Kickstarter can be a ruthless creature, especially with so many exciting projects left unfunded, but the Aethyr Kickstarter is having no such problem. In fact, the action RPG has already reached more than twice its original target. Aethyr offers a huge amount of customization as you go dungeon crawling in the aftermath of a mystical apocalypse.
Aethyr is being developed by just two people, with Atticus “Labyrinth” Walker, the game’s designer, developer, artist, and programmer joined by fellow artist, designer, and animator Andre “Asarge” Sargeant. Having started the Aethyr Kickstarter campaign with a $15,000 target, the game has already smashed that target and currently sitting at just under $34,000 from 1,679 backers with eight days to go. No stretch goals have been added to the Kickstarter page, suggesting that both Walker and Sargeant are focusing more on the business side of the game now.
Aethyr has been in development for just over five years. It takes inspiration from the “Golden Age” of RPGs, seeing the game revive the classic 16-bit design of 90’s role-playing games. The upcoming release will have players exploring a world gone to ruin after an “arcane apocalypse.” Your job is to uncover what caused all this end of the world mess, a job that’ll have you exploring ancient temples built to worship eldritch gods. Hopefully that means the game will have an adorably terrifying pixelated Cthulhu hanging around somewhere.
To help you out with this job, the game offers a massive variety of weapons, items, armor, and spells. And the game’s descriptions sounds like it will be veered towards those of you who like a bit of tactical thought with your combat, as Walker describes Aethyr‘s combat as one that “focuses on critical decision making, fast-paced reactions, and spatial awareness, rewarding skilled players by forgoing any luck or chance.”
Aethyr is aiming for a release in 2020, though the platforms the game will arrive on—other than PC—haven’t been specified yet.
