Kickstarter Kompilation: September 2023 edition
Fully 50% print projects this month!
Phew, I just flew in from the U.S. and boy are my arms tired! I should not have spent my entire time on the airplane lifting weights. Anyway, neither muscle soreness nor jet lag can stop me from rounding up video game Kickstarters and bringing them to you in list form.
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.
Sacred Line 2 (ends September 2 estimated reward date Jan 2024)
I hadn't heard of Sacred Line, a freeware first-person adventure game that later became a very different experience when reimagined for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Now a sequel is on the way, also for Genesis, and lead creative Sasha Darko wants to crowdfund development as well as produce physical cartridges. For a taste of Sacred Line 2, try the demo.
Nemulesis & Leggite Luta Livre (ends September 15 estimated reward date Jan 2024)
Developer John Vanderhoef has already completed work on Contra-esque Nemulesis and beat-em-up Leggite Luta Livre for the NES, part of what he calls the Muleniverse. This campaign exists to fund a run of custom carts for these latest games in his oeuvre, although backers may choose from any of Vanderhoef's past works when selecting a reward.
32 Bit Library: Volume 3 (ends September 16 estimated reward date Mar 2024)
We've seen a number of books aimed at chronicling all the games (or at the very least, the best games) for a given console, but this is a little different. In each volume of his 32 Bit Library series, author Darren Hupke focuses on a single publisher, with Konami taking center stage this time. Note that Hupke is not the sole writer involved, with the list of guest contributors including a few names Retronauts fans should know like John Linneman and Kurt Kalata.
DOOM at 30 (ends September 20 estimated reward date Dec 2023)
Another print retrospective, but this one dedicates its complete attention to Doom for its upcoming 30th anniversary, purportedly covering the entire series—including sequels, mods, and even movies. I'm excited to see Kerry Brunskill's name amongst the contributors to this project, given her prolific body of work.
Brutal Complex (ends September 25 estimated reward date Aug 2024)
The RPG Maker series of tools continues to fuel the development of 2D surreal games. Brutal Complex creator brutal_vap acknowledges this new project owes a debt to other RPG Maker works like Yume Nikki, although they aim to release the game in Japanese, English, and possibly more languages if certain stretch goals are met. A demo is available on itch.io but it lacks any localization.
Reload Magazine #2 (ends September 25 estimated reward date Oct 2023)
A "Retro and Retro Inspired indie FPS publication," Reload Magazine looks both ahead and behind at the genre, highlighting mods and indie shooters as well as covering classic games. The first issue is available for free online, along with a sample of this second issue.
