Zeboyd Games Kickstarts Cosmic Star Heroine
Saving the Galaxy Was so Much Easier as a Stranger
Zeboyd Games meets its $100,000 Kickstarter goal for "Cosmic Star Heroine" less than two weeks after the campaign’s Oct. 1 launch. This will be Zeboyd’s fifth game, following "Cthulhu Saves the World", "Breath of Death VII,", and the two-part conclusion of Penny Arcade’s "Rain-Slick" series. Previous titles have been successful (and friendly to gamers working on a budget), and this one looks as though it will have some interesting changes to which Zeboyd fans have grown accustomed.
“Cosmic Star Heroine” follows the bo-wielding Alyssa L’Salle, an agent for the galactic government who is no stranger to saving the day. However, she stumbles across information that the government wants to keep hidden, and the government exposes her identity. She becomes an instant celebrity to adoring fans while at the same time becoming a large target for those she has brought down in the past and those who want her out of the way.
The story unfolds over three worlds. Araenu is dominated by dense urban sprawl with pollution so thick that the cities rarely see daylight. Rhomu’s surface has been wracked by nuclear war and other doomsday scenarios, leaving the people to retreat to a sprawling subterranean metropolis. The third planet is the jungle world Nuluup, home of the Ghast, “a strange and reticent alien race that reminds humanity of its supernatural past.”
Zeboyd has said that, while “Cosmic Star Heroine” will have some humorous elements, it is not a parody of RPGs as “Cthulhu Saves the World” and “Breath of Death VII” were.
As with previous Zeboyd titles, “Cosmic Star Heroine” will have a classic 16-bit look--albeit polished--but with modern concepts, such as combat with a tenuous safety net and player-selected character advancement. Combat is turn-based and takes place on the main field in the style of “Chrono Trigger.”
The Kickstarter is still active until Halloween. There are many reward tiers, but $10 will get you the game, and $75 can get your name in the game. The release date isn’t concrete, but Zeboyd listed their expectation as December 2014. “Cosmic Star Heroine” is set to release on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita.
