Checking out the Kickstarter page for Demoniaca makes it seem like the 1990s never went away with a grunge soundtrack, pixel graphics and a gothic atmosphere. But it’s the attempt to use ‘explicit violence and sexual content’ as a selling point that seems particularly outdated for this Castlevania-inspired effort.

Demoniaca

Of course many modern games do feature adult themes but nowadays they tend to aim for a either a mature approach such as the Witcher series or a satirical portrayal as seen in titles like Grand Theft Auto. Demoniaca in contrast seems to be hoping that blood and some cheap titillation will attract interest. A censored version of Demoniaca will actually be available with backers able to choose between the two, but it’s notable that even with the cheaper price of €10 ($11) only one of the thirty backers so far has opted for the censored version with most going for the uncensored €13 ($14.50) option. What a surprise, the Internet is full of perverts!

Demoniaca

Seriously though, I’m not aware of too many Kickstarter games where the sexualised content is a main feature (apart from some visual novel romance titles). However as a regular backer of Kickstarter comics I’ve witnessed (and avoided) plenty of amateurish projects that raised far more than expected due to explicit content so it is a valid tactic, although with the pixel graphics of Demoniaca it just seems even seedier than usual.

Demoniaca

With a €15,000 target the promise of blood and boobs could potentially be enough to get Demoniaca funded but there are other issues that I imagine will put off most potential backers. While the brief clips of gameplay footage do look OK there is a real lack of concrete information about the project while developer Mnemosyne doesn’t actually seem to exist yet, with only the personal website and twitter account of the director/artist available, and that alone is enough to make me steer well wide.

Track the progress of the Demonaica Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.

About the Author

Dan Miller

Dan’s gaming habit began in the 1980s with the NES and since joining Kickstarter in 2014 he’s backed over 100 crowdfunded projects - more than half of which were for video games. Hailing from the UK, he also writes for BrashGames.co.uk

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