Author: John Scalzo

David Sirlin was the Lead Developer on Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, but he struck out on his own a few years ago, and his love of fighting games has now lead him towards Fantasy Strike, which is currently in development for the PC and PS4. Fantasy Strike is described as a “deceptively simple” fighting game, but it’s also said to contain the “precision and timing-based gameplay” that professional players crave.

Both sides will be able to explore the game further in the new trailer embedded above, as well as through the game’s crowdfunding campaign on Fig. Sirlin is looking to raise $500,000 to complete development of the game, and hopes to release it in Summer 2018.

However, backers who pledge $49 or more will receive an “Early Early Access” copy to begin playing the game a few days after the campaign ends in August. An “Early Access” tier is also available at pledges of $24 and above, and it’ll grant backers a Steam Early Access code for Fantasy Strike towards the end of 2017.

“Controlling your character is simpler than in just about any other fighting game,” Sirlin said. “We don’t have joystick motions… we don’t even have CROUCH. The difficulty all comes from deciding what to do and when to do it. We’re very interested in gameplay depth, we just want it to come from your decisions. That approach has allowed us to draw in a much wider audience at trade shows than would usually be interested in a fighting game.”

As of this writing, Sirlin has raised $47,677 towards Fantasy Strike’s development.