In less than two hours, the point-and-click adventure game Heir of the Dog from Lucy Dreaming developer Tall Story Games has reached its Kickstarter campaign target of £15,000. With a comfortable 28 days remaining in the campaign, the game is now valued at well over £20,000 as of this writing.
With its campaign, the developer's last game raised almost £25,000, and Heir of the Dog appears certain to surpass that amount quickly. The title is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, however it tells the tale in a humorous manner. The game, which takes place in Victorian-era London, centers on upper-class idiot Cummerbund Bandersnatch, who breaks into his uncle's lab and does something that no one should ever do. He downs a strange-looking beverage without questioning what it may be.
The same character on two sides
The Kickstarter was financed so quickly that it exceeded the developers' wildest dreams. Tall Story Games is headed by Tom Hardwidge, a lone developer who works on his own projects while his wife provides the firm with years of marketing expertise to help promote its games.
Though the consequences of the weird fluid Bandersnatch knows to drink aren't quite what he expected, the drinker is promised a fantastic time. From so on, Bandersnatch alternates between his daytime human shape and his nighttime, far more monstrous one. One of the main features of the game is the ability to alternate between day and night, which players may use to solve puzzles in creative ways.
You may enjoy the retro pixel imagery with the classic point-and-click game controls, however if you'd like, you can switch to the more contemporary controls. By playing the demo right now and experimenting with the controls and mechanics, you can get a taste of precisely what the game has in store and decide whether this is a game you want to see through to the conclusion.
Backers may get some incredible goodies from Kickstarter. Of course, you can get the game and a Discord position with a less expensive initial pledge, but the tangible benefits are what really amaze me. Along with large boxed copies of Heir of the Dog and Lucy Dreaming, a printed map, a USB tape full of digital goodies, and even a monocle are included.
With Dominic Armarto of Monkey Island fame lending his skills to the project, along with its point-and-click controls and pixel artwork, this game is right up my alley. While I doubt I'll be spending £600 on Kickstarter to secure my monocle, there's certainly a lot to love and tempt any fan of the genre into a pledge.