Crowdfunding always carries risks, but you get the rare campaigns that smash expectations and generate crazy amounts of funding. The Wonderful 101 Remastered's Kickstarter is firmly situated in the second category now.

The Wii U underdog's total pledge amount is now well over $2 million, sitting at $2,142,521. The exact number is pretty pointless, though, because it's changed four times already in the short time it took to write this.

It seems impressive, but spread out over the 32,000 backers, it's basically as if 32,000 people bought the game once. Considering only 30,000 copies were originally allocated for sale in Japan when The Wonderful 101 first launched, it's actually quite modest in terms of overall numbers.

The Wonderful 101 Remastered's $2 mil stretch goal was Luca's Second Mission, an extra bit of DLC Platinum Games will add starring Luca. Luca, also known as Wonder Goggles, was a side character The Wonderful 101 eventually brought on board to join the hero team.

Luca's First Mission, the $1.5 mil goal, is billed as a 2D side-scrolling adventure, though there's no detailed description for what the second mission will be like.

Four hours still remain in the campaign as well, which means it's highly possible The Wonderful 101 Remastered might still reach its $2.25 mil goal of orchestral recordings for a couple key tracks from the game's soundtrack.

With all this in mind, you might be surprised to learn The Wonderful 101 Remastered is already set for a May 19 release date on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. The crowdfunding campaign was, as Platinum said, basically a way to gauge interest and see whether Platinum could stand on its own and publish its IPs like Project G.G. in the future.

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more The Wonderful 101 Remastered news as it develops. Meanwhile, check out some of the trials and triumphs involved in making The Wonderful 101 fit for modern consoles.

Development on single player space shooter Everspace 2 is moving ahead at light speed and is set for a closed backer Alpha release in late April. Today the crew released a new update to Kickstarter backers revealing extra UI elements and space hazards.

The roguelike space title now has two additional drone enemies to tangle with -- the deadly Outlaw Sniper Drone (seen below) and explosive Detonator Drone. If you aren't quick, either can take out your pilot with ease!

This latest update notably includes some major UI tweaks and the addition of several new menu screens:

• Station Home - see at a glance which interactions and services are offered for docked ships
• Storage - split off from the inventory screen for better item management
• Ship Dealer - offers detailed view mode of any nifty new ship you plan to buy
• Job Board - check out what jobs are available for pilots and their difficulty levels
• Ship - modify and view a ship's properties and upgrades

You can read the full update and check out all the new screens over here. Want to know more? Be sure to check out our rundown of the Everspace 2 presentation at Pax West for a look at 40 minutes of play. 

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Everspace 2 development news in the coming months!

Isaac Childres from the Gloomhaven team and Rob Daviau of Pandemic Legacy fame have teamed up to resurrect the Dark Tower board game. With a crowd funding campaign now live after three years of development, Return To Dark Tower will be a co-op tabletop game for 1 - 4 players.

That large black dice tower itself is the centerpiece of the game experience, utilizing a rotating, motorized core for dropping skull as well as lighted glyphs. While trying to enter the tower and defeat their adversary, players will have to cleanse and fortify buildings while avoiding corruption.

Return To Dark Tower also uses a companion app for tracking enemy cards, combat, and resource management. The Kickstarter campaign has already crossed its base $850,000 goal, sitting at just shy of $1 million as of this writing.

Like what you see? You can join on the Kickstarter here. The base game will run you $125, with higher level tiers available that include expansions and various stretch goal extras.

Watch a full two and a half hour playthrough of Return To Dark Tower's prototype build below, or check out an interview we previously conducted with Daviau about game systems over here.

Amy Brown is a well known watercolor painter specializing in fairies and other fantastical creatures. With a product line featuring calendars, statues, art books, stickers, coloring books, and more, her line is expanding to the tabletop world.

Recently, Brown partnered with Bard Games and launched a tabletop game via Kickstarter. Titled Fickle, the game features Brown's vivid artwork and is set in the fairy realm.

The goal of Fickle is to gain the favor of the fairy world and become its ruler by winning the Ritual of Ascendancy. Five fairy family decks are chosen at the start of the game. The deck is shuffled and each player receives three cards. From there, players stack their neighbor's cards in a specific order. Players can choose to keep or discard the card on top of their stack.

To win, a player can either collect five members of the same family or gather a high-scoring diverse alliance. Too many of one family can cancel out their favor. There are five rounds of play, forcing players to think quickly. 

Fickle is fully funded and pushing toward various stretch goals with three days left on its Kickstarter campaign. With 672 backers, the goal of $8,000 was quickly reached; currently, the project has just over $40,000 pledged.

Those interested can pledge as little as $1. Those who pledge $60 or more will receive the game with all unlocked stretch goals and the game's three add ons.

The base game comes with 12 family decks, the rule book, a double-sided game board, one court crier token, one phase token, and eight round tokens.

Stretch goals already unlocked include new family decks, a play mat, and the three add ons: a Fickle branded token pouch, an e-coloring book, and a token crown. The next goal, card sleeves, unlocks at 700 backers. 

[Update: As of May 7, Unbound's Kickstarter campaign is live, and the demo is available to all, not just backers.]

Romanian game developer Alien Pixel Studios has released an announcement trailer for their new platformer, Unbound: Worlds Apart.

Described as a "dark fairytale", Unbound follows main character, Soli, on their journey to uncover the secrets behind the disaster that befell their world and ruined their homeland.

The trailer features the game's signature art style, atmospheric environments, and Tim Burton-esque character designs. However, it also shows off Unbound's primary mechanic: reality warping.

Soli has the ability to create a sphere around them that acts as a portal to another dimension. This other world operates on different laws of physics, and certain abilities in the main world will be completely different on the other side.

Sometimes, this portal reveals a way around an obstacle in the main world or uncovers secrets about objects that can't be seen normally. Other times, though, it contains new enemies and traps, introducing an element of strategy in how players will overcome the challenges Soli faces.

Unbound has been in development since 2016 when Alien Pixel developed an idea based on a character who could cast a magical sphere around himself. It's easy to see how far the game has progressed since its first concept trailer.

In fact, Alien Pixel said followers can expect a demo release later this spring.

However, to help cover the costs needed for Unbound to be fully complete, the developers are planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign on May 7:

Bringing Unbound to Kickstarter will not only give us a possibility to finance the development of the game, but it will also keep us on our toes and ensure we are committed to our community. We see it as a promise to our players to deliver the best game we possibly can next year.

Interested players can follow the game's progress on Discord and Twitter

Gaming on the go can be a bit of a pain for PC gamers, who effectively have two choices. Dedicated desktop gamers pack up the entire rig: monitor, case, keyboard, mouse, and anything else they might need, lugging it along with them from place to place.

Other gamers prefer another, more portable and convenient choice: the gaming laptop. Of course, the cost-to-quality ratio is typically a bit lower than desktops, and laptops are harder to upgrade, making them even more expensive over time, but sometimes convenience rules the day. 

Now, however, there's a third option: the unEvn ONE. 

If the Kickstarter for the unEvn ONE does well, PC gamers will have a portable desk on their hands. The project launched on the crowdfunding platform recently, already clearing $11,310 of its $40,000 goal.

The cool thing about the unEvn ONE is that it's not just a portable PC, but also a desk. The top of the desk contains the working parts of the computer, such as motherboard, processor, power supply, and graphics card, as well as an arm for the monitor.

When folded up, the desk has storage space for the monitor, cables, a keyboard, a mouse, and anything else you might need to carry.

Of course, it won't be as small as a laptop, measuring in at 32" x 24" x 8". It also weighs about 55 to 60lbs.

The desk also comes with a carrying case complete with handles and straps, making it easier to carry.

When the desk goes to market, it's expected to retail at $2,499. However, over the next month, donators can purchase it at a deep discount, going as high as 50% off. This deduction is based on the pledge tier, but, of course, each tier has a limited amount and as of this writing, the coveted 50% discount tier only has one spot left.

Those looking to get a new portable rig can hit up the unEvn ONE's Kickstarter page. 

If you're simply looking for a regular gaming desk for your next build or because your old one's gotten all rickety, be sure to head over to our list of best gaming desks. 

Farming RPGs easily make up one of the most relaxing genres, but thematically, its games have gotten a little old. It's not entirely clear how much of the genre starts with inheriting land or getting tired of city life and going to the boonies for a change of pace, but in the face of Summer in Mara on Kickstarter, it's worth wondering if the formula could stand to see a little shake up.

Summer in Mara is a farming and crafting RPG set on an island, on which players build a comfortable and profitable home for main character Koa. As one might expect, island life is a little different from running a farm or workshop on the mainland as one typically does in farming and crafting RPGs.

The Summer in Mara Kickstarter promises players will be able to fish, ocean dive, and travel to other islands to trade with other characters. It's hard not to be endeared to the game's clear The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Studio Ghibli-inspired visual style.

At the time of this writing, Mara has garnered just over $100,000 in pledges on Kickstarter from 3,800 backers.

The game has reached its minimum funding goal but is now pushing into stretch goals, with the next two being the ability to customize Koa's outfit at around $125,000 and animal breeding mechanics at around $147,000.

The Summer in Mara Kickstarter is running for another 10 days, so it is very possible the game could reach its lofty goals.

Rainswept is a 2D murder-mystery game with a bit of both a supernatural and romantic edge, and its developer Frostwood Interactive is currently looking for additional funding to polish the game through Indiegogo. The project currently has a flexible goal of $4,000 it hopes to reach by August 16th, and all money contributed will go towards making the fully playable game better through improvements up to release.  

On the surface, Rainswept looks like a lot of different games. The atmosphere and general gameplay premise remind me strongly of games like Night in the Woods, Thimbleweed Park, Deadly Premonition, and of course to some extent the TV show Twin Peaks. It doesn't seem like a game that's going to light the world on fire, but looking closely shows off some more unique and interesting aspects of both the plot and presentation that make it stand out.

Naturally this small town has some dark secrets, but so it seems, does our hero Detective Anderson.

First of all, the graphics are a pleasant blend of cartoony simplicity and bright colors, all used to depict a more realistic approach to human characters and the settings they inhabit. The soundtrack was composed by micAmic, who composed the soundtracks for games such as The Cat Lady and Downfall, and whose style of music lends an ominous melancholy to the game's trailer.

The story follows Detective Michael Anderson and his investigation partner Officer Blunt, who are called on to solve the case of a supposed murder-suicide in the town of Pineview. Anderson doesn't buy the dirty local gossip that surrounds the couple whose lives were taken in the incident, and seeks to dig deeper into the case, while he and the player are confronted by the skeletons in the town's closet, and demons from Anderson's past.

The game is a narrative-focused affair, but it does still appear to have solid gameplay to work with as well. The player will have to interview the various characters found throughout Pineview, investigate locations and collect clues, all the while experiencing the story through various conversations, dialogue-trees, and cut-scenes. If Rainswept ends up being as interesting a game as its premise, then it should be a good time indeed.

Rainswept is currently planned for release on Steam in January 2019. You can check out the game's Indiegogo campaign page by clicking here.

The game also has a free demo available for download from both Gamejolt and itch.io.

(Press kit provided by Sean Braganza/Higher Electric Ground)

Madrid-based developer Crema has launched a Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming monster-raising RPG, Temtem.

Temtem takes place on a group of six floating islands known as the Airborne Archipelago, where humans and creatures known as Temtem coexist. All islands have a different type of environment, but all residents have a passion for raising and battling the titular creatures. 

As a tamer, players will forge a bond with their Temtem by capturing and training them. Temtem battles are primarily two-on-two but may be two-on-one when encountering wild Temtems, and can be one-on-one between tamers. 

Rather than just a primarily single-player experience, Temtem features a massively multiplayer online world where players can become friends, battle, and trade. Temtem's campaign will also be fully co-op compatible, and players will be able to experience their adventure together and participate in dual battles.

Additionally, Temtem will feature competitive battling where each player will pick 10 Temtem and decide which of their opponent's Temtem they would like to ban, resulting in teams of four. Competing players will be able to have both single and dual battles.

While the primary purpose of Temtem is battling them against each other, compatible Temtem can also breed to create offspring. Temtem features a distinct breeding mechanic where offspring will inherit stats and movesets but the parents will have a genetic degradation value, so they can only breed a specific amount of times.

Temtem will also include customizable housing for your player character after finishing the main campaign. The player character will also be fully customizable.

Temtem's main campaign goal is $70,000 USD, with some revealed stretch goals and others to be revealed as other goals are met. The final stretch goal is a Nintendo Switch release in addition to PC.

The Kickstarter campaign for Temtem will end on July 1, 2018. Interested players can follow the Kickstarter page, Twitter, Facebook page, or join the Discord for updates. Players can put Temtem on their Steam wishlist as well.

Keep your eyes on GameSkinny for more updates on Temtem in the future.

After a failed first go on Kickstarter, the game formerly known as Ascent is back with a new campaign and a new name: Four Stories Below. The first project developed by 2Man Game Studio, Four Stories Below is trying to synthesize the psychological thriller experience we know so well from the silver screen into a medium that allows us to take part in the events. It is planned to have PC/Steam, PS4, and Xbox One releases.

The title has you taking up the role of Brie, a young college grad that was kidnapped from the airport after having arrived in New York. When she wakes, she finds that she's in an abandoned office building and, upon further inspection of her surroundings, learns that she has a mere two hours to escape her new prison before her captors return. During the game, you find other prisoners and are forced to choose between being an ethical helper or a reluctant survivor.

The game itself takes cues from walking simulators, stealth, RPG, and survival-horror genres. As of this writing, there is only mock-up gameplay, such as the short stealth sequence seen in the above trailer. The fact that the game is played out in real time over two hours seems to be its primary hook, but with a focus on decision-making, there seems to be an intent to allow for some replayability.

2Man Game Studio is asking for $10,000 -- which they acknowledge is $5,000 less than their first go-- and provides a detailed breakdown as to what your money will go toward covering. The vast majority goes toward software and hardware, while the remaining goes toward backer fees and Kickstarter fees. Currently, they've managed to raise about 1/10 of that amount.

As always, when dedicating your money to a Kickstarter campaign, you should thoroughly look into it for yourself before making any monetary commitments. With that being said, if you're interested in checking out Four Stories Below, then you can go to its Kickstarter page here.

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Note: The author went to college with Four Story Below's creator.

The Kickstarter for Studio Aurum's upcoming indie monster-taming RPG, Monster Crown, has reached its campaign goal of $5,000 in just under 28 hours due to the support of 263 backers.

The three revealed stretch goals include an extended soundtrack at $6,000. surprise monster designers at $7,500, and cross-platform cloud saves at $8500. 

Additionally, a new exclusive monster, Blaze, was revealed for the Backer Demo. This monster can only be accessed by inputting the revealed code in the CODE menu at the breeding facility, and his coloration cannot be found anywhere else. After redeeming the code, he will appear on the farm menu to add to your party. Blaze is a Brute type and will be set at level 10. According to the developer, backers should expect more code monsters to be released throughout the rest of the month.

Monster Crown is planned to launch by February 2019 on PC, Linux, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, and Android devices.

Studio Aurum has launched a Kickstarter campaign page for their upcoming monster-taming RPG, Monster Crown.

One of the signature features of Monster Crown is that it will feature true crossbred offspring of parent creatures, creating entirely new species players will be allowed to name themselves. Monster Crown will also feature a unique switching mechanic not seen in other games.

The campaign goal is $5,000 USD, and backer rewards include getting your name in the credits; a digital copy of the game on either Steam, Linux, PlayStation Vita, or Nintendo Switch; access to a private backer demo; a digital soundtrack; a digital art book; and even the chance to design your own monster to be put in the game. Revealed stretch goals include an extended soundtrack and surprise monster designers.

Monster Crown has an estimated release window of February 2019 and is planned to launch on Steam, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, and Android. To learn more about the game, you can check out our previous coverage as well as our interview with Lead Developer Jason Walsh.

Preface: This article is in no way affiliated with SWERY, The Good Life, or White Owls Inc. I am writing this as a fan who truly wants to see what I feel could be an incredible game succeed, and have had no contact with any employees on The Good Life or any other games mentioned in this article.

When people think of SWERY, they think Deadly Premonition. While this is not an inaccurate way to imagine the co-founder of Access Games and now White Owls Inc., it definitely isn't a complete picture. Hidetaka "SWERY65" Suehiro is a certified Buddhist monk and one of gaming's true auteurs, his works offering a surreal master class on the best of what can happen when Japanese creators are influenced by Western media, whose unrelenting dedication to his own uncompromising strangeness has mixed so well with a truly beautiful appreciation of the intimate aspects of daily life that his games (particularly Deadly Premonition and D4) translate more like short films than anything else. And he needs our help.



SWERY's last outing into the world of video games was 2015's D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, an Xbox One exclusive later ported to the PC. A Boston-based and obsessed adventure game sporting a palette of interests ranging from the fourth dimension to clam chowder, mixed with SWERY's immediately recognizable eccentricity (and one of the only games made for the Kinect that actually took advantage of everything that peripheral had to offer and then some), D4 is a game that should have had it all. And it didn't.



Marked by lukewarm reviews and poor sales (and, I'd argue, being an Xbox One launch title), D4 never went beyond its first season. A little more than a year after its release, SWERY announced that he was leaving Access Games. Fast-forward to early January 2017, and SWERY returns with a new studio, White Owls Inc., and a new game, The Good Life.

After an ultimately unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign on Fig, SWERY promised he wouldn't give up on The Good Life, which leads us to its current Kickstarter. Advertised as both a "debt repayment daily life RPG" and an "action-adventure game with a slow life that isn't actually slow," The Good Life is a game that stands out as a one-of-a-kind entry into the current landscape.



Our protagonist, Naomi, takes a job at a newspaper in order to pay off her massive debt. They send her out to Rainy Woods, a rural English village. Throw in a murder mystery, the townsfolk turning into dogs and cats at night, a color palette dressed in a combination of recognizable, charming polygonal shapes and warm, small-town colors, and you have The Good Life's elevator pitch.



With one foot firmly in Deadly Premonition and the other steeped in Sweryism, The Good Life comes across as a game SWERY intends to make without concession. Whereas Deadly Premonition was faced with shoehorned combat mechanics, and D4's life was cut short, The Good Life is an honest pitch from a truly unique creator to show us what he's capable of. It's a chance for him to make something truly amazing without any limitations, and I would argue it is a chance he deserves.



For more information and gameplay footage of The Good Life, visit the game's Kickstarter page, and be sure to stick with GameSkinny for more information on The Good Life as it develops.

Jack Box Party Pack 5?

We're cheating twice with this one, but hey, this still deserves some credit. We're only speculating that Jack Box Party Pack 5 is in the works and will come out in 2018; it's a pretty safe bet. 

Some might take issue with the fact that it's a video game, but give us a chance to defend ourselves with this one. Jack Box Party Packs are THE board game alternative for parties. They're not your in-depth Euro-style board games, but every once in a while it's fun to play a simple game and enjoy a few laughs. Games like Quiplash and Fibbage bring memories of board games like Balderdash. There's typically themed trivia in the party packs, and my personal favorite, Tee K.O., is a unique take on Pictionary if it were mixed with a caption contest. The best part about these "board games" is that setup and clean up are super easy, not to mention nobody has to keep track of score.

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We hope you enjoyed this list of our most anticipated board games this year. Are there any other games out there you think are worth looking forward to, let us know in the comments below!

Argonauts: 2nd Edition

From Alcyon Creative comes Argonauts: 2nd Edition. I must admit I am a fan of Classical Greece and the mythology from Greek culture. Long before the Trojan War and Homer's Odyssey, which many of us learn about in school, there was a different group of heroes who teamed up for an epic quest for the Golden Fleece. Enter Argonauts, a game that follows the tale of Jason, his comrades, and their quest for the Golden Fleece.

Take on the roles of heroes, like Hercules, Atalanta, and Peleus, with your friends or on your own. Get on your ship, The Argo, and overcome famous obstacles like the Calydonian Boar or the Sirens! The 2nd edition of this game brings an updated rule book, updated cards, and even a little Argo miniature. Set sail and have fun, you might even learn a thing or two.

The Kickstarter for this edition ends at the end of March 2018 and we should see it around November 2018.

Dominion: Nocturne

Dominion has been around for a while now, and this deck building game has a ton of re-playability. Each expansion adds a unique element to the game and can stand alone from any other expansion, though Nocturne does require the base game. 

Published by Rio Grande Games, Dominion: Nocturne launched in October 2017, but we're still counting it. Each time you play Dominion you can try several unique strategies, depending on which cards are available to choose from. This particular expansion has been greatly received by those who have played it and adds extra levels of complexity to an already deep experience. While in-depth, Dominion is still relatively easy to understand for first time players and we can't wait to get our hands on this particular expansion for it.

Isles of Terror

Not to be confused with the mobile games publisher of the same name, Voodoo Games is a German company with a few board games under their belt since they started in 2014. Now with a bit of experience, they bring us Isles of Terror. This title is just finishing up its Kickstarter campaign and is expected to be available November 2018.

Isles of Terror looks to be a re-imagining of Settlers of Catan with more player autonomy. The aim of the game is victory points, with each adventure offering different starting states for the board. This game might take a bit of extra time to learn, but, we can't wait to try this game competitively, co-op, and even solo!

Cooks & Crooks

Andres Novelo and Luis Munoz came together to create what feels like the board game version of Overcooked, if you were trying to screw your friends over instead of helping them. They even allude to drawing inspiration from a co-op video game on their Kickstarter page: 

The gameplay from Cooks & Crooks looks fairly straightforward, almost like Sushi Go!, and the art has a cheesy aesthetic that'll make you smile. The Kickstarter campaign runs until March 8, but the game reached its base goal in just seven hours when it launched earlier this month! The game is expected to release around August 2018, so get your frying pans ready for this "cooky" time.

Stuffed Fables

Stuffed Fables features stuffed animals as they go on an adventure to save the little girl who loves them, and it seems like a great option to play with children! Players will have to work together to achieve victory on a unique storybook game board. The miniatures in the game are even paintable, allowing for an even more rewarding experience. Check out the overview in the video below.

Plaid Hat Games has done it again! The creators of Summoner Wars (not the mobile game Summoners Wars), Ashes: Rise of the Phoenix, and the BioShock Infinite board game are tremendous at writing clear, concise rules that leave no room for confusion. The rule books often have plenty of FAQs with easy-to-understand answers, so you'll never be left on your own scouring the Internet for a solution to your peculiar question.

Stuffed Fables was released on Feb. 1, 2018.

Whether we're waiting for Season 3 of Pandemic Legacy, or trying to scrounge up some money for the hefty price of Kingdom Death: Monster when it's back in stock, or if we just need a break from video games, there are a ton of great board games coming out in 2018. We can't wait to try some of them. 

Let's be honest, you can only play Monopoly with your friends so many times before you're out of friends. 

Whether you're a hardcore gamer who only plays Euro-style games, or a more casual player who wants a few laughs, we've compiled a list of board games which should be able to satisfy most people. Without further adieu, here is our list of five board games (and one bonus video game) we can't wait to try in 2018.

At its core, Mulaka is mechanically very similar to previous games like Prototype, Infamous, and Assassin's Creed. It’s an action-adventure game that pits players against mythical creatures in stunning 3D areas with a full range of light and heavy attacks. The fast-paced action requires astute observation of your surroundings in addition to keeping tabs on hidden secrets and areas in each level.

Story

The complex nature of Mulaka is easy to swallow due to the rich historical nature that was created in collaboration with anthropologists and Tarahumara leaders in order to capture the true heart of the culture in the game. You are the Sukurúame -- a Tarahumara shaman -- as you fight in a corrupted land while drawing upon the abilities of demigods to aid you.

One standout component of this game is the folklore and background that the developer Lienzo wanted to show the player: controlling a Rarámuri warrior, narration in authentic Rarámuri, and exploring the actual landscape of the Sierra Tarahumara. The story mode tells of the birth of the world and how the Sun, Moon, and Twilight want to destroy the earth. You, the Sukurúame, with the powers bestowed upon you by the demigods, protect the region. Advancing through the story gives you an enjoyable opportunity to soak in the culture and the Rarámuri language. The soundtrack is a spectacular use of preserving the music unique to the region, which is also available on SoundCloud. 

Gameplay

Mulaka does the player a favor with its minimalist approach to the on-screen presentation. The HUD uses the same graphical style used by the actual Tarahumara culture. The level of intricacy within the details of your health and D-Pad is more akin to an MMO than an action-adventure game. Given the game's slow-paced nature, it seems almost too easy to keep track of everything on the screen -- so much so that you will find yourself lost in the vibrant, low-poly visual landscape of northern Mexico, just trying to focus on a single goal.

For some, Mulaka's simplistic nature is not what they are looking for, but within the game controls are hidden moves that inflict more damage to the corrupted enemies. This more complex nature could be what they are looking for. If you put in the hours to play Mulaka, there is a fantastic action-adventure game underneath it all.

Each of your three standard lives is represented as a soul, and as you lose them, each soul gets taken by the enemy that damages you. What is stunning about that is you see the soul being ripped away and drifting towards that enemy. To retrieve your soul, you craft a magic potion and perform a ritual dance. In addition to that, you will craft various items to help you on your journey.

For the average player, Mulaka might be the right game to play for cleansing the palate after playing 50 hours+ games. It’s easy to see that many people will get through this game within a few hours, but that's not the point. Like Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the information of the world is integrated within the story. The game presents critical information to the player through the lore of each enemy and land. For instance, the tutorial eases you into the controls with totems of the spirit animals. An on-screen prompt appears with the appropriate move required.

There are points within the game, however, that feel like an unnatural means to introduce harder enemies for the player. An example of this can be found with the game's “fighting circle.” These circles have the player face about three waves of various enemies while locked within a determined space. The gameplay loop of the “fighting circle” is often used too much here -- around two to three times per level. This forced grind is a poor decision that robs the player of the option to enjoy the game how they see fit. When the same enemies are in the surrounding area, these “fighting circles” seem unnecessary. While the gameplay is fun, given the intensive care to the narrative and wonderful writing, it’s more likely that you will stick with the story and see it to the eventual conclusion than worry about the gameplay.

There’s no denying that Mulaka takes a huge risk in trying to do something unique, from the developer creating a Kickstarter to using the lore of old books and forgotten texts. This game asks the average person to pay attention to the words of the past and to how stories are told and spread, proving how different cultures can touch players through storytelling and gameplay.

Mulaka comes out February 27 for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Note: A review code was provided by the developer.

Not every video game would make a great board game or card game, but just about every video game would look good in a card deck. Video Game Playing Cards takes us 54 games closer to having every video game in a card deck by featuring 54 indie games (52 cards plus two jokers).

Launching Wednesday, Jan. 24 on Kickstarter, Video Game Playing Cards is a playing card deck featuring licensed video game art. Each card is a different game and exclusive to Kickstarter backers. One deck costs $19, including shipping. The cards are expected to ship in March 2018.

The deck features popular indie titles such as The Sexy Brutale, The Last Door, Aragami, The Count Lucanor, and more. Prospective buyers can view all 54 cards on the Kickstarter page or the Video Games Playing Cards website. The main website also includes links to each game's Steam page and each game developer's website and Twitter page.

Each card does feature licensed art from the game. The CEO of JanduSoft, creators of Video Games Playing Cards and the development studio behind Caveman Warriors (one of the 54 cards), came up with the idea as a way to showcase some of the games they've come across at events. After working extensively with various studios to secure the art licensing, the poker deck idea became a reality.

The Kickstarter campaign runs until Feb. 23. As of this writing, the campaign is already at $3,118 of its initial $2,500 goal.

Ascent, an in-development indie title, has just hit Kickstarter starting today. The first project developed by 2Man Game Studio seeks to bring the tense atmosphere of a psychological thriller cinematic experience from the silver screen to your TV screen or monitor, as it is planned to have PC/Steam, PS4, and Xbox One releases.

The title stars a young college grad, Brie, who has just been kidnapped after arriving in New York. Upon waking, she finds some documents that reveal she has two hours -- played out in real time -- to escape the abandoned office building that serves as her prison. Over the course of the game, you learn of others that have been taken prisoner and are forced to make hard decisions on your path to survival. These decisions shape not only your own destiny, but also the destiny of those around you.

The game itself takes cues from walking simulators (attention to environmental storytelling), stealth, RPG, and survival-horror genres. Currently, there is only the mock-up gameplay seen in the above trailer, wherein you can see a short stealth sequence. While the other influences are not shown in action, they are alluded to on the Kickstarter.

2Man Game Studio is asking for $15,000 and provides a detailed breakdown as to what your money will go toward covering. This mainly consists of hardware and software for both development and business applications. There also seems to be a push to create a community around the title by letting players know about development as it's underway. 

As always, when dedicating your money to a Kickstarter campaign, you should thoroughly look into it for yourself before making any monetary commitments. With that being said, if you're interested in checking Ascent out, then you can go to its Kickstarter page here.

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Editor's Note: The author went to college with Ascent's creator.

Ambition: A Minuet In Power, a roguelike simulator/dating sim game from newcomer indie developer Joy Manufacturing Company, has launched its campaign on Kickstarter as of two days ago. The game has a goal of $60,000 with 28 days to go (at time of writing) and has already reached over $13,000 in less than two days.

Set in 18th-century France, right at the turn of the Revolution, Ambition is a unique take on both roguelikes as well as visual novels, and it turns regulating your all-important social standing into the main goal of both the narrative and gameplay. To paint a better picture of what Ambition is like, here's a bit of an explanation from the game's Kickstarter page:

Many romantically focused games are like choose-your-own-adventure books with preset decisions and outcomes. Once you’ve beaten them, there’s rarely a reason to go back and play again.  

Romance in Ambition isn’t just story writing, it’s a mechanic. By engaging in liaisons with various nobles, the player gains limited access to the resources of the person they’ve seduced. The more devoted their partner is to them, the more power the player has over that noble. This lets the player influence the outcome of political events. A particularly creative (and ruthless) player can even maintain multiple secret liaisons simultaneously. Getting caught doing this, however, can have very dangerous consequences.  

How does one gain the devotion of a seduced noble? Wear their gifts out in public, attend their events, spurn their enemies, and more.  

Additionally, Ambition randomly generates the world you play in, every time. This means that every playthrough is a little different. Nobles you meet in one playthrough might not show up in another. The revolution may be a success, or a disaster. It’ll be up to you, as the player, to figure out who to befriend and who to snub, in order to ensure the best position for yourself. 

If you'd like to learn more about Ambition: A Minuet In Power, you can read our original article about the game or visit the game's Kickstarter page. You can also watch the new trailer for the game below:

Tangledeep is a rogue like dungeon crawler that takes place in a world where people live in underground villages. There's only one way back to the the world above -- the labyrinth. Taking the role of a character who has some memories of the surface world, players must travel through the labyrinth to discover what the surface holds. And soon, they'll be able to do that with the Switch. 

Developer Impact Gameworks has announced that Tangledeep will be ported to the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018. There is no release date set at this time, but more information should be coming in the future. 

Currently, Tangledeep is available to play on PC through Steam's Early Access program, and you can read our preview of the game here. 

Tangledeep was originally put on Kickstarter on March 21, 2017. Just a week later on March 28, the the project was funded. When the Kickstarter ended in late April, the project had raised $32,157 from 1,211 backers. 

Have you played the Early Access version of Tangledeep? What did you think? Excited for this Switch release? Let us know in the comments!

*Before we dive in, this preview and the trailer linked in the header are NSFW. 

In the horror genre, it's not often that you get sex to go along with your jump scares, but Lust for Darkness manages to do just that. Though this game is bound to offend some with delicate sensibilities, Lust for Darkness pairs Lovecraft, cults, and the taboo to create a new type of horror experience.

According to the Kickstarter page, the game is: 

An FPP psychological horror of seeking satisfaction on the border of two intertwining worlds. An intriguing plot with erotic and occult themes guides the player's character through the Yelverton's victorian mansion and a perverse land inspired with Lovecraft's works and paintings of Zdzisław Beksiński.

One year after Jonathan's wife, Amanda, goes missing, he receives a letter from her inviting him to a secluded mansion. Upon his arrival, it's clear Jonathan is on the cusp of a cult ceremony, and the crowd is counting down the minutes until midnight. 

In playing the alpha, the game lives up to its name. The demo is full of nudity, sex toys, masked debauchery, and glimpses of the off-putting and terrifying. Otherworldly scenes appear in wet purple and black hues only to disappear upon a second glance. Jonathan dips between the world he knows and portals to the perverse underbelly inspired by Lovecraft's works.

The demo ends with the mother of all cliffhangers, and the image of a Cthulhu-like giant looming over the castle is one that lingers in the mind once the screen fades to black. Should the full release mirror the mechanics and mystery displayed in the demo, Lust for Darkness will be a gorgeous and grotesque game that occurs when you pair the erotic with the occult. 

At the time of this writing, Lust for Darkness has achieved more than 400% of its fundraising goal and is on Kickstarter until Saturday, Sept. 30. You can wishlist the game now on Steam.