The World War II multiplayer shooter throwback Battalion 1944‘s Kickstarter is now successfully funded, with 26 additional days of campaign left to further its success.
Kickstarter’s greatest successes, with regards to video games, have been found in resurrecting genres that still have large audiences and yet major publishers don’t find financially feasible. Broken Age is an example of this with regards to adventure games, Pillars of Eternity an example of classic Black Isle western RPGs, and Yooka-Laylee a return of N64-era 3D platformers — just to name a few. Today’s latest success is a similar story, this time capitalizing on the once prolific World War II multiplayer shooter.
There are 26 days left in Battalion 1944‘s Kickstarter campaign, but the throwback to classic Medal of Honor and Call of Duty shooters has already surpassed its goal. The goal itself was surprisingly meager, reaching for $142,577 in capital (£100,000 converted). If that goal was met, the team at Bulkhead plans to double it with their own funds. As of right now, supporters have contributed over $180,000. It’s safe to say that Battalion will be pulling in quite a bit more over the next 26 days.
Bulkhead clearly states that they consider £200,000 to be what they need to create the full realization of Battalion 1944. They haven’t provided any plans for stretch goals in their Kickstarter pitch. Yet now they will definitely have to start planning for the future. Apparently the audience for World War II multiplayer shooters is just as passionate as adventure game, western RPG and 3D platformer fans.
What exactly is Battalion 1944 and why are fans so excited to support it? We’ve already referenced its largest influences, both Medal of Honor and Call of Duty‘s World War II shooter origins, plus the nod to Battlefield‘s beginnings is also obvious from the title. Yet there’s much more to this genre than simply the settings, especially since it’s forgoing the single-player campaign and focusing entirely on multiplayer.
Let’s go over exactly what Bulkhead believes defines the classic World War II shooter. Okay, maybe just the core points, since Bulkhead lists 15 major points of focus. The heart of it, as it should be, is “raw, skill-based gameplay.” Similar to the philosophy behind arena shooters, Bulkhead wantsBattalion to be less about unlocks and abilities and instead all about pure player skill. This main ideal drives both high-level competitive play and throws new players immediately into the experience that Bulkhead wants them to have.
Other main points of focus include: realistic environments, pushing 2016 high visual fidelity standards just as 1990’s standards were met in classic WWII shooters; map variety that encourages the visceral action that fans expect from a WWII shooter; modern standards for animation using mo-cap; LAN support and dedicated servers, as well as official servers for serious ranked play; heavy community interaction, as Kickstarter projects deserve. Bulkhead will also be introducing an amount of character customization, a modern shooter feature that won’t effect gameplay.
Battalion 1944‘s goals and message should be clear — Bulkhead wants to stay true to the WWII format, but update with a decade of improvements to the overall shooter experience. That message is already resounding, as evidenced by the game’s Kickstarter support. Let’s see exactly how well it resounds after 26 more days.
Battalion 1944 is currently being pitched on Kickstarter as a PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release targeting a March 2017, but is also planning a lengthy PC Early Access period on top of a closed alpha and beta. Check our the project’s Kickstarter page for more information.
[Source:- gamerant]
