Red Hook Studios has raised almost 75% of its Kickstarter goal in the first day of the campaign for its stressful RPG.
Red Hook Studios launched the Kickstarter campaign for roguelike RPG Darkest Dungeon today, and has already reached almost 75% of its $75,000 goal. The turn-based tactical game promises a combination of classic RPG elements with procedurally generated dungeons, and an element of hero sanity to consider. The game features an affliction system, which requires you to defend your adventurers’ psychological well-being as well as their hit points. Afflicted party members will develop permanent quirks, phobias, and other psychological wounds that affect their performance in the dungeon. The game deviates from the standard adventurer classes, offering options like the Plague Doctor, the Highwayman, and the Leper. The Kickstarter page outlines the tactical mechanics of the game, showing the importance of party order in the narrow corridors of the dungeon and positioning requirements for attacks.
Darkest Dungeon is Red Hook Studios’ first project. The members of the development team have worked on several other games, including HOARD, Homeworld 2, Nitro, and Monster Lab. “Darkest Dungeon is not a game where every hero wins the day with shiny armor and a smile. It is a game about hard trade-offs, nearly certain demise, and heroic reversals,” says Red Hook Studios. The developers have been working on the game for nine months, covering out-of-pocket costs themselves. If the studio raises over the minimum $75,000 target, planned stretch goals include additional classes, boss monster variants, expanded game content, and cinematics in the style of the games’ trailer. Red Hook Studios is targeting January 2015 for the games’ release, with a PC version coming first and Mac to follow. As for other platforms, Red Hook Studios says, “We are also very interested in consoles, Linux, SteamOS, tablet, and even 3DS and will make decisions about those versions based upon interest and opportunity and discussions with platform holders and publishers.” As of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has raised $57,937 from 1,658 backers.
Red Hook Studios released a trailer for Darkest Dungeon in October. The gorgeous, gothic art in the trailer and the games’ Lovecraftian themes caught my eye, and the new information about the tactical combat has put this game on my watch list.
Update: Red Hook Studios has met its Darkest Dungeon Kickstarter goal of $75,000 after just one day of fundraising.
Source: Darkest Dungeon
