Death Inc. Kickstarter begins: blends Katamari & Pikmin

Death Inc. puts you in charge of Grim T. Livingstone, a freelance Grim Reaper for hire, who runs a deadly business of killing and spreading the bubonic plague around 17th century England. It's a blend of Pikmin herding, business simulation and god games. It's also sadistic as all hell.

The Death Inc. Kickstarter went live today and Guildford outfit Ambient Studios needs £300,000 to make it happen.

Ambient's campaign blurb reads, "Death Inc. is not your typical strategy game. It's a unique mix of real-time strategy, god game and business sim, harking back to some of the classic Bullfrog games like Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper.

"Simply paint your orders into the world and unleash your infected minions on serfs, wenches and noblemen. Every human that falls will join the ranks of your pestilential horde. In between battles, build your business empire on the bones of your victims and strive to become the greatest Reaper the world has ever endured."

The game is slated for an Autumn 2013 release on PC and Mac, and it should be noted that Ambient Studios combines talent from Media Molecule, Lionhead and Criterion. Not a bad list of marquee names there.

It also has a neat art style. Check out these in-game shots: