The shortest month of the year has arrived, and this may be the shortest list of video game Kickstarters I've ever written. Coincidence? Probably, it certainly wasn't due to a lack of searching on my part!

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.

The Shadow Maze (ends Feb 9 estimated reward date April 2023)
The campaign is lacking in a lot of the finer details (no demo, no gameplay footage, small screenshots) but developer Choloco insists the "retro pixel-art adventure game" is nearly complete after years of work. They cite the 1989 Amiga game KULT as the primary inspiration behind The Shadow Maze, though with its Giger-esque aesthetics, Choloco admits it does resemble the recent indie sensation Scorn.

Shera & the 40 Thieves (ends Feb 10 estimated reward date September 2023)
This "time-based platformer" designed to run on the NES has already been completed, but developer CrazyGroupTrio wanted to give the project a second-pass. They also want to produce physical cartridges for the game so people can actually play it on their consoles, a costly endeavor to say the least. There's a free demo of this "definitive edition," or you can outright buy the original release if you're eager to dive in right away.

Alien Xenocide (ends Feb 24 estimated reward date June 2023)
A fast, frantic, score-driven platform-action game that evokes memories of the early arcade classics, Alien Xenocide has a playable demo available right now on itch.io and demands your attention.

LSD: One of Us (ends Feb 27 estimated reward date July 2023)
Like Shera listed above, this is an NES-style video game that has been completed but solo developer Eber seeks the necessary funds to produce physical cartridges. Unlike Shera, this game sounds like it's named for a popular hallucinogen, but Eber says that LSD, to him, means "surprise, astonishment, amazement, epiphany, a-ha moment." I've certainly had my share of those while using the other LSD, so I suppose they're not far off.

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