Some people claim, that if the rules of a game are interesting, original and well made – it’s bound to sell. Kickstarter seems to prove something little different. As a platform, where people buy promises rather than products, often the atmosphere and fluff surrounding the game takes the cake. One of the favourite settings, that always makes thousands of backers take out their wallets is Dark Fantasy. Mysterious, grim, often with lots of complicated lore – there’s something truly magnetic about it.
Today let’s look at most interesting Dark Fantasy themed games that came from Kickstarter.
The Edge: Dawnfall
This wargame from Awaken Realms tells a story about an endless war waged between 3 factions in a world called The Edge. There are also additional armies who join them in expansions.
“The Chapter” is made of humans who survived the apocalypse, living in cities called Refugees. They are united under a God named The One. “Conquest” is a demon invasion that came to earth through small portals hidden on meteors raining down on our planet. And finally: “The Faceless” – creatures consisting of human flesh merged with crystals and machinery. They constantly evolve into forms unknown by biology and science. The setting feels original and puts lots of impact on the feeling of despair.
Kingdom Death: Monster
Ever felt like fighting monsters from paintings by Hieronymus Bosch with a group anime-like adventurer characters? Here’s something for you. In this game you’ll meet: Gorm who looks like a deep sea fish merged with a human baby and a deadly Flower Witch. There’s also a mountain man in a face-like chest armor that looks almost alive.
The world of the game feels mysterious and there is barely any story explained, unless you look for it in the miniature descriptions. That’s intended though, as the authors wanted players to feel like survivors lost in a world, that they know nothing about. The game is currently number 1 when it comes to highest funded campaigns in the tabletop category. Edition 1.5 collected 12 300 000 USD in pledges.
Yes, dark fantasy sells.
Nemesis
Another huge success on Kickstarter and a different take on darkish settings. This time, instead of classic fantasy, we have dark science-fiction horror. It’s heavily inspired by the Alien franchise. A lone ship penetrated by mysterious creatures and a tiny group attempting to run for their lives only to remember, that they’re in deep space – many light years away from human civilization. Everything, mixed with survival oriented co-op gameplay, makes for a horrorish yet exciting experience.
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Lobotomy
Looking for something more down to earth comparing to fantasy and SF? Welcome to Lobotomy, a dark and disturbing game about… escaping mental hospital. The game plays wonderfully on one of man’s biggest fears: becoming insane. Players-patients see hospital staff as scary monstrosities. Everything works as a great packaging for game’s roguelike RPG elements. The result is an enjoyable and replayable title. Just don’t get crazy after playing too much.
The Faceless
Who said that dark fantasy is only for adults? The Faceless is a recently funded Kickstarter board game. It proves that that genre can be equally interesting for younger audiences. And what scares children more than nightmares?
A group of kids travels to mysterious Duskworld to find their missing friend Ethan. To achieve this, they have to deal with nightmarish creatures. The atmosphere of feeling lost is amplified by a movable metal compass gadget. Cartoon style graphics make everything feel less heavy but still somewhat unsettling.
Dark Souls
A tabletop game inspired by a popular action RPG video game. Many people know it mostly thanks to its insane difficulty and creativity in killing players. Board game version allows 1 to 4 adventurers to journey into the dark world of Lordran filled with people bearing the Undead Curse. Many famous enemies known from the RPG can be fought in the game.That includes the infamous duo of Ornstein and Smough as well as nightmarish Gaping Dragon with a body covered with fangs.
Part 2 is coming by the end of the week. Stay tuned!
