Top 10 best Kickstarter games to play

When it comes to developing games, one of the greatest challenges that developers face is funding. It requires a substantial amount of money to develop some of the rockstar games you see on the internet today. And if you haven’t noticed, the standards for video games continue to rise for each hit game that is released. As such, your creativity as a developer may be thwarted due to lack of funding. It’s a good thing that corporations such as Kickstarter exist that helps bring creative projects to life through funding.

Kickstarter helps developers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, and other creators find support and resources they need to complete their projects. In return, developers promise something for those who help fund their projects, like a copy of the game itself. Though research shows that the golden-age of Kickstarter-funded games development in 2016 is on the decline, we can’t ignore the fact that there are top-rated Kickstarter games on the market. In this article, we’ll highlight 10 of the best Kickstarter funded games.

Read also: 10 best survival horror games for PC

10 of the best Kickstarter games to play right now

Pillars of Eternity

Funding received: $4,163,208

Release Date: March 2015

Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

In this role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment, eternity aims to recapture the magic, nostalgia and depth of classic RPG’s that you’ll enjoy playing. In October 2012, Pillars of Eternity became the most highly funded video game on the Kickstarter platform. The game is characterized by action-packed combat and dungeons diving in the epic exploration of Baldur’s gate. You choose to play as one of the 6 available races: humans, Orlan, Godlike, Elf, Dwarf, and Aumaua. From the looks of the game and feeling when playing to the interaction with the environment and the customization of your characters, you’ll discover that the game is an ornate masterpiece that puts you in a world of its own.

Get Pillars of Eternity from Steam

FTL (Faster than Light)

Funding received: $200,542

Release date:  September 14, 2012

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS

FTL is one of the best Kickstarter games ever made and it revolves around intergalactic combat. So if you are a fun of Dark Matter or Star Trek episodes, then you will definitely fall for FTL. As you explore the galaxy, you are charged with the responsibilities of controlling your crew and fighting off intruders. The combat is difficult and you’ll be forced to make tough decisions that will cost lives, and you will end up being the architect of your own demise. That being said, FTL is a sci-fiction, rogue-like game that allows you to explore space while giving you control over your crew.

Get FTL from Steam

Shadowrun Returns

Funds received: $1.83 million

Release date:  July 25, 2013

Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS

Shadowrun Returns is one of the most successful Kickstarter games and is built on a low tech engine with a very interesting story. The game is set in an alternate future where magic returns to the world in 2012, bringing along dragons, elves, and witches. Shadowrunners are the mercenaries, master hackers, freelance ghost busters, and smugglers for hire that create ways between the cracks of the mythical and superstitious dystopia. Set in a world with a thirst for violence, you will have to take the role of one such runner and pick a team of up to 4 to aid you in combat.

Get Shadowrun Returns from Steam

Divinity: Original Sin

Funds received: $944,282

Release Date:  June 30, 2014

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Divinity: Original Sin is a highly extolled role-playing game that put the players right into the mix of an epic adventure where they fight the evils of Rivellon. As a player, you will have to embark on a perilous adventure where what seemed like a simple murder case turns into hours of quests as you contend with rogue bosses, magical polymorphs, and vicious foes. You are allowed to choose up to three companions as you prepare to bend the very fabric of time. You have to master the environment and use the best combination of tools to annihilate your enemies.

Get Divinity: Original Sin from Steam

Darkest Dungeon

Funds received: $313,337

Release date: Jan 19, 2016

Platforms:  Windows, Linux, OS X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita

Darkest Dungeon is a gothic roguelike RPG that focuses on the psychological vulnerability of humans as it puts the players in an environment where death is inevitable. You will lead a team of 4 heroes on a precarious adventure, dealing with immense threats from all angles. The dangers you will encounter will range from threats to bodily health to an assault on their mental grit. When over 500 feet underneath the earth, you will not only fight the physical battles but also diseases and famine, while battling time to escape the ever encroaching darkness.

Get Darkest Dungeon from Steam

Wasteland 2

Funds received: 2.9 Million

Release date: March 13, 2012

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Set in a dangerous post-apocalyptic world in Southwest America, Wasteland 2 is a groundbreaking action RPG series and a sequel to a game that inspired Fallout. It’s also a product of Kickstarter’s one of the most successful campaigns ever. You are the leader of a team of four and your job is to roam about the darkest corners of American Southwest hunting outlaws and saving settlers. Like Fallout, the game allows you to interact with the environment, explore and jump into other people’s lives.

Get Wasteland 2 from Steam

Broken Age

Funds received: $3.3 Million

Release date: Jan 28, 2014

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS, Ouya

Broken Age is a point and clicks adventure game that revolves around the story of a young boy and girl living parallel lives. The girl is bound to be sacrificed to a fiendish monster after being chosen by her village as the perfect sacrifice, but she decides to fight back. The boy, on the other hand, lives a lavish lifestyle in a spaceship under the care of a motherly computer, but he wants to escape to live an adventurous life. Though the game is split into episodes, the adventure does hold to both its charm and humor throughout the story.

Get Broken Age from Steam

Exploding Kittens

Funds received: $8.8 Million

Release date: July 2015

Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, PS4

Exploding Kittens made history as the most backed crowd-funding campaign in Kickstarter history setting the record with 219,382 backers. Just as the name suggests, the game is about exploding kittens. It’s an innovatively built version of Russian roulette where players are supposed to draw cards until someone picks an exploding kitten. And when that happens, they explode, die, and are out of the game, just like that. Of course, there is an exception to this; that is if the player has a defuse card which can disarm the kitten from exploding using tools like laser pointers.

Get Exploding Kittens

Elite: Dangerous

Funds received: 1.92 million

Release date: December 16, 2014

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Epic: Dangerous is a highly strategic game that takes you to the very recesses of the galaxy with a sophisticated spaceship as you venture to explore the grandeur of the Milky Way. You have to carve your own path, set against a backdrop of raw anarchy and do whatever it takes to upgrade your ship’s defense system. The game has a massive multi-player system and the player’s actions affect whatever happens to the universe.

Related: Elite Dangerous and Battle Worlds now available on Xbox One

Get Elite: Dangerous from Steam

Hex: Shards of Fate

Funds received: $2.2 million

Release date: Jan 26, 2016

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, iOS

Hex: Shards of Fate is a complex, engrossing, and a massively multiplayer online trading card game that is incredibly fun to play. It has a robust combination of RPG and TCG elements as well as puzzle elements. Its ability to blend the strengths of traditional trading card games on a digital platform puts it in a league of its own. One of the features that differentiate it from other games of its genre is the socketing and transformation of cards. Your cards have sockets that change what the cards can do which is very innovative. As you learn the game and gain experience, your level increases and you gain access to a wide variety of talents and strategies.

Get Hex: Shards of Fate from Steam

Conclusion

The best thing about Kickstarter is developers’ transparency which means you don’t have to wait for a surprise release date in a press conference. The team’s dedication and handwork will let you know when the game you back is in alpha, beta, and nearing release, plus you get the opportunity to be the first to play when the game is finally ready. Today, there are so many Kickstarter games in the market and more are still in the funding campaign stage which means we’ll be getting more and more Kickstarter games in future. The list above highlights 10 of the best Kickstarter games that are fun and exciting to play. Feel free to comment and share.

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