It’s always exciting to find a promising new Kickstater. There’s a definite rush involved, akin to finding hidden treasure. That gem today is called Prisma & the Masquerade Menace. It’s being developed by Shiny Bolt Games, who started as friends in college and went on to producing mobile, MMO’s, AAA games and even movies. They came up with the premise a long time ago and with the current technology and industry experience, Prisma is shaping up to be an even bigger game than they had ever conceived. But first, let’s talk the premise of the game.
Set in the world of Aura, Prisma & the Masquerade Menace is a puzzle platformer. While that may make some dismiss it as archaic, it definitely looks like a fascinating game. The main hook of the game revolves around switching between dimensions in order to get around. In some dimensions, you can jump higher, or smash objects, or even run at blazing speeds. It reminds me of a mix of Bit.Trip.Runner style gameplay and Klonoa style art (which is a high standard, in my book). Players control a young girl named Ray as she travels through this mysterious world. Another important character is the mischievous Fractal, who instantly reminded me of Midna, equipped with a very large mask. According to Fractal, something is amiss, as previously sedate and kindly creatures are being driven to violence. Your job is to make your way through, solving puzzles and beating bosses in order to help return these entities to their original nature.
Visually the game thus far is a mixed bag. While I rather enjoy the overall world aesthetic, especially the non human characters, Ray herself looks somewhat flat for some reason. You can see what I mean in the trailer, where whenever Ray talks she looks more like a robot than a living human being. That said, I fully expect the game to grow and improve as Shiny Bolt receives feedback, and overall I’m quite happy with the game’s potential. Though it is only set to release for Steam via PC/Mac/Linux and the Windows Store, they would like to bring the game to multiple consoles. But that can only happen if it gets funded first, which is where you come in.
The good news is, the funding goal is relatively reasonable, as it will be funded if the team gets $20,000. However, if they are able to exceed that funding goal, they have many cool stretch goals in the works, such as more worlds, additional music and the aforementioned console ports. But, keep in mind that more stretch goals means a longer production time, as is the case with any Kickstarter project.
You can back the game at a number of tiers currently, ranging from very inexpensive to massive donations. Some of the more noteworthy tiers are the following: For just $10, you get the digital copy of the game; For $30, you get a narrative PDF packet, alternate skins for Ray, instruction booklet and wallpapers plus the game; $80 gets you all previous rewards plus a styling Prisma T-Shirt; $250 gets you a exclusive vinyl LP; and for the truly generous, $1,500 has the team take your likeness and 3D print it into a figurine. There’s lots of ways to contribute, and that is always in the favor of backers.
I personally find Prisma & the Masquerade Menace looks great, and hope that it is able to reach at least the base funding goal. Shiny Bolt Games has until March 16th to get there, and they can only do so with your help. If you’re interested, be sure to check out the official Kickstarter page, and stay tuned to oprainfall for more Kickstarter news about promising looking projects!
