February may be known for Valentine's Day (or in certain years, the Winter Olympics) but there's nothing of that sort in this, our monthly roundup of crowdfunded video games. Almost as if I should never have brought up either of those subjects at all, weird! As always, we have no insider information or financial interest in any of these projects, and no one at Retronauts has been compensated for including anything on this page. Also, in light of the ongoing pandemic, we recommend only backing crowdfunding campaigns if you feel comfortable with your own security and stability.
Blood Nova (ends February 18 estimated reward date August 2022)
Point & click adventure games will never die! Blood Nova looks like an early 90s PC game, but with colors and themes that seem more modern. The soundtrack is square in the middle with lots of synthesizers that are a popular reminder of 80s music even if they are distinctly 21st century in their sound.
A demo of the "space fantasy opera" is already out on Steam.
Tadahito: Story of Ellis (ends February 20 estimated reward date June 2022)
This is not a campaign to fund the development of a retro-style JRPG with rhythm game elements; no, this is a campaign to localize said retro-style JRPG into English. The full game is already available in Japanese, but in order to "share this game all over the world" the creators of Tadahito: Story of Ellis will need a little help (and a few hundred dollars).
Sentry City (ends February 21 estimated reward date May 2022)
Another pixel art throwback game, this one an action platformer with cover-based shooting. The developers say they've been hammering away at Sentry City for about three years and "just need a little help from you guys to complete this project."
Affinity Sorrow (ends February 24 estimated reward date December 2024)
The Super Nintendo had a reputation for its many RPGs, but it's not like Sega ignored the genre on their consoles. This project is a brand-new RPG for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, one that is "heavily inspired by 16-bit titles like the early Final Fantasy games, Lufia, Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest and the Mana series" (funny…all those inspirations were on SNES). There's a demo available, provided you have an emulator or a flash cart around.
Curse of Rasuman (ends February 24 estimated reward date May 2022)
A self-described "love letter to the oldest Sierra and Lucasarts adventure games," Curse of Rasuman looks like it comes from the earliest days of the PC. Curiously, the developer insists there are "no puzzles" in this throwback, so the game's appeal seems to come from its aesthetics and sense of humor.
Tremblay Island (ends March 1 estimated reward date May 2022)
This is a brand-new Game Boy Advance title that's "part digital comic, part open-world game, part mystery" according to the developers. It's also going to be made available for free along with its source code. A beta build containing "four hours of mixed gameplay" is up on itch.io.