Lone Fungus by BastiGames

With all the great 2D indie platformer titles on the market, it’s hard to believe that the genre almost died out with the advent of 3D graphics on consoles. It has also been great to see how different developers have been putting their own spin on the genre. For example, Lone Fungus is a “Mushroom Metroidvania” that is currently in need of backing over on Kickstarter. According to the developer, Basti, Lone Fungus was inspired by new and old classics like Hollow Knight, Super Metroid, Super Castlevania IV, and Megaman X, which was enough to get our attention.

Lone Fungus promises true Metroidvania progression with new abilities and spells opening up access to new areas. Players will get to explore 13 unique areas in a handcrafted world that was apparently built by ancient mushrooms. The protagonist is an acrobatic mushroom, named Greencap, which means fast and responsive combat. Lone Fungus will also feature a spell-system based on how you strike spells with your sword, which combined with the 60+ relics and 15+ unlockable abilities, sounds like a recipe for creative approaches to combat. Don’t worry if this sounds overwhelming, though, as the game will feature four difficulty modes as well as the ability to make use of the accessible assist mode.

The Kickstarter for Lone Fungus has a $28,684 goal and with less than two weeks to go, it is going to require the help of all Metroidvania fans to make its target. Players who are on the fence about whether or not a mushroom would make a good protagonist can check out the free demo for the game on Itch.io or Gamejolt. It features the first area of the game, complete with two bosses and a handful of upgrades. Those who back the Game Tester tier of the Kickstarter will also get full access to the alpha version of the game.

Pledges for a digital copy of the full game on Steam start at about $21 while extra goodies are available at higher tiers. These include a digital copy of the original soundtrack, the aforementioned early access to the game, exclusive in-game skins, and more. There’s even a tier for backers who would like to be immortalized in the game as an Ancient Mushroom Statue. For more information about Lone Fungus visit the Kickstarter page and give the developer a follow on Twitter. A Discord for Lone Fungus is also available HERE.