There's no denying that Kickstarter has become the go-to for developers, both veterans and up-starts of the the industry, to try and get their projects up off the ground. The idea of crowd funding has quickly become a norm in the video game scene, and many a solid title has been realized because of it. That said, I tend not to cover titles that go this route. At least not until they are out and available for purchase. The idea of recommending anyone to go out and back projects that are little to nothing more than a promise of bringing to life a concept, well, it's not something I feel right in doing. That doesn't stop me from keeping up on certain projects, watching for anything truly noteworthy.
Well, I feel I have found one of those projects, and it comes in the form of an unnerving adventure title called Albino Lullaby. Brought to life by developers Ape Law, a development team made up industry vets and talented newcomers alike, it's hard to question the talent behind the title.
On their Kickstarter page, Albino Lullaby is described as a game boasting a “dark, subterranean world”, a “highly interactive environment” that's ever-shifting and changing and an “impressionist art style”, designed to poke at player's imaginations.
They also promise the game will allow for different play-styles, deep characters and story, and a general lack of cut-scenes. All of which shape to lend an overall sense of control to the player.
It also has Oculus Rift support and was developed under Unreal Engine 4 - making it one of the first indie titles developed using the engine. That's just nifty!
Having been given access to a press demo for the game, I am happy to say that it seems confident in living up to its Kickstarter's promises.
Hell, it impressed me enough that the game sits safely on my list of most anticipated. The demo consists of around forty-five minutes of gameplay, providing an opening for the title and, by the end, a fantastic build-up to what is an extremely promising experience. While it did little in the way of touching on just how deep its mechanics may be, simply showing off basic stealth mechanics near the end, it provided an excellent example for it's atmosphere-dripping setting and off-putting universe.
The game plays well and looks fantastic. Just its overall idea I find highly entertaining. All in all, the demo just left me waiting for the first release in this episodic adventure.
At the time of writing, the title's Kickstarter is sitting at $7,400 of its modest $25,000 goal, leaving its success still entirely up in the air at just under four days before its end. Though the lack of traction thus far being a bit worrying, obviously. That's where I hope you guys come in. While, again, I tend to shy away from pushing projects such as these, I find Albino Lullaby to be something worth the consumers backing. Everything on show speaks of a development team both dedicated and qualified, and I am confident in them delivering a fantastic final product.
With the game in late stages of development, a release date of late this year/early next year, the success of the Kickstarter will not dictate whether or not the game is coming. It's definitely coming, though your Kickstarter backing can help ensure they have the marketing budget to really put their game out there and be noticed. Something very important in the indie scene, as you would know.
But, if nothing else, the game is coming and that has me excited.
So, perhaps you should check out the Kickstarter and see what you think of the title. I think rather highly of it myself, of which you should be well aware at this point, and give it my full support. But that's just my opinion, whatever that's worth.
Below I will provide links to both the the game's official site, as well as their Kickstarter page. There you will find more information about the game, as well as updates on the project.
With that, I leave you with this in-depth overlook of the game from the developers themselves. If you don't watch, the Grandchildren will get you. You don't want that, readers. You really don't.
