I'm seeing a lot of sentiments online that spooky season starts in summer now—perhaps mid-August—and that seems to be reflected in this month's Kickstarter offerings. Of course, we don't know when or if these scary games will actually come out, but if I have to endure Christmas music in November then I welcome a few frights in September.
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.
Boss Fight Books (ends Sep 19 estimated reward date Mar 2025)
Four more tomes about video games are on the way from Boss Fight Books; they're calling this "season 7" if you're keeping track. As of this writing we only know two of the upcoming titles: EverQuest and Untitled Goose Game.
Excelsior (ends Sept 19 estimated reward date Jul 2025)
No relation to the late Stan Lee's catchphrase, Excelsior "combines simple puzzle mechanics with a top-down RPG perspective" in a new game channeling classic handheld vibes. The developers plan to release the finished game for free on itch.io—there's already a demo available—although they will also offer a downloadable ROM for use in Game Boy or Analogue Pocket systems.
Sanguine (ends Sep 29 estimated reward date Oct 2025)
I'm a sucker for classic survival horror games but Sanguine goes the extra mile, promising tank controls, two different campaigns, and even "original found footage" featuring real people. You can try the demo on Steam or itch.io.
Athanasia (ends Sep 29 estimated reward date Dec 2025)
If Sanguine (above) is here repping Resident Evil, then Athanasia is repping its lost cousin Dino Crisis. It's not survival horror, strictly speaking, as the game looks like a first-person shooter from the PlayStation 1 era. Still, there's dinosaurs aplenty and you have to get them before they get you. Try the demo!
Arcade Decades (ends Sep 30 estimated reward date Mar 2025)
Coming to you from Numskull Designs and former Retronauts contributor Kim Justice, Arcade Decades will offer "an exhilarating retrospective of 100 iconic games from the halcyon days of the 1980s." A full list of the planned entries is included on the Kickstarter page so you can see if your favorites made the cut.