Welcome to Kickstart This! We know people crave independant games and that crowd-funding has become a huge industry unto itself, but maybe these passion projects need a few small tweaks. I can't personally send a ton of money to these projects, but in featuring them on GameRevolution I feel like we should have a little input too.
Mighty No. 9
This high-profile release from Keiji Inafune has already earned over $4,000,000 from fans who want to see the long-time Capcom visionary revive their beloved Mega Man, but without Mega Man. In this way, I feel like there's potential for a lot of disappointment. I suppose if you forked out $10,000 to support the game and eat a meal with Inafune, you don't really care what the title plays like.
Knowing that this God of game design is laboring away at creating the same thing over again under a different name kind of sucks, but over 64,000 people have contributed money to the game via Kickstarter. Knowing Inafune's work and the legacy he has in game development, their trust isn't misplaced but their enthusiasm might be! We'll find out soon.
Click here to go to the Kickstarter page. A digital copy of the game costs $20. There are still 5 spots left if you want a swanky dinner with Inafune, too.
HUSH
This indie game from Game Studio 78 puts teddy-toting orphan Ashlyn into, well, an orphanage. Trouble is, this orphanage is all kinds of Effed Up, and when I say Effed Up, I mean fear. That's right, poor little Ashlyn has to face off against architypal fears with a variety of different weapons inspired by toys. I'll channel Church Lady when I say "how precious."
While the game concept sounds cool from a player perspective, I can't imagine how an actual orphan would react. Don't kids in foster homes and orphanages have a fragile enough state of mind as it is? It might turn out to be a neat action game with a unique hook, but I think it'd be cooler to play a game where you need to use social skills to unite the other orphans, not mindlessly bash them because they look different.
Click here to go to the indiegogo page. Currently a download code costs €10, but donate €3000 to the project and you'll get an invite to the developer wrap party. Travel and accomodations are not included.
Kill the Bad Guy
Way to show your cards up front, Ynnis Interactive. I wonder what this game is about? Kill the Bad Guy's hook is that you use the environment around your target to make a kill look like an accident. I can't really think of many games that have done this before, but I think the concept is lacking.
Go here, go there, kill indescriminately? Without context, it's just mindless violence. Level editors and more would add to the variety in Kill the Bad Guy, but how do you know this red-faced chap from down-undah is really the bad guy?
Click here to head to the game's Kickstarter page. A copy will cost $15 but a $10,000 donation will get you the exclusive "globetrotter pack" where you and a friend will travel to France to meet the developers. Why you wouldn't just spend $10,000 traveling to Europe on your own is beyond me.
The Orion Project
This interstellar dinosaurs-vs-robots-vs-spaceships open world experience promises to bring the heat when it comes to massive science fiction experiences. Never mind that Star Citizen exists and is already fully funded.
As cool as The Orion Project sounds, especially heading to Steam Early Access and promising no subscriptions and no microtransaction powerups, it also seems like the project is way too big to get behind at an early stage. While the team is only asking for $200,000, missing that goal or hitting it and failing to ship because they need more money would be a huge downer.
Click here to visit the game's Kickstarter page. A $25 donation nets you the game, but if you feel like overspending the developers will take you to E3 with them if you pledge $10,000 or more.
