One month in 2021 and I think this year might be a little easier to swallow than the last. So what better time to look at video game crowdfunding projects that need support? 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.

Squadron 51
Platform: Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: February 11
Estimated delivery time: September 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $16 US

Scrolling shooters are always going to be retro, but Squadron 51 is embracing an extra layer by promising a shooter with "glorious black-and-white aesthetics, live-action FMV sequences and dubbed voices." This game looks like a very old B-movie, the kind of thing Tom Paris would have enjoyed on Star Trek: Voyager if it were somehow on the holodeck (he's a pilot, you see...eh, nevermind).

Mythic Prelude
Platform: Windows
Campaign ends: February 13
Estimated delivery time: March 2023
Minimum pledge to receive the game: CA$ 15 (about $12 US)
Demo available

Mythic Prelude looks like an almost-overheard action game from the 1990s. The campaign describes it as a "16-bit inspired adventure" and claims "people have compared it with the PlayStation title Alundra and the SNES title Terranigma" but I don't see a citation on there! Seriosuly though, it looks like a challenge as the boss battles have a lot of intense, screen-filling energy blasts that the real SNES probably could not have pulled off.

Twin Tiger Shark
Platform: it's a JAMMA arcade board
Campaign ends: February 18
Estimated delivery time: December 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: SEK 1500 (about $180 US)

Twin Tiger Shark already exists - it's an indie vertical shoot-em-up - but that indie decided he wanted more so he's making "a total rework" for a custom arcade board. And take note that there is no digital tier here; backers get an actual arcade board or they get nothing.

HACK*MATCH
Platform: NES
Campaign ends: February 22
Estimated delivery time: April 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $10 US - digital only

I want to make sure I've got this right: HACK*MATCH is an 8-bit port of a "hacking-themed action puzzle minigame" that was part of a different indie game but will now become a standalone NES cartridge. Note that backers looking for a physical product must pledge at least $40 US, though that package includes the ROM file and the source code too.

Mirastell
Platform: Windows
Campaign ends: March 1
Estimated delivery time: May 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $10 US
Open beta available

Allegedly in development since 2017, Mirastell is a "2D Action-RPG" set on a dark spaceship in...space. The protagonist has nothing and knows nothing but eventually they'll have to "destroy a terrible evil" via "a unique flavor of turn-based combat."

• kickstarter
• arcade
• fmv games
• shooting games
• D Feit