Founded in May 2022 by JRPG fans, Studio Camelia aimed to create Alzara Radiant Echoes, a 3D turn-based RPG inspired by Golden Sun and Final Fantasy X. Set in a Mediterranean-inspired fantasy archipelago, the game promised dynamic combat with hero-swapping and elemental magic combos, focusing on themes of camaraderie and unity. Led by industry veterans from Ghost Recon and Dead Cells, the studio funded half the project with personal savings, business angel support, bank loans, and Microsoft’s Developer Acceleration Program.

To cover remaining costs, Studio Camelia launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2024 with a €100,000 goal. It raised €294,428 from 5,089 backers, becoming one of the year’s top-backed video game projects. The funds helped create a new demo, shown at events like Tokyo Game Show and DICE to attract partners. Despite a playable demo, experienced team, and strong fan support, no publishing deals were secured.

“We are creatives, but we need funding to keep creating. Sometimes, even having a promising game concept with proven market interest and a strong team is not enough.” Studio highlighted the tough reality that even a successful Kickstarter can’t ensure a game’s completion. They expressed regret that neither they nor Kickstarter can refund backers, including those who pledged up to €800 for premium rewards, leaving some fans upset over unclear communication about the campaign’s goals.

The post Studio Camelia closes one year after securing €300,000 on Kickstarter for its JRPG project first appeared on IndieGames.

In Crown Gambit, you guide three novice paladins—Aliza, Hael, and Rollo—through the turbulent city of Meodred. The kingdom is gripped by a political crisis: many vie for the crown, villagers plot rebellion, and mysterious forces manipulate events from the shadows. It’s up to you to choose a side while navigating rivalries, conspiracies, and tough moral decisions to prevent the kingdom’s collapse.

The gameplay revolves around tactical turn-based battles where paladins wield holy weapons against bandits, knights, and beasts. You can customize your decks to suit your playstyle, unlocking a range of new techniques and attacks with dynamic animations. Combining attacks is key, as the protagonists rely on each other, and you can use Ancestral Grace powers to boost strength, though they come with serious consequences.

The game’s world is inspired by Celtic and Breton folklore, brought to life by artist Gobert’s hand-drawn illustrations. For a glimpse of what the game offers, we highly recommend checking out the trailer below.

The post Tactical Game Crown Gambit Gets Release Date After Successful Kickstarter Campaign first appeared on IndieGames.

In Starsand Island, you return to your childhood island for a heartfelt journey of healing and self-discovery. The game offers a serene escape where you can farm, fish, raise animals, and build connections with quirky locals. Its robust DIY building and customization system lets you craft your dream paradise, with multiplayer features allowing friends to join in and help shape the island.

The Kickstarter offers a variety of rewards to suit different levels of support. At the 20$ tier, early backers will receive exclusive wallpapers, and a Steam key. Higher tiers include early Alpha access, credits in the game, and a digital soundtrack. Backers can also unlock a digital artbook, unique in-game items like an exclusive pet, custom skateboard and weapon skins, and a furniture blueprint for island homes. Premium rewards offer exclusive character outfits, a custom in-game book design, the chance to become an in-game NPC, or the opportunity to name a new Outer Island, alongside a day spent with the developers.

Set for release in Q4 2025 on Steam and Nintendo Switch, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions also planned, the game has already gained traction, adding 30,000 wishlists on Steam in just one week after the Galaxies showcase.

The post Starsand Island Kickstarter Kicks Off to Craft a Cozy Life Sim first appeared on IndieGames.

In LumenTale: Memories of Trey, you embark on an journey to collect over 140 unique creatures called Animon through battles, capturing, or trading. The game weaves rich emotional storytelling as you uncover the secrets behind the protagonist Trey’s lost memories. Its fusion of tactical combat and narrative depth aims to honor classic creature collector games while introducing new elements, creating an adventure that feels both nostalgic and innovative.

Paolo Lella, CEO and Lead Developer at Beehive Studios, expressed his thoughts about the collaboration: “LumenTale: Memories of Trey is an ambitious project that strives to deliver something fresh while simultaneously paying homage to the past. It is precisely for this reason that we are thrilled to partner with a publisher like Team17, whose decades of industry expertise and unparalleled knowledge will be instrumental in supporting our vision.”

Rob Elser, Senior Producer at Team17, praised Beehive Studios’ work: “Beehive’s vision is becoming beautifully realised in the story of Trey. It is a pleasure working alongside the team as they expand the world and work to deliver an enchanting game.”

The post LumenTale: Memories of Trey Partners With Team17 Following a Successful Kickstarter Campaign first appeared on IndieGames.

Through activities like farming, fishing, and animal care, you’ll create your own peaceful oasis. The game features a detailed customization system that lets you design your personal sanctuary, while interactions with local residents add warmth and character to the story. Starsand Island also includes a multiplayer option, allowing you and your friends to build your island paradise together.

To help bring the project to completion, Seed Lab will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign. Backers will be able to unlock stretch goals and receive exclusive rewards. Additionally, Starsand Island is already available to wishlist on Steam.

The post Starsand Island Gets New Trailer at Galaxies Showcase and Confirms 2025 Release first appeared on IndieGames.

Set in a dark fantasy world, Prelude Dark Pain follows a band of heroes led by a local blacksmith named Soren, as they rise against the forces of evil. The game features over 20 unique characters that can be mixed and matched into teams, each with distinct skills and upgradeable talents.

The world is open for exploration, with handcrafted characters and battlefields. Player choices influence the story, which spans more than 20 nations and cultures, and includes over 70 different enemies. According to Arturo Martín, co-founder of QUICKFIRE GAMES, the aim is to create a deep, immersive experience inspired by classic tactical RPGs.

Objavljen je i prvi gameplay trailer, koji daje uvid u mračnu fantastičnu atmosferu i strateške borbe koje igra nudi.

The post Tactical RPG Prelude Dark Pain Heads to Kickstarter at the End of the Month first appeared on IndieGames.

Monsterpatch is an RPG farming and creature-collecting simulation with a touch of magic woven in. Incredibly, it was funded in just 16 minutes, far surpassing its modest $15,000 goal. Now, the number of backers is growing exponentially, with the campaign currently sitting at $140,000 and breaking records. We spoke with Sean to learn more about the game, what to expect from it, and his advice for other developers.

If you’d like to support the game on Kickstarter, you can do so via this link. Unfortunately, there’s no Steam page yet, but it’s in the works.

Can you tell us what inspired Monsterpatch and how it builds on or differs from your previous projects like Magicite and Littlewood?

Originally Monsterpatch was going to be a humorous roguelike that made fun of Pokémon. In order to find more things to make fun of, I bought an old copy of Pokémon Silver and Pokémon Emerald to play. As I was playing, I absolutely fell in love with these two games. So much so that I decided to change my entire game’s direction and aesthetic. I had to try an honest attempt at a monster-collecting RPG with my own unique spin on it. So Monsterpatch is very much a monster-collecting RPG at its core, which is very different from my previous projects.

You’ve described the game as a monster-collecting RPG with retro charm. What unique features are you planning to include to make it stand out in the crowded monster-collecting genre?

I’m taking all the best features of Littlewood, improving them even further, and integrating them into a monster-collecting RPG. I believe the monster-collecting genre is a perfect match with the cozy/farming genre. I’m super excited about my unique town-building system, which I really believe will elevate Monsterpatch in the sea of monster-collecting games.

The game clearly draws inspiration from classic Pokémon titles, with its dual Skyfarer and Aurora versions. Could you explain the key differences between them? Is there any benefit to owning both?

When you create a save file in Monsterpatch, you can choose which version of the game you’d like to play. You can also have multiple save files. So players will be able to play both Skyfarer version and Aurora version after purchasing a single copy of Monsterpatch. Each version will have a unique story with different antagonists, along with version-exclusive MoNs and items.

The creatures in the game are called MoNs, where did the idea for the name come from? Approximately how many creatures will be available to collect? Will there be rare “legendary”-tier MoNs with special catching methods?

I just really liked the simplicity of “MoNs”. Since the Kickstarter has been so successful, I’m doubling the amount of MoNs in the game from 108 to 216. Yes, there are a few legendary MoNs that can be battled and caught in the game.

The house sorting system for MoNs feels reminiscent of magical school tropes. Was this inspired by franchises like Harry Potter? What gameplay purposes does the magic system serve beyond creature classification?

While I was working on Monsterpatch, my wife was rewatching the Harry Potter movies in the background. This definitely had a huge influence on a lot of my design decisions. It’s how I decided that instead of “types”, my game would have magical Houses. Instead of “trainers”, my game will feature wizards that catch MoNs by using a spell with their wand. This led me to developing the Spellbook system, which allows the player to unlock a variety of ways to interact with the world.

Your team-based battle system allowing multiple MoNs simultaneously seems innovative. Was this always part of your core vision for combat?

Yes! I’ve played many RPGs over the years and I much prefer combat systems that have multiple party members. Having 4 MoNs in battle at once opens up a lot of exciting possibilities with multi-target moves, position-based moves, and unique MoN synergies.

With over 2,000 backers and surpassed funding goals, has this level of support matched your expectations? How has your existing fanbase contributed to this momentum?

Currently, we’re only on day 6 of the Kickstarter campaign, and yes, the overwhelming amount of support so far has definitely exceeded my expectations. I’d say it was largely due to the community I’ve built across all socials. Kickstarter does a great job too at notifying backers of your past projects.

At just $20 for base support, the campaign seems very accessible. With popular rewards like Design-a-MoN selling quickly, what additional stretch goals are you considering as funding continues to grow?

I’ve got a lot of fun and exciting Stretch Goals planned. These range from unique game mechanics to more familiar ones that can be found in popular monster-collecting games. There might even be a console port in there somewhere!

Looking back at Magicite, your first big PC game, what was the most defining moment for you as a developer, and how did its success shape your future projects?

I think it was when Magicite got featured on the front page of Steam while simultaneously getting covered by Markiplier, a popular Youtuber. That really catapulted Magicite into a level of success that my previous mobile games never achieved. This allowed me to go all in with game development.

You’ve worked on a variety of genres, from the multiplayer survival of Magicite to the cozy town-building of Littlewood and even art for Kindergarten. How do you decide which ideas to pursue next?

It always comes from me wanting to play a certain type of game. I was really into Terraria, Minecraft, and roguelikes when I created Magicite and Roguelands. A few years later I was fascinated by Animal Crossing, so I had to try making a cozy peaceful RPG, which became Littlewood. Kindergarten is a crazy, wacky game and I don’t know why we made that one. But it sure was popular.  

You’ve been in the indie gaming scene for over a decade now. How do you think the industry has changed since you launched Magicite in 2014, especially for solo developers?

Steam wasn’t so crowded back then. As long as you got greenlit, it was super easy to get noticed without too much competition. Nowadays there are dozens of games being launched every day on Steam. But not just the quantity, the quality of indie games has certainly gone up, so I’d say the competition is very stiff now. If you’re a solo developer you better pick your genre carefully and start building a social media following as soon as possible.

Crowdfunding has been a big part of your career. Do you think Kickstarter is still a viable path for indie devs today, or are there new challenges that make it tougher than it was back then?

Kickstarter is great! I think it is very viable for indie devs today, as long as you run a campaign of your own BEFORE the Kickstarter campaign. Marketing is the least fun part of being an indie developer, but it’s so important. Get in the twitter/instagram/reddit trenches and build a following for your game, THEN consider launching a Kickstarter to help you get across that finish line.

As someone who’s worn every hat in game development, what advice would you give to new indie devs trying to break into the industry in 2025?

Start small. Release bad games. Be comfortable with failing. Anyone can start a project, but 99% of those that do will never click that launch button. Give yourself strict deadlines, and stick with them. Build your unique brand as an indie game developer. Authenticity goes a long way.

How do you balance the pressures of solo development with your personal life, especially with a new project like Monsterpatch on the horizon?

I’ve always struggled to maintain a healthy work-life balance. I’m trying my best to be diligent with only working during work hours, and to not work when it’s time for friends and family. Seeing the insane support for Monsterpatch is making this quite difficult, though. Despite the crushing pressure to deliver a fun game, I find comfort knowing that I have the best job in the world. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

The post Sean Young on Monsterpatch: Unique monster-collecting game with RPG and farming elements first appeared on IndieGames.

The original Monster Crown game came out as a physical copy for Nintendo Switch and Steam in 2021. Players and streamers loved its unique Crossbreeding System that lets you combine monsters in countless ways. We got to talk with Walsh (the game’s creator) and Ahab (director of Sin Eater) about what to expect in the sequel. They also told us about the Kickstarter campaign that offiically launched.

Can you give us an overview of what Monster Crown: Sin Eater is about and how it builds on the foundation of the original Monster Crown?

Ahab: Monster Crown: Sin Eater follows Asur, a young man who has always dreamed of becoming a Monster Tamer. He looks up to his older brother, Dyeus, the most famous and respected Tamer of their time. But after a tragic turn of events, Asur is forced to leave home and begin his journey. Along the way, he clashes with the Beastman Corps (grotesque hybrids of man and monster) and the Four Heavenly Kings, superhuman rulers who govern the Crown Nation in place of Taishakuten, the mysterious Lord Regent. Taishakuten resides atop the impossibly tall Meru Spire at the heart of the nation.

In both narrative and gameplay, Sin Eater boils down on the first game’s essence and expands it into something bigger and better. The narrative is approachable to both returning fans and new players. I truly believe its themes, and the eccentric, larger-than-life characters, will resonate with all kinds of players. I would venture to say that it’s biblical in its scale and poses some fundamental questions about the genre it belongs to at the same time.

We held nothing back in refining Monster Crown, defining it, perfecting it, and then pushing it to its absolute limit. I can confidently say that what we’re doing here is unlike anything else out there.

How has your experience of developing the first Monster Crown influenced the direction of this sequel?

Jason: Monster Crown was my first game. We were also lucky enough to have a lot of people take interest early on. The game’s quick popularity and growing fanbase was not something I was prepared for, and the project I imagined would be considered beyond the scope of a single developer by most anyone. Creating unique hybrids for every monster was an immense undertaking, so was the sprawling world and various secrets were a significant workload (including a whole secret second continent). I became quite ill during Monster Crown’s development and now have a disability.

Even our harshest critiques seemed to agree that Monster Crown had something special bubbling beneath the surface, it just had to be refined and made more accessible. Looking back on that whole saga of my life, it was clear how to address the lacking aspects of the first project. Thanks to the success of the first game, we had the funds to hire a dedicated team, each with an expertise in programming, art, music, or story-writing. All of these wonderful new team members just “get” Monster Crown at its core.

The top (and really only) priority for us this time around is to make the best Monster Crown game, make it as polished as possible, and leave nothing up to chance for fans. Ensuring we had a demo that will prove to fans that this is a serious upgrade removes the need for anyone to just blindly trust us. Give Sin Eater’s demo a spin on the 25th and you’ll be hooked; no one breeds just one monster, after you see one crossbreed creation you’re going to make 20 more immediately after!

The Kickstarter for Sin Eater launched on March 25, what can backers expect from the campaign in terms of rewards, stretch goals, or exclusive content?

Jason: At the heart of Monster Crown lies “responsive depth”, the more you experiment and unleash your creativity, the more the game rewards you with content, challenges, and discoveries. This core philosophy remains stronger than ever in Sin Eater.

Our Kickstarter stretch goals include:

• Free expansions for all players
• Exciting new challenges for veterans and newcomers
• Custom playthrough options (including special codes to begin your adventure with a monster of your choice)
• Unique “Design an Attack” and “Design a Tamer” tiers that let fans directly shape the game

Imagine players worldwide facing your custom creations, complete with your name attached! Monster Crown’s unparalleled depth comes from true individuality: you control every aspect of your team’s appearance, colors, abilities, and moves. These aren’t just static species templates.

After completely revamping the battle system (our beta testers are already breeding incredibly powerful new monsters), we’re excited to include ranked online multiplayer as a stretch goal. This is particularly meaningful because while Monster Crown 1’s combat didn’t meet our standards, Ahab has transformed it into a brilliantly strategic system. Combined with our crossbreeding mechanics, you’ll never know what terrifying combinations your opponents might throw out mid-battle!

The original Kickstarter raised $45,000, which you described as feeling like “winning $1 million” What are your funding goals this time, and how will the funds be used to elevate Sin Eater?

Jason: I’m glad you mentioned that. The campaign in 2018 for the first Monster Crown was beyond measure in excitement for me. The feeling of people believing in my dream project, the chance to really make it real blew me out of the water. As a first time dev, our goal was 10% of what we ended up raising and I really didn’t have perspective on completing a game and the amount of art and design upgrades we’d use those funds for; it was also just me working on the game, so I didn’t need to pay myself anything.

The first game ended up doing quite well, enough to fund a dedicated team for two years, some of them doing this full-time. While I’m really proud to have invested the profits back into Monster Crown, we now need a bit of help to complete the last 5-7 months of development.

This incredible team is definitely doing this for a great rate because we all believe in the project, and we are all friends and just love working together. Our meetings each week are a blast and we’re always having fun shaping this new pinnacle for Monster Crown. If we secure the funding for this final chapter of development, we’re aiming to continue to create new Monster Crown games for our fans, each exceeding their expectations from the last.

What’s one thing you’d say to convince someone hesitant about backing Sin Eater to join the Kickstarter?

Ahab: Give the demo a try. It’s free, a few hundred megabytes and it runs great on low-spec machines. If you’re just breezing through to see what’s what, you’ll get a few hours of awesome, free monster-taming content, but if you’re a hardcore player – you’ll get a lot more.

Jason: We’re at a point where we’re ready to let the results speak for themselves. I know what we’ve got cooking is something truly special, so if someone asked why to join, ideally, I’d just step aside and let them sit at my PC. I know they’ll love what they see.

The original Monster Crown was praised for its robust crossbreeding system. How is this mechanic evolving in Sin Eater?

Ahab: In the original game, interacting with the Crossbreeding System was basically entirely optional, and you could only do it at one location. In Sin Eater, it’s a key part of how you’ll play. Monsters are balanced such that, generally speaking, you’ll encounter monsters that have good moves but not so great stats, or good stats but not so great moves.

You’re meant to put these creatures together like building blocks, think about what you’re doing and construct a team that’ll take you to the top. Every major city in Sin Eater features a Breeding Barn, where you can breed monsters and even fuse monsters (which has its own mechanical implications now), so you’re never too far away from the facilities. If you’re good at the game, you can even build your own facilities at your home to have even more direct access.

In addition to the standard carryovers from the first game, we’ve implemented our own take on “Abilities” – Positive Traits and Negative Traits for every species, which are inherited by the offspring. This means Players will have to think tactically about how they’re going to breed Monsters to mitigate the negative trait while taking full advantage of their favorite positive traits. Our playtesters have already gotten many hours out of trying to break the system!

Are there new monster types, regions, or gameplay systems that fans can look forward to in this sequel?

Ahab: Monster Crown: Sin Eater takes place in The Crown Nation, a brand new region that has similarities to the first game’s Crown Island but has a geography, history and culture all its own (along with many new monsters to encounter).  A big part of the game’s mystery for returning players will be things like, “Huh, I wonder why that thing from the first game is back here?” and so on, for new players, its an entirely novel experience. 

The core five types remain intact as a simple interaction chain so we focused instead on making elements clearer for players and building systems around the types as a simple gameplay core with a tremendous amount of depth if you get tricky with it! With the new level of depth to the battle system we also have more push and pull with debuffs and status conditions, so battles are layered, multi-faceted and extremely fast paced.

The first Monster Crown faced delays due to underestimating the polish needed. How are you approaching development timelines and quality assurance for Sin Eater?

Jason: There were some surprise issues that popped up during the first game’s development. First off, the project began as something quite humble, a very simple project that was more of a “tech demo” for a breeding system I came up with. After the Kickstarter’s success, things changed. I realized this game had the potential to be a large, expansive and high quality indie game.

The Kickstarter funding allowed me to hire professional artists to improve visual elements that I had previously created alone, this naturally expanded the game’s scope. We also committed to greatly expanding the open world, which further increased our ambitions. On a personal note, during the first game’s development I developed a serious illness that left me with ongoing physical challenges I still manage daily.

For Sin Eater, everything changed from day one:

• We started with a full dedicated team
• Established clear quality standards immediately
• Applied hard-won lessons about organization and production

The demo represents a true vertical slice, the Kickstarter funds will simply let us maintain this quality through completion. Regardless of campaign results, our development timeline and quality standards won’t be compromised.

We’ve also significantly improved our testing process:

• 5x more internal testers than before
• Ran a private beta weeks before the demo launch
• Conducted a 50-person stress test (including lucky fans, creators, and our inner circle) to push the game to its limits

This time, we’re operating as a proper studio, every decision reflects our serious commitment to delivering Monster Crown: Sin Eater as a polished, complete experience.

Beyond the Kickstarter, what’s your vision for Monster Crown: Sin Eater in terms of release platforms and post-launch support?

Jason: Monster Crown: Sin Eater is our most focused project yet. We’ve made strategic cuts to our platform targets and localization plans to concentrate solely on Steam and Nintendo Switch. If the game succeeds, we’ll explore partners for additional ports or translations. With the first game, we overextended ourselves – underestimating how complex porting and localization really are. While many companies can handle those tasks, only we can create Monster Crown, so we’re playing to our strengths!

Our Kickstarter stretch goals include free expansions, ideas we’re already excited about and have clear visions for. But our priority is delivering an incredibly strong core game first: something truly fun and polished. Like any passionate indie devs, we’re bursting with ideas for extra content, but we’re keeping ourselves disciplined until we nail the main experience. After that… well, we might just go crazy with creativity!

As a studio, our mantra is “Focus.” That single word is guiding every decision, and I know it’s the path to success.

The post What’s New in Monster Crown: Sin Eater? We spoke with founder Jason Walsh and game director Ahab to find out first appeared on IndieGames.

Longdue has confirmed that Lenval Brown, the unmistakable voice of the narrator in Disco Elysium, will be a key part of the project, lending his voice to one of the main characters in the game. In addition, Martin Luiga, founder of the ZA/UM cultural association and a writer who contributed to Disco Elysium, has joined the team to help craft Hopetown’s narrative and systems, aiming to tell a rich story rooted in the past, present, and future. Piotr Sobolewski, who led a 15-person team on Disco Elysium, is also involved in the project.

Set in a mining town undergoing decay and transformation, Hopetown presents a world where words are the most powerful weapon, and every choice leaves a lasting impact. Players take on the role of a journalist uncovering corruption, ambition, and the fragile systems holding society together. The town is a battleground of extremes—from the dark depths of the mines to the gleaming surface, promising progress yet riddled with corruption.

Additionally, the game introduces a psychogeographic system that reshapes how players interact with the game world. Emotions, memories, and conversations replace traditional mechanics like keys and levers, becoming tools to unlock doors, alter landscapes, and forge relationships.

The post Hopetown is a New CRPG and Spiritual Successor to Disco Elysium That Explores the Power of Words and Environmental Influence first appeared on IndieGames.

Armed with an ancient wand and a spellbook, the goal is to capture and train MoNs, battle rival wizards, and engage in activities such as woodcutting, mining, and crop cultivation. Battles are fast-paced and strategic, featuring a 4v4 system that allows players to customize their teams based on their needs. Beyond combat, the game also offers relaxing activities like farming and interacting with NPCs, who can settle in your town as it expands.

The Kickstarter campaign is set to launch on March 25, though the exact release date remains unknown. Monsterpatch is expected to launch on PC via Steam, with a likely release on Nintendo Switch as well.

The post Unique Monster-Collecting Game with Retro Charm, Monsterpatch, Announces Its Kickstarter Campaign first appeared on IndieGames.