Traditional point-and-click games are in pretty good shape on PC these days, if you know where to look. Andy was a fan of Wadjet Eye Games' Unavowed, Pip chose The Lion's Song as her personal pick for 2017, and I had a good time with funny occult adventure Darkside Detective last year. That last one is now getting a second 'season', should it hit its modest Kickstarter target of £31,104.
As I write this, developer Spooky Doorway is about to cross the halfway point. Since the crowdfunding campaign only began last week, it's looking pretty good for hitting the target. Like the first game, the second season will contain six episodes, and follow Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley as they uncover bizarre, otherworldly mysteries. The tone is what makes Darkside Detective so enjoyable: "it's warmly funny and offbeat, like a detective drama that isn't rubbish" is what I said, according to a banner on the Kickstarter page. It's simple point-and-click fare, but the pixel art is lovely, and the music by Ben Prunty brings its world to life. Spooky Doorway also added three extra episodes after launch, which is nice and generous.
The developer explains the rationale for a crowdfunding campaign, despite the first game making money. "Yes, the Darkside Detective Season 1 made us some cash, but a lot of that went into porting the game and making new content for it. More is being invested into further ports and localisation of season 1. And, as we made season 1 with no budget, we had some debts to clear. We do however have some money left over, which is going into Darkside season 2. But games aren’t cheap to make and we need a little help to bulk out what we have. That’s why we’re only looking for €35k."
The Kickstarter runs until October 12. The lowest tier that offers a copy of the game is the €12 mark, and the release is targeted for 2020.
