Florida-based indie studio Talegames has put their promising pixelated metroidvania action-RPG Faeland onto Kickstarter.

The studio is hoping to raise $29,000 to finish the game on Windows PC, Mac, and Linux. Featured above, you can view the pitch video for the game.

There are plans to bring the game to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch if they reach their initial funding and can nail some (currently unconfirmed) stretch goals. The studio is also getting help from the Square Enix Collective to help promote the title.

Here’s a rundown on the game, via its Kickstarter:

Faeland is a Metroidvania Action Adventure RPG video-game in pixel art style, inspired by the nostalgic 8-Bit classics, with a modern charm for all generations. It is currently in development for PC, Mac and Linux, with Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch console ports as Stretch Goals on this Kickstarter campaign!

Gameplay

In Faeland as the player, you can freely explore the open world, traveling from one town to another, talk to friendly NPCs, learn about the game’s lore and get useful tips, commerce valuable items to improve your economics, buy new equipment and consumables and do quests to acquire useful loot while progressing in the main story. Some of the areas you need to traverse are challenging forests, caves, dungeons, castles and more. You also have to acquire new abilities and special items to gain access to previously inaccessible areas and paths. The combat style is customized through your equipped weapons, choose from knives, daggers, swords, axes, spears and bows, all with different attack animations, speeds, strengths and effects.

Story

In a fantasy world, humans have established their kingdom through centuries of peace efforts to keep a safe margin with the dark forces of magic and monstrous beasts that lurk away from civilization. Sam, our protagonist, is a skilled hunter living in a secluded cottage in the forest until one day his home gets raided by a horde of orcs and trolls.

Escaping the attack, with little left but his life, he will begin a new adventure and forge allegiances throughout his travels. Unbeknownst to him, a larger threat looms in the background and the entire realm’s survival will rest upon him becoming the hero he was born to be.

Key Features:

• Detailed hand crafted pixel-art graphics.
• Open world / metroidvania exploration style.
• Change your equipped weapons to match your preferred combat style.
• Enhance and replace your armor while enjoying the new looks on your character.
• Puzzles and riddles solving.
• Learn new skills.
• Explore large dungeons with challenging boss battles.

Enemies

Here’s a glimpse of the enemies you will encounter in Faeland. They all have been designed thoroughly, showing an art style that goes with the general game design, environments and player. They are mostly challenging for first timers, expect to fail a few times when you confront them until you understand well their behaviors! Don’t underestimate them! A lot more of these are planned to be developed following the campaign!

This will likely be “the most difficult action scene” found in the “Prototype Build” delivered to you as a backer on this campaign. “The Goblin Archers” and “The Ravens” combined will be a difficult challenge to master, but a very rewarding one, once achieved!

We have been designing and implementing the AI of our latest enemy, “The Spectre.” Even though he looks tall and scary, he is a regular enemy you will find in “The Magic Tower.” He levitates, which adds a new flavor to the combat. He teleports when you get too close and fires magic missiles towards your direction. In all, he is a pain specially when he is not alone.

Bosses

In Faeland, you will encounter massive and challenging bosses who can be found in dungeons, and also freely roaming certain areas. See below some of the Bosses’ Design Concepts!

Art

Faeland’s artwork is built up on detailed and handmade pixel art animations and graphics in an “enhanced 16-Bit” that exposes wide color palettes, widescreen resolutions, and fluid animations resulting in a contemporary, original and appealing art style.

We have used traditional hand-drawing techniques to sketch the game’s concept and designs. You can watch some of our creation process here!

Music

We are very happy to count on Shannon Mason and Jay Fernandes, teaming up to tackle the soundtracks for Faeland. They both have lifelong experiences in the video game industry, specially in the enhanced 16-bit style we are creating through Music and Art as well. Listen here to one of the themes already composed for the current Prototype Build shown at PAX East!

If you’re looking to back Faeland, head on over to their Kickstarter page. They’re currently sitting at roughly $10,000 of their $29,000 goal.