Also, of note, Adult Swim Games will no longer be the publisher for Back in the Groove as HumaNature Studios will be self-publishing the game. Johnson explains that, “Adult Swim Games has some other big titles they plan to launch this summer so when Back in the Groove pushed back, we both agreed that it made sense for them to hand us the reigns, rather than taking a chance on this getting pushed back any more.”As for the closed beta, it will last two weeks and will run from July 5 to July 19 on Steam. Those Kickstarter backers who pledged at least $60 will gain access to the beta, which amounts to “about 2500” players being able to try the game.
The original Toejam & Earl, of which Greg Johnson is the series creator, was released for the Sega Genesis in 1991 and followed the adventures of two alien rappers who crash-landed on earth and needed to find a way back to space. The game featured a very funky soundtrack, tons of parodies of 90s’ culture and was followed up by two sequels – Toejam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron in 1993 and Toejam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, which released on Xbox in 2002.
Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove launched its Kickstarter on February 25, 2015 with a goal $400,000 and was successfully funded with $508,637. The project has been delayed multiple times from its original 2015 release date, but the end now seems in sight for the team.This fourth entry in the series will play similarly to the original Toejam & Earl, but will include features from Panic on Funkotron, including the “Jam Out” rhythm-based mini-game. It will feature nine playable characters and local and online play with up to four players. Adam Bankhurst is a freelance writer for IGN and remembers playing the original game back in the 90s' and loving the funky music that would just not quit. You can reminiscence with him on Twitter.