AerielThis month there are a few Kickstarter campaigns running with very promising games in the making. Read on to discover a few visual novels that I think are worth backing!
Infinite Blue
Kickstarter Page, Android Demo, iOS Demo
Funding Goal: US $17,000
Ends on: June 16th
Infinite Blue is a mobile romance game with a chatroom simulation. After an instant messaging app was installed on your phone, you and six other boys are virtually introduced to each other. The catch is, the app can’t be uninstalled. You and your new virtual friends are determined to investigate the mystery that brought you together, and maybe you’ll find romance along the way.
Infinite Blue is strikingly similar to Mystic Messenger, but that doesn’t mean this game won’t come packed with its own unique adventure. The characters for Infinite Blue seem to have strong personalities and traits that make them unique, so it looks promising.
The game will be released as a free-to-play title with microtransactions for Android and iOS users, and Kickstarter backers will also have access to an exclusive desktop version of the game. The best part about Infinite Blue is that it will have English voice acting, so when you receive phone calls, you’ll get to hear them in English!
J-Town
Funding Goal: US $9,400
Ends on: June 22nd
J-Town is a visual novel that seeks to spotlight Japanese American culture. The game is keen on sharing the day-to-day aspects of Japanese American culture in a way that veers from how it’s usually represented. You play as the employee of an entrepreneur looking to open up a shop based off of Japanese commodities found in pop culture. You eventually get more insight on Japanese American life upon meeting members of the community.
J-Town will be free; I think it’s awesome that these developers are making something educational that’s accessible to everyone. Some interesting aspects of the game are that it’s choice-based and players will be able to navigate the conversations, learning more about thought-provoking topics.
The synopsis is intriguing, and I love the irony in playing on behalf of a business tycoon looking to open up an anime/K-pop shop in a Japanese American community, because I think it sets the story up for good character development. Overall, the game looks promising, but my only concern is that the demo link provided isn’t available to play without a password and the password isn’t provided, so that may deter potential backers from supporting the project.
Realm of Divinos
Funding Goal: CA $28,000
Ends on: June 11th
Realm of Divinos is an upcoming 3D adventure blended with a visual novel. The game features an epic high-fantasy story where players can journey to various worlds. The story branches based on your choices. You play as the forest guardian, Azure, and are tasked with the responsibility of restoring the kingdoms to their former order.
My favorite genre is fantasy, so naturally I am excited to see something like Realm of Divinos in development. The characters look interesting and the art design is incredible, especially upon seeing some of the world designs both in 2D and 3D.
There are a handful of realms you can explore in this game, but I’m most excited to see the Enchanted Forest. All in all, just from the Kickstarter campaign page alone, I can see that the story for Realm of Divinos is detailed and highly creative, so I’d be enthusiastic to back a project like this.
Wrap Up
That’s all for the Kickstarters featured for this month! I do want to mention that Twice Reborn’s Kickstarter, featured in our last round-up article, will be running until today, June 6th, at 9:59 PM PDT, so there’s still a little bit of time to back the project if you haven’t already! You can read more about Twice Reborn from last month’s feature here.
Anna Mirabella
