Knights and Bikes Kickstarter name drops The Goonies, Earthbound
Childhood nostalgia: the kryptonite of budgets everywhere.
Knights and Bikes is a proposed co-op adventure from a team with credits on Tearaway, LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet & Clank, currently slated for Linux, Mac and PC in April 2017.
Inspired by a diverse range of childhood favourites such as Earthbound, The Goonies and Secret of Mana, its wonderful hand-drawn art style pays tribute to SNES-era RPGs without recreating an anachronistic aesthetic; pretty refreshing, to be honest, now that we're up to our ears in pixel art.
Weaponising your nostalgia even further, the magical realism story takes place in the 1980's. Heroes Nessa (a heavy Earthbound nod there) and Demelza ride bikes around the Cornish island of Penfurzy, looking for the truth behind medieval legends in the hopes finding some way to rejuvenate the financially devastated region.
"Teaming up with Demelza's pet goose, and the pickled severed head of a fallen-knight, they fling Frisbees at demons, trick-out their bikes to reach new locations, and increase their abilities with each islander they rescue," Foamsword Games wrote.
The whimsy is strong with this one, but the tiny dev team seems sincere in its ambition of making something different and special. Check out the video below and browse the £100,000 Kickstarter campaign for more information. I pledged, for full disclosure.