Out of nowhere, Fntastic seems to have come back, asking for a second chance.
As reported by IGN, the studio is launching a new crowdfund to make a new multiplayer co-op game called Escape Factory.
Before anything else, we thought it would be worth reviewing what the company is actually offering now. Escape Factory is a physics based co-op title, where blue collar yellow safety hat workers (that seem to draw inspiration from Minions, Fall Guys and Worms all at the same time) work together to escape an out of control factory. It has a Steam page and a demo that’s also ready to play.
The Kicsktarter is seeking $ 15,567, with goals pointing towards securing the game’s production and Fntastic’s return, ports to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, DLC, a dedicated Steam Deck version, etc. We will say these fundraising goals are mundane and actually pretty low risk, low reward, compared to other crowdfunding campaigns in the past. They absolutely are not the first crowdfund to aim at a lower funding goal than they needed to ensure production of the game. In those cases, the developers are seeking out or may even already have a prospective publisher, and will pitch the limited success of the crowdfund as proof that the game has an audience.
What’s the real issue here is the loss of trust Fntastic would have definitely had from gamers after the entire The Day Before debacle. Other game companies have faced similar situations before, when they failed to make games that lived up to expectations, or had issues with proper marketing, communication, and development.
But the particulars of how Fntastic talked to gamers and the media, and how they handled each situation that came along, just engendered that distrust among gamers. One would wonder why anyone would even trust them at this point and give them a chance. Fntastic shares this statement in their Kickstarter FAQ:
“After the closure, we reflected on our past mistakes and initiated significant internal changes to drive radical improvement. We’ve discontinued the practice of involving external volunteers and are now fully committed to a more professional approach.
Honesty, transparency, and community engagement have become our top priorities. Having learned from our past mistakes, we’ve developed Fntastic 2.0, a plan for recovery.”
They also reveal in the FAQ that they are now a smaller team, though they do not clarify if any of the previous employees, such as the Gotovstevs, are part of the team. They also already lost the rights to The Day Before and Propnight, so at least we have that.
We don’t think we need to tell you about the red flags around this crowdfund. But if you are genuinely willing to help give this studio a second chance, and you are in a financial position where doing so is not an issue for you, we won’t stop you. We must admit we’re morbidly curious to see how this will now play out.
