Rune Fencer Illyia Hits Kickstarter with a Metroidvania Channeling PS1 Action RPGs

Developer Nootbox Games has launched a Kickstarter for its PC and Nintendo Switch Metroidvania, Rune Fencer Illyia. At the time of writing, the campaign has only been live for a few hours and is already off to a fantastic start, raising more than $26,000 of its $35,000 goal. It signals that stretch goals could be in reach, yielding rewards like an extra in-game area, more NPCs and quests, and maybe even PlayStation and Xbox versions down the line. The Rune Fencer Illyia Kickstarter will run through May 25, 2023, with plans to launch the full game by January 2024.

Rune Fencer Illyia has been in the works for a few years and already has quite the following. (The game appeared in an Escapist Indie Showcase.) The project is ambitious, promising a massive fantasy world with more than 150 unique enemies and skills to master, with gameplay inspired by games like The Legend of Zelda, Hollow Knight, and PlayStation 1 action RPGs. There will be dense combat, a crafting system, and customization options, and it has a story to tell, too:

A young fledgling Runist named Illyia of Moonstone wakes up in the debris of the airship she had been traveling on. Now, she finds herself in the Sunken Kingdom of Ithos, a mythical ancient island that supposedly sunk beneath the waves thousands of years ago. Illyia must explore this strange, ruined world that she’s arrived in, find her missing twin sister, and the way home.

Nootbox stated that work on Rune Fencer Illyia is already “almost done.” So, with so much progress already made, one might wonder why the team decided to launch a Kickstarter in the first place. The indie team said that they don’t have the support of a big publisher and need additional funding to reach the finish line, reiterating an old saying, “The last 20% is 80% of the work.”

“Lots of polish, audio, and balancing work needs to be completed, as well as localization and porting, all of which are extremely expensive!” Nootbox explained. “As such, we’ve decided to launch a Kickstarter so we could get our awesome community and supporters to help us finish the project ourselves. Every backer that joins will really be helping us create something special.”

Rune Fencer Illyia is set to deliver on its Kickstarter promises by January 2024, but those who support Nootbox with $80 or more will gain access to beta builds as well as a laundry list of other goodies.