Greetings and salutations, Retronauts readers! We have a new roundup of video game crowdfunding projects for your potential approval. 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.

Elementallis
Platform: Windows, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: June 3
Estimated delivery time: June 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: €15 (about $19 US, digital only)
Demo available

Elementallis is a self-described “Zelda-like” where the magic number is eight. Players will explore a world with eight different biomes and eight dungeons to clear. To do this requires mastering the eight “elements” of the game that bestow various powers and can be combined for even more uses.

Note that backers interested in a physical copy of the game must pledge at least €55, plus shipping.

Oink Games Plus
Platform: Nintendo Switch; they “hope to expand to other platforms in the future”
Campaign ends: June 4
Estimated delivery time: December 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: ¥2,500 (about $23 US)

I was a kid who grew up playing a lot of board games but now that I’m an adult and meeting friends in person requires weeks of planning (as well as anti-pandemic precautions), I don’t really play them much anymore. Oink Games wants to create a platform that allows players to enjoy their catalog of board games online. The project has met its funding goal but for each stretch goal they meet, Oink Games will increase the number of titles included in Oink Games Plus.

Note that ¥2,500 covers the basic digital package, but backers can also support the project by ordering physical editions of Oink Games’ creations a la carte.

Okat
Platform: PC. probably
Campaign ends: June 9
Estimated delivery time: August 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $5 US, digital only

I’m always going to hype young creators whenever possible and Okat is a game being made entirely by one 14-year-old. It looks like an early 3D action title so that’s kind of retro, too. Good luck, BatYaggy!

Pocket Bravery
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X/S
Campaign ends: June 11
Estimated delivery time: October 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $20 US, digital only
Demo available

I love fighting games and I love indie games; this is an indie fighting game project so of course it’s getting a nod here. The developers shout out "Street Fighter, Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters" as influences, naturally, though they also highlight less appreciated titles like Pocket Fighter and the handheld fighters seen on the Neo Geo Pocket.

StarCrawlers Chimera
Platform: Windows
Campaign ends: June 22
Estimated delivery time: September 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $18 US. digital only
Demo available

First-person games are popular and turn-based games are popular but you don’t often see first-person turn-based action games. StarCrawlers Chimera also has “procedurally generated elements” with an optional permadeath feature for those who want to go full rogue like.

Making Mega Man
Platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, ChromeOS
Campaign ends: June 22
Estimated delivery time: July 2021!
Minimum pledge to receive the game: ¥24,840 (about $224 US)

This officially licensed edutainment tool lets players both play and tinker with a Mega Man game, learning the basics of programming in the process. It’s expensive because this isn’t just software, there’s a physical component as well: Players build their own motion-controller and modify it to change how Mega Man (or Protoman, or even Dr Wily) operates. 1988-me would have gone absolutely bonkers over this; 2021-me just thinks it neat.

Repugnant Bounty
Platform: Game Boy (Color?)
Campaign ends: June 27
Estimated delivery time: September 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: CA$ 20 (about $17 US, digital only)

This is a good pitch: “Game Boy games have been in our lives for quite a while, and we want to bring back that sense of challenge, difficulty, and exploration to the old brick.” Repugnant Bounty (what a great title!) is a Metroidvania being developed for the original Game Boy, though the creators caution that if they encounter too many technical limitations, they may port the project to the Game Boy Color instead. Sounds like a win-win!

• kickstarter
• mega man
• board game
• D Feit