There are some ‘90s revival projects, without a name like Schafer’s or a game like Baldur’s Gate to buoy them, that we outright forget to follow. It’s been way over a year since we last wrote about First Wonder, despite designer Nick Bruty’s pedigree, and that’s on me. Now that his successor to MDK and Giants: Citizen Kabuto has finally made a nest on Kickstarter, it’s time to rectify that.
Nick Bruty may have lent his name to a bastard hard level in Earthworm Jim, but you’re not likely to remember him. If there’s one thing his past projects have in common – aside from jetpacks, a third-person perspective and a sense of humour best described as colourful – it’s lacklustre sales. Giants isn’t even on Steam – though it attracts long, rave reviews on GOG.
Perhaps that’s because they’re split-focused – MDK and Giants had three wildly different protagonists each. First Wondernarrows the formula down to two – the erratically airborne cockney Cargonauts, and a gargantuan creature ripped from Japanese monster movies, Monstro.
Like Giants, there’ll be a single player campaign in which we flit between both sides while exploring the craggy, tropical and highly destructible island resort planet of Majorca – think Avalanche Studios’ output if they had an imagination. There’ll be asymmetrical multiplayer, too.
The pitch video put together by the five-strong team at Rogue Rocket Games isn’t as compelling as it might be (“Ok,” says Bruty, “so we need to hire some voice actors”) but it’s certainly evocative of Giants, even in what’s clearly an early build. Think you’ll back the Bruty?