Update (Wed 3rd Jun, 2020 15:20 BST): And just like that, Curse of the Sea Rats has been fully funded. It managed to smash its goal in just nine hours.
Original Article (Tue 2nd Jun, 2020 17:00 BST): Indie developer Petoons Studio has today launched its Kickstarter campaign to fund Curse of the Sea Rats, a new Metroidvania aiming to launch on Nintendo Switch and other platforms.
We first heard about this one last summer, with the game's 2D hand-drawn animation, 3D environments, and real-time combat mechanics leaving us rather intrigued. Players will be tasked with exploring an island, taking on creatures and "brutal" bosses as they go, all on a non-linear quest to find freedom.
The Kickstarter campaign has been put in place to generate more money for development; Petoons Studio says that the funds "will be critical to complete the project without compromising the art and quality".
Features
- Classic hand-drawn animation like the golden era of Disney and Don Bluth.
- A perfect mix of 2D models crafted on a 3D game environment for a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer experience.
- Explore a huge map with hundreds of rooms, in a non-linear quest, solving puzzles, and fighting enemies in the coast of Ireland in 1777.
- 4 playable characters, jam-packed with weapons and special abilities to upgrade.
- Discover all the secret rooms, special items, and multiple endings.
- Single-player mode: more than 12 hours of gameplay for the main quest
- Local Co-Op Multiplayer mode: up to 4 players.
- Spectacular intros and animations to discover the story behind the characters.
You can check out the Kickstarter and pledge your support here; we're only on day one, but the game has already generated almost half of its goal at the time of writing.
Do you like the look of this one? Will you be backing the game on Kickstarter? let us know with a comment.
Comments 30
Another day, another Metroidvania game.
Make it an official Redwall game you cowards
What's with the new fad of game design being either anthropomorphic, or classic "anime AF" from indies?
Like, that's all I see? Where is the stuff like Oddworld right now?
@tzahn Yes mate! Friggin' loved these books growing up. Martin the Warrior for the win💪💪💪
Another day, another Metroidvania Kickstarter
Looks nice, and perhaps even something to put on the "to buy" list, but
I definitely do NOT see anything that looks Disney or Don Bluth inspired, much less "classic animation" inspired. This is just one of those decidedly Euro-anime looking type of efforts.
There's always something off about those non-Asian anime type animations, that makes it relatively easy to see, when compared to ACTUAL anime.
Oh, and "Ratoidvania"? Cringe level increased by 10...
But having said all that, this could still be an entertaining game, so I'll keep an eye on it.
I hope that the character animations in the trailer are just placeholders because they feel very robotic and not very smooth. Disney animation was always very organic and smooth (I am looking at you Cuphead).
Looks nice! Will have to keep an eye on it.
Looking good! I I wish it had more frames for the animation to be more smooth / fluent.
Hmm, I am still not feeling it. The enviroments don't look very strong.
@panthro I already backed two on Kickstarter, enough is enough. This feels like Homebrew, where you learn the code and keep cranking it out
Lather - Rinse - Repeat
@panthro To be fair I don't even think that term makes sense anymore, just call it an open world side scrolling action game, they all have backtracking now lol.
Oh my, this reminds me of Captain Claw! I feel the environments really could pop a little more, but still, really curious about this one!
As soon as it said, "Brutal Final Bosses", I went, "NOPE". I can't stand frustrating final bosses. Hard, but fair ones are okay, but brutal just sounds annoying and frustrating. Plus, for some reason, the rats running animation looks kind of slow and off. Almost feels like it should have more weight to it. I do love metroidvanias, but I'm not really sure I'm feeling this one.
Rat lovers, unite your zenny!
In order to have an indie Kickstarter game, you must use one or more of the following descriptors:
Metroidvania
Roguelike
Dungeon Crawler
Pixel-art
Voxel-art
Hand-drawn art
"Retro-inspired"
Crafting system
Procedurally Generated
Permadeath
Twin-Stick Shooter
Any others I'm forgetting? Been a while since I saw the manual.
@SmaMan Twin-Stick Shooter is similar, but I would add Shmup.
@SmaMan "classic" soundtrack, achievement system, enticing stretch goals...
I do like the look and sound of this one! I hope it will be a great game.
@tzahn That was the first thing I thought when I saw it! 😂 On a side note, you are one of the only people I’ve ever seen mention those books! I loved them growing up (they’re what got me into reading and I was OBSESSED with them from age 8 to 13, lol), but not many people seem to have read them, which is such a shame!
@Paraka It’s been like that forever. Not a fad
@Entrr_username - They always existed, I ain't arguing that. But it's a noticeable influx, like even western development is making "anime" styled games. Every platformer seems to be an animal or buddy animal duo, too.
Not really a complaint, just an observation of the increase.
@tzahn Boy that takes me back. Redwall was my jam growing up.
Love me some metroidvania, but seeing a new one announced each day it feels, is getting tiring.
@Jooles_95 @Kalmaro Same here, I loved the series. Scratch that, still love haha. Confession, I may or may not have bought the whole series last year in hardcover form. They're like comfort food in literary form.
@panthro Stop acting like a spoiled baby. This game has actually hand drawn animation. It takes a lot of work so you should respect that.
Haha, main character wears Guybrush's jacket from Monkey Island 2.
That's how you know the devs are serious about a good swashbuckling time!
@tzahn I’m actually planning to get my hands on the entire series in English in the near future, since my beloved Italian language paperbacks mistakenly got donated when we moved to the UK almost a decade ago. 😭 They are such great books, I’ve been itching for a re-read for ages.
Now if they make the Physical happen this would be good or make it a addon.
Looks pretty. Not my cup of tea though. I may get it later as I am clearing the backlog though.
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