Games I'm Rooting For
Prank Masters
For Windows, Mac, and Linux
An otome visual novel from an Australian indie. I love the artwork and what we can see so far of the characters, including the "prank master" heroine Juliet. I don't know what sorts of pranks she'll be pulling or what we can expect from the routes and story overall, but I'm sold already. It looks to be genuinely fun and funny. It doesn't hurt that Juliet and her two girl friends are real cuties.
Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~
For Windows, Mac, and Linux; PS4 and PS Vita stretch goals
Okay, I'll admit it. This one is just weird. And that's what drew me to it; the dichotomy of moe zombies isn't something I've experienced before. I won't bother trying to describe the game in detail as you'll just have to see the trailer, screenshots and descriptions yourself, but basically the protoganist seeks to find some way to mass produce the cure for the zombie outbreak his father has developed. Most of his moe friends are zombies that have somehow retained their self-awareness. The game will have both visual novel and jrpg elements that the concept mock-ups on the KS probably don't fully do justice (the sprites and CGs however are already of a fantastic quality). If nothing else, gotta give these guys props for a unique concept, even in the very oversaturated zombie game market. Looks like the Washington-state-based Mr. Tired devs will be finishing this game even if this KS and their Steam Greenlight campaign don't work out, so I guess I'll get to play it eventually regardless. Here's hoping it does work out so the quality and time frame don't suffer.
A Hole New World
Windows, Mac, and Linux; Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, and PS Vita stretch goals, possibly OUYA at a later date
Apart from making me break into song every time I read its title, this game has nothing at all to do with Aladdin. It's a retro 2D platformer with NES-style graphics paying homage to classics like Megaman and Castlevania while promising "modern playability" (still looks pretty hard to me). It even has 8-bit and 16-bit music and can be played with an NES controller if you have a USB adapter. This has actually already reached its minimum funding goal and as such is set to be funded in a few days. It has some pretty sweet stuff getting added if stretch goals are met. I'll definitely be playing this in December.
Satellite Rush
Windows, Mac, and Linux
I wasn't sold on this top-down procedural roguelike shooter at first, but I'm glad I gave the trailer a chance. I always dig the idea of a protagonist who is really just an ordinary guy without any special abilities or powers, and indeed your character seems to be a short, terrified, fat little nerd, no doubt the typical hardcore gamer. Looks to be at least as difficult as the likes of Super Meatboy. Doesn't hurt that it's super cheap. I'm sure I'll be breaking my controller when the game releases-- or perhaps even sooner, since a demo is available that I'll be trying soon.
Renoir
Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One
A game that is at the moment being developed pat-time by an indie dev in the Czech Republic of all places. Looks to be a puzzle-platformer like Limbo, The Swapper, or The Cave, with a focus on story, with Noir aesthetics. You play the late detective James Renoir and have to avoid direct contact with light. To do so, you have to solve puzzles by possessing victims at crime scenes to move around and do stuff for you. Supposedly they won't be able to work on this full time and get it off the ground if they don't get funded here, even though they've been at least greenlit on Steam. They've got my vote, so to speak.
Love Series
Windows, Mac, and Linux
This is my favorite project on Kickstarter, so it makes me very sad indeed that it probably won't reach its very reasonable funding goal at this rate. I think the art is gorgeous, especially for an indie visual novel. The trailer shows that the music and sound will be phenomenal in the final product as well, and I have high hopes for the character interactions and routes. This Kickstarter is in fact two games plus the related manga: 不変の愛 and 愛のため (Undying Love and its sequel True Love) and a third unrelated VN is also included for backers if it gets funded. Most exciting of all is its promise of Japanese voice acting as a reasonable stretch goal. But it probably won't get funded. :'( Bad story bro.
Already Funded Games I'm Stoked For
^^^This is Ruffles. She is the destroyer of worlds.^^^
The Human Reignition Project
Windows, Mac, and Linux
Another fantastic-looking VN from dev Sekai Project. Although I backed it and have very high hopes for it, I honestly know very little about it besides its obvious quality, and that it will have several routes and endings. It has a long demo available on the KS page or on itch.io that I'll be sure to play/read/whatever when I have some more time.
Project Phoenix
Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, and PS Vita (there is also a planned iOS and Android version which will obviously be quite different due to the inherent technical limitations).
This is probably the very best JRPG coming to Linux, as it really is coming from Japan and "features AAA talent from both the East and West." My description of it can't do it justice, but it will be everything that a good JRPG should be, with Japanese and English voice talent, and superb art, music, characters, in-game pets, and gameplay. Best of all? Our adorable heroine is named Ruffles. I would be sold on that alone. I preordered Alpha Access. Alpha's predicted time frame of "late Q2 2015" can't come soon enough.
Yooka-Laylee
Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U
If you follow video game news, then you've probably already heard about this one. If not, it's definitely worth a look if you dig 3D platformers. I crave good old-school kid-friendly 3D platformers, which don't really come out much these days. Yooka-Laylee is getting developed by creative talent from Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, so it will definitely deliver. Even in this early stage of development it looks awesome. Too bad we won't get to play it until late next year.
Quern: Undying Thoughts
Windows, Mac, and Linux; possibly Xbox One and PS4 release at a later date
I've never played the Myst series so it's hard for me to comment on this; they say right off it's a first person adventure game inpsired by Myst. That said, the visuals are gorgeous and the description is impressive and I'm glad it's coming to Linux. I love adventure games, so I'm sure this will be a day one purchase early next year.
Shenmue 3
Windows and PS4
Unless you've been living under a rock in a remote cave four miles down while avoiding mutant mole-men attacks then I'm guessing you've heard about this, since it broke Kickstarter records. If you indeed haven't heard, then the Shenmue franchise I remember hearing so much about as a kid is getting revived after well over a decade. It's not coming to Linux PCs so I won't be buying it personally, but it's really exciting regardless to see something like this brought back from the dead. It just goes to show that you never know what can happen with game franchises.
Games That Should Be Killed With Fire Rather Than Funded
Eternal Ephebe
Hopefully nothing
I... I don't even know what to say. Just... what? What is this? Pedobear appears to a primary in-game enemy. This has to be a joke. I can't read French so I can't guess what this guy was thinking, much less smoking. Some "faith in humanity" restored upon realizing not a single person has backed it.
Games Which Failed to Be Funded
Cross Reverie | The Trial of Nightmare
Windows, Mac, and Linux; possibly PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One depending on how things go down with Sinxsoft's private investor.
A jrpg by the indie dev Sinxsoft in Montreal, Canada that looks legit cool and is the sort of thing which continues to convince me that the only real differences between a "AAA" and "indie" game are publicity and budget. As a Linux gamer, I jumped on this project when I learned they'd be supporting Linux PCs from the start because, even though we're getting more and more (many funded by KS like this) there's still a relative shortage of jrpgs on the platform. I love the character models and sprites and have high hopes for the story and combat. Can't wait.
EDIT: This has been moved to this section because it was mysteriously cancelled by Sinxsoft just recently even though they no doubt would've gotten funded at this rate. Something about getting sponsored by someone, if the claim made in the comments is accurate. So we'll definitely be getting the game eventually, but at the moment I don't know what's going on with it.
2nd EDIT: They had another update not to long ago which, despite confirming that they do in fact have some sort of financial benefactor backing them now, honestly raised more questions than answers. Evidently they couldn't take both this mysterious sponsor's money and KS money. Who knows. Still going to be a cool game when we finally get it.
Voxelnauts
Windows, Mac, and Linux; no definite plans for console releases, but "they want to" release them for those platforms at some point.
This one was a real shame. I personally think it had bad timing, as I heard about it back during the Steam summer sale. People didn't have deep pockets for backing future games then because they were spending like mad on dozens and dozens of games on Steam that they'll probably never finish. The last update though indicates they're still actively working on it, so it's not all bad news. This is definitely a game I'll be buying and wish it had worked out on KS. They're developing the game entirely on Linux (but it will of course be released for all major PC platforms) so ideologically speaking I'm 100% behind it. Though I'm not huge on Minecraft-type games normally, this looks to be quite a cool little game. Looking forward to being a part of Alpha tests later this year.
I'll be adding to/editing this a lot in the next few days.
) But man... approx 15 USD messed me up, because I'm Canadian, so I totally forgot it was even more (Especially in the last week, when we dropped hugely)
