Kickstarter Picks: Stone Wardens, Gettysburg and more!

TOO MANY GAMES. It’s a problem we all face, whether we’re talking about a massive summer sale, a slew of holiday titles, or just a backlog of purchases that number in the thousands. In our case, “TOO MANY GAMES” is how we’re describing the selection of worthwhile project on Kickstarter. That’s why our Kickstarter Picks series is going to be taking a slightly different approach than it has in the past.

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TOO MANY GAMES. It’s a problem we all face, whether we’re talking about a massive summer sale, a slew of holiday titles, or just a backlog of purchases that number in the thousands. In our case, “TOO MANY GAMES” is how we’re describing the selection of worthwhile project on Kickstarter. That’s why our Kickstarter Picks series is going to be taking a slightly different approach than it has in the past.

Rather than profiling a single Kickstarter project, future Kickstarter Picks articles will be rounding up a bunch of great games that we feel are worthy of your backer dollars. Like the new format? Have a project you think we should be aware of? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Stone Wardens – When they first burst onto the scene a few years back, tower defense games were amazing. But in the ensuing time, there’s become a real “lather, rinse, repeat” feel to the genre. In short: the world is burnt out on TD. It takes something really special (Orcs Must Die!, Sanctum, Anomaly) to make gamers stand up and take notice anymore. Lucky for Burst Online, Stone Wardens looks like it could be really special. It’s a multiplayer action-RPG/tower defense hybrid that has players focusing on all of the fun of action RPG (classes, skills, leveling, combat) while they also worry about building and upgrading the right towers at the right time.

Darkling Plain – Augmented reality is one of those things that’s brilliant in theory but usually terrible in execution. Having said that, it’s also one of those things that could absolutely click if the right product were to finally surface – and Darkling Plain might just be it. It’s a tabletop miniatures games where the figures are entirely virtual. Place a card onto the playing field, hold up your mobile device, and see animated figures come to life. Sony tried something similar back in 2007 with Eye of Judgement (which was great fun), but I think it was a little too ahead of its time. Maybe the folks behind Darkling Plain can do better.

Freebooter – I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for voxels. My love from voxels even predates my knowledge of the voxel-popularizing Minecraft. 2009’s 3D Dot Game Heroes got me hooked on the style, and I’ve never looked back. Mix voxels with pirates, like Freebooter does, and you’ve pretty much guaranteed my interest. Players will have plenty of freedom, exploring wherever they want and playing with legal trade or scandalous piracy in mind. Thus far, Freebooter sounds like it’s shaping up to be an open-world mix of Tradewinds and Sid Meier’s Pirates… but with voxels. I’m very ok with this.

Gettysburg: The Tide Turns – The makers of last year’s Battle of the Bulge (which earned a 5 star review on Gamezebo!) are turning the wayback machine even further for their next effort: a strategy game about the Battle of Gettysburg, just in time to commemorate its 150th anniversary. What’s more, Shenandoah Studios promises the experience will be more than just a game. Its play will serve as a teaching tool that “enhances your understanding of the battle and the sacrifices made there.” If you’re a history buff and a strategy gamer, this one is a no brainer. Back it.

Comicosm 2 – While most of our readers have spent more than a few hours dabbling in digital hidden object games, it’s probably been awhile since you played one on paper. If you’re yearning for the days of Where’s Waldo? and I Spy, Ray Sumser has a project you’ll be more than happy to back. It’s a massive search-and-find painting that will feature every famous cartoon character that Sumser can fit, and you can take home an 18″ by 24″ print as a backer reward.

Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.