players."

Navaro isn't going at it alone either. He's assembled a super-team of sorts, with the Sadler Brothers (Adam and Bradley) involved in the core rules design and development, Sam Gregor-Stewart handling fiction and content development, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt and (the previously mentioned) Andrew Fischer working on additional design, with (also previously mentioned!) Evan Simonet handling art and Joe Banner taking care of illustrations.

The Kickstarter for Earthborne Rangers launches tomorrow, and you can find it right here when it does. In the meantime, check out some cards!

Also, here's an elevator pitch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NrKIe2EYBU

And here's a gameplay/rules breakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJrkErFmXgA

[gallery ids="275895,275896,275897,275898,275900,275901,275904,275905,275906,276515,276516"]

The post Earthborne Rangers is trying to save the planet, both in and out of the game appeared first on Destructoid.

Irresponsible Schoolgirl Simulator

[Update: Detained: Too Good for School is now live on Kickstarter. Stretch goals include language localization and console ports. O.T.K Games is looking for a funding goal of around $14,000 USD. Go check it out, looks rad!]

Publisher Thermite Games, alongside indie outfit O.T.K., (of The Vagrant fame), has announced plans to open a crowdfunding campaign for a new hyper-kinetic RPG/brawler. Detained: Too Good for School is currently in development for PC, and will be looking for contributions on Kickstarter very soon.

Described as an "Irresponsible Schoolgirl Simulator", Detained will tell the tale of a young gal sent to juvenile hall for a crime that she did not commit. After serving hard time, our young hero returns to her place of learning, with plans to teach those who sullied her bad name a lesson they will sorely regret. Get to know your fellow pupils, make friends and allies, raise a lot of hell, bust some fuckin' heads, and soon you'll find out who set you up and exact delicious vengeance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG1_L6aiJgc

While most of the title's action will be of the brawling variety, Detained will also feature a ton of side-quests and distractions. Players can take part-time jobs to earn cash, visit the gym to build up their moveset, visit the local shopping district for some retail therapy, or chill out with pals in the library. Detained will also feature a selection of potential romances, with your significant other also becoming a trusted ally on the battlefield. Beware who you befriend and who you antagonize, however, as your actions will matter in this twisted tale, which offers over 10 different endings.

While comparisons to a certain excellent brawler are inevitable, I think Detained is looking pretty rad, and right up my alley. I gotta admit I'm cringing hard at a certain element of the lead character's design — it's embarrassing, frankly — but with good scripting, a cool cast of characters, and deep, engaging fight mechanics, Detained: Too Good for School could prove to be a very wild ride and we'll be sure to give you a heads-up once the Kickstarter campaign finally goes live.

The post (Update) Punk-rock RPG brawler Detained: Too Good for School is now live on Kickstarter appeared first on Destructoid.

The "Four Fs" of success

[Update: If you want to listen to the talk in standalone podcast form, links for that can be found here.]

As of this writing, there's less than 48 hours to go on the Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem Kickstarter, though it's already been a massive success. As I told Edmund in this surprise episode of Sup, Holmes?, I wasn't sure this expansion pack would top the original. Boy was I wrong. People love Isaac, and they love it more than ever.

I'm sure the amazing crossover "Warp Zone" cards, featuring Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Hollow Knight, QWOP, Salad Fingers, Friday Knight Funkin', Celeste, Among Us, and many others didn't hurt either. But ultimately, Isaac: Four Souls Requiem exploded with popularity — sitting at around $6 million right now, nearly three times as much as the Kickstarter for the first game — because Edmund makes incredible games, and his fans know it.

I figured that's what Ed and his wife Danielle would talk about in this impromptu interview. We were supposed to chat for 15 minutes about the new game and get the audio posted as a standalone video as soon as possible. About two hours later, we finally stopped talking. We even got to see his ten-month-old baby poop in her diapers live on camera. It was a moment, and a movement, that I won't soon forget.

If you know Ed, this shouldn't be a surprise to you. Formality isn't something he's made for. At one point, he even said he didn't want to talk about "the f*cking Kickstarter" at all. Avoiding "the profit motive" is important to him, though it was clear he was excited that the campaign was doing so well. Promoting his work is like a game he's playing with his audience, where ultimately, everyone can win.

Ed and I have done many interviews over the years, but this one felt different. As I said to his face, I've rarely been this excited about where a game developer's life and career are going. After watching (or just listening) to this video, I think you'll feel the same way.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsXejAE2wzg[/embed]

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