Search Results for: kickstart this

Kickstart This! Lona: Realm of Colors

I like to think I put my money where my mouth is, and this is very true of my relationship with Kickstarter. You could say I have something of a small obsession with helping other creatives get their projects off the ground. I jumped on the Yooka-Laylee bandwagon, funded inverted-planet flyer InnerSpace (which is now getting a console release), and still hold out hope that Knite & The Ghost Lights will see the light of day.

My most recent campaign contribution was to the shiny PELDA Pro battery case for the Nintendo Switch, because, like Gollum, I wants it! That means I cannot really afford to fund any more games. Which is a shame, because if I could, I would be funding Lona: Realm of Colors (even if they do spell “colour” wrong).

Paint brushes at the ready… (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, Top Story |

Kickstart This! Epistasis

Regular readers will know of my love for No Man’s Sky, or at very least, my desire for a truly far-reaching space exploration game. I traversed land and stars in No Man’s Sky for over 60 hours, and enjoyed the freedom of being lost in its universe. However, my enthusiasm waned when it became clear that Hello Games hadn’t built an end goal. There was no deep mystery to uncover and no puzzles to solve beyond the random riddles that became rudimentary.

Unfortunately, I have not had time to return to the lush galaxies and poetic planets since the release of the updates. But part of me wonders whether I should move forward and try to find something that seeks to be the game that No Man’s Sky never was.

So follow me as we stumble though another alien portal in the latest edition of Kickstart This! (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Top Story, Xbox One |

Kickstart This! Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Space Odyssey

E3 2017 has come and gone, but there was actually very few indie titles on display at the big show this year. While the Nintendo Switch is gaining traction with indie developers for its ease of use, Sony showed no love for smaller games. Only Microsoft made a case for the indie scene, surprising given the volume of paperwork small developers have to sign before any agreement is sealed for the Xbox platform.

But there is a wealth of amazing video game ideas on Kickstarter. Though some are a little rough around the edges, and could use the input of a publisher or producer to guide them to greatness. This month I’ve chosen a project that not only speaks to topics close to my heart, but one that seeks to involve its backers at a more basic level, to create a community that will be part of every step of this odyssey. And it is presented by the one and only Neil deGrasse Tyson! (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, Top Story |

Kickstart This! The Return of Way of the Rodent

I keep promising the people of France that I will cover a French game, and I will, but not in this edition. I stumbled across a project here in the UK that I though was worth this segment. Imagine that you run a cool, semi-retro online gaming magazine. You have been doing so for 12 years, and have managed to produce 94 issues, just six away from the big 100. Then, hackers decide to corrupt your system beyond repair, erasing all that work and effort.

This is the story of Rodent. (more…)

Posted in Etcetera, Features, Top Story |

Kickstart This! Zombie Teacher

There must be something in the air in France (apart from all the political stuff), as there has been an unusually high number of game projects from the country launched on Kickstarter in the last few weeks. There’s LabyX from Yazorius in Bordeaux, a pair of games from Clermont-Ferrand (the awesome-looking NES game Twin Dragons by Antoine Gohin and building sim Sandbox by TarteUp), as well as Robi, which is in development at Xzezal in, um, “France, France.”

So, naturally, I chose a project from East London, because I used to live there. Just kidding. I chose Zombie Teacher because it looks awesome. So reach for those tasty brains and see what makes this game a delicious delight. Mmm… brains… (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, Top Story |

Kickstart This! Safe House

Ever since the release of Playtonic’s Yooka-Laylee, it feels like there has been a bit of a lull over at Kickstarter. Many had hoped that the game, crafted by Rare veterans, would harken back to the heyday of 3D platformers. Unfortunately, a wonky camera and poor level design took the wind from its sails.

Of course, crowdfunding was never the cause of this. Yooka-Laylee was born out of love by game developers, and rather than criticise it for its flaws, it should be celebrated for actually being made and released. Many crowdfunding games fall by the wayside long before they reach a beta test, but then again, many are not even as well-received as Playtonic’s project was.

Whether you consider it a success or a failure, there are other crowdfunding games that need your support. I always think Kickstarter is at its best when it becomes a platform for innovation. It often gets saturated with well-loved genres like JRPGs or retro 2D platformers, but a smaller target can force developers to get creative. Every now and again, someone comes up with a concept that is as novel as it is entertaining, and Safe House is one of those rare gems.

Let’s kick down this door and see what’s behind it! (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, Top Story |

Kickstart This! Cowgirls Vs Cthonimon

Nostalgia is brilliant for selling video games. It’s pretty much half of Nintendo’s marketing strategy. But before the age of consoles, early players were loading games via cassette on legendary machines like the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. Dundee-based developers Darrell Flood and Jack Oatley are looking back on those early days of gamingwith their new Kickstarter project, Cowgirls Vs Cthonimon.

Handbags at dawn… (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, Top Story |

Kickstart This! Pine

Those of you who were hoping for a game based around the life of Star Trek captain and Wonder Woman love interest Chris Pine are going to be sorely disappointed, and then pleasantly surprised, with Pine. This Kickstarter campaign launched just as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizons: Zero Dawn landed on shelves, reinvigorating the open world adventure genre, and leaving gamers ready to embark on another big quest. Pine limits its open world by setting it on an island, a smart design choice for an indie open world game, but more intriguingly, it asks the question, “What if man never made it to the top of the food chain?”

Let’s find out! (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Xbox One |