Helmed by UK indie developers at Foam Sword, the upcoming and entirely endearing action-adventure game Knights and Bikes, has received abundantly successful crowdfunding on Kickstarter as of today. Bringing together powerful professionals in the gaming industry, the game is in the creative hands of Rex Crowle (of both Tearaway, and LittleBigPlanet fame) and Moo Yu (also of LittleBigPlanet, as well as fan favorite Ratchet & Clank).
A co-op adventure about childhood…inspired by games like Earthbound and Secret of Mana and films such as The Goonies, we would like to take these, along with of our favorite childhood memories, and channel it all through our years of experience making games.
The team also consists of super stars such as described “Audio Daredevil” Kenny Young, who worked on both Tearaway, and LittleBigPlanet and composer Daniel Pemberton, who scored on feature films such as Steve Jobs and The Man from UNCLE, as well as games like LittleBigPlanet.
Take a glimpse at the enchanting trailer below!
Personally, I haven’t seen a game this whimsical since Double Fine’s Costume Quest, which similarly involves a high level of imagination, magical realism, and plain old hijinks. The game offers a lot for players who enjoy both great gameplay as well as an engaging story. (Fun fact for Double Fine fanatics: Tim Schafer himself endorsed his support!)
In Knights and Bikes, you can play as Nessa and Demelza on their quest for the truth behind the medieval legends of Penfurzy, an island on the fast track to financial ruin and literal destruction. Recruit a party of creatures from all walks of life, enlist and inspire deflated islanders, and embark on an adventure to find the hero the island so desperately needs.
Having reached both its goals for Online co-op, and full voice acting in English, Knights and Bikes will be made available for for PC, Mac, Linux, Playstation 4, and titan, digital storefront Steam. The Kickstarter campaign closed its bidding today, where the projected goal was $142,577 , but was surpassed at $180,284.
The game will offer both a single player campaign, alongside a co-op one. In both, players can explore the island, find treasure, battle enemies, complete quests, and solve the island’s mysterious legends. Along the way, help save the other inhabitants of the island, ride your radical (hey, it takes place in the ’80s!) bike, find a way to stop both evil spirits and the impending foreclosure of the islanders’ home!
In response to the overwhelming success in their crowdfunding campaign, devs Rex and Moo had this to say:
…there is no way for us to sufficiently express our gratitude sufficiently for enabling us to create this game, for inspiring us to know it’s worth making, and for filling us with confidence that we can do it. Thank you so much. I’ve never meant those words more genuinely in my life.
The best way for us to show you how much it means to us is to make a great game for you and we are so excited to take the next steps in this journey. We can’t wait to continue creating the world of Knights and Bikes and share it all with you.
For now, the game is schedule for a release of April, 2017.
So let’s grab a friend and get ready for a good, old fashioned adventure with that co-op!