Last year, we covered the announcement of the beautiful hand-drawn Metroidvania Afterimage. Created by Shanghai-based developer Aurogon Shanghai (famous for creating the GuJian games — a series of RPGs set in ancient China) released a Kickstarter campaign a few months after revealing their game. And today, the company has announced that they have smashed their target by over 600%.

Aurogon Shanghai aimed to hit HKD$117,384 (USD$14,978) but that target was surpassed within 40 hours of the Kickstarter launching. Today, the final total sits at HKD$729,949, which is over USD$92,000!

This means multiple stretch goals have been reached for the game, which means more new content! This includes new gameplay areas, a traditional Castlevania-style boss rush area, dubbed cutscenes, more equipment, a new weapon class, and even a brand new character! The additional character will be available as DLC, but those who backed the game will receive them for free as a nice little bonus.

Executive producer Yang Ziliang spoke of his inspirations for Afterimage, which include some of the Metroidvania genre's best:

I enjoyed Metroidvania when I was a kid. Even when I barely knew about game genres, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night created a lasting impression about what a game could be. After Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, a long time passed until Hollow Knight and the Ori franchise brought Metroidvania to a new level.

You can expect the polished excellence of many indie Metroidvania's with Afterimage, but with that added layer of gorgeous, unique visuals. You'll be getting:

- 2D side-scrolling ARPG Metroidvania, all in hand-drawn art style
- Seamless semi-open world with over 15 different areas to explore
- Roughly 25-30 hours for a first playthrough
- A diverse selection of weapons with special attacks and skills, plus various talent upgrades will help you form your own battle style
- Over 40 epic original soundtracks created by Aurogon Sound Team
- Choose your own adventure – a massive storyline and multiple endings await you!
- …and of course Kickstarter exclusive rewards!

We still don't have a firm release date for Afterimage, but it is expected to find its way onto the Switch late this year. We think it's one to keep an eye on, even amidst the sea of Metroidvanias on the console. You can find out more about the game on its Kickstarter page, and you can also try out a free demo on Steam.

Have you backed Afterimage? Will you be picking this up? Let us know.