The side-scrolling sci-fi action RPG game Kova has reached the final week of its Kickstarter campaign and is still looking for backers to fund the game's development.
In the game players take on the role of Kova, a space mercenary that has found herself between paydays as she flies to a local hub in hopes of a job lead. On her way to the destination she gets shot down and is forced to land on a cold uninhabited planet.
The alpha version of the game that we played can be best described as a mix between typical side-scrolling games and the Deus Ex franchise. It does this by combining amazing artwork, lighting effects and roleplaying gameplay mechanics with dark environments and music.
Althrough the storytelling featured in the alpha version was average, the full retail game is expected to feature an extensive singleplayer campaign. Three distinct factions control colonized planets and players will be able to receive side missions from each of them.
Completing side missions will earn players reputation points with a faction. As players gain more points the dialogue with NPCs may play out differently.
Althrough Kova is a roleplaying game at its heart, it also manages to translate some of the typical first person shooter mechanics to the side-scrolling genre by featuring a fully directional aiming system.
Other expected gameplay mechanics are also included, such as fully featured crafting and leveling systems. As players move from planet to planet they will be required to refuel and maintain their ship. They can do this by either buying materials or by mining the resources and crafting it.
With the game's leveling system players are said to be able to upgrade from the smallest details like battery power all the way to cybernetics. The leveling system also reaches beyond weapons and skills, as players will have to upgrade their ship's abilities to reach the more distant destinations.
Kova made its way to Steam Greenlight last month where it quickly gained the attention of several hundreds of players.
The game was submitted to Kickstarter earlier this month where indie development studio Black Hive Media is seeking $28,000 USD in funding to further the game's development.
As of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has over 300 backers with over $9,000 USD pledged and just 5 days to go. If successfully funded, the game will be making its way to PC, Mac and Linux later this year and to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2018.
