Kickstarter Shout-out: Jenny LeClue

With Double Fine Production’s Broken Age Part II, Doug Tenapel’s Armikrog, and Two Guy’s SpaceVenture in development, many gamers are now anticipating what could be the next big adventure game to come out of Kickstarter. Currently, there are three different Kickstarter projects that I am keeping track of, all of which are adventure games. The first one is Wyrmkeep Entertainment’s Inherit the Earth: Sand and Shadows, the sequel to the cult favorite original, Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb. It is currently at over $26K of its $160K funding goal. They have 5 days left to get their game funded. I don’t know if it will make it, but I hope it does, and if it doesn’t, I say relaunch their project at a later date, because I like the set-up for the original, and would love to play it at some time in the future. If you want to support them, you can go to their Kickstarter page. The second Kickstarter game is Cateia Games’ Kaptain Brawe 2: A Space Travesty. This is their second Kickstarter attempt for this game and they are at over $24K of their $75K funding goal. I will be talking about them at a later date, so watch out for that Kickstarter Shout-out! The third adventure game that is on Kickstarter that has everyone drooling for more adventure gaming goodness is Mografi’s Jenny LeClue. How about we get started and see why Jenny LeClue is getting my Kickstarter Shout-out?



The game’s story is about a young girl named Jenny LeClue, who lives in the town of Arthurton. Jenny’s mother was recently framed for the murder of someone named Dean Strausberry, but things are not as they should be. Can Jenny find the real culprit to the murder? What secrets will she unfold in the small town of Arthurton? Will she remember to floss? Well, you will have to back the game, play it when it’s released, and find out yourself. For me, a good adventure game story has charm, personality, humor, and an underlying dark tone, and this game seems to match all of those things that I like in an adventure game.



Like I said, this game is an adventure game. It has all the staple elements of a game in this genre as well as a detective game. You’ve got puzzles to solve all across the town, you have to find clues, upgrade your gear, and investigate different characters throughout your journey. The big draw this game has going for it is that the overall design is more like a “choose your own adventure book” that was popular a couple of decades ago, than something from the likes of LucasArts or Sierra-era adventure games. Whatever decision you make will alter the story, and this will lead to the game having multiple endings, giving you many reasons to replay the game. For example, one choice that you see in the Kickstarter video is whether you choose to get your mother arrested, or run from the police. Hopefully, the decisions you make will make drastic changes in the overall experience.



If you fell in love with the art style from Broken Age, I think you will love the look of Jenny LeClue. It has the same stylized children’s-book-look, and it is incredibly charming to look at. Like I said in my paragraph about the game’s setting, it seems to have a very charming outer layer, with a dose of mysterious and darker themes that are always present within the game’s charming look and appeal. I would like to talk about the music, but I couldn’t find anything about the composer.



So, any concerns? As usual, with games that give you that “choose your own” adventure design, I hope that the choices mean something and have an impact to the overall story. Another concern I have is that the game will be episodic. I have no real major issues with episodic games, but since this is Kickstarter, and the initial funding will be for one episode, who knows if there will be a second episode or more? Plus, what if the story doesn’t hold up or keep you interested the whole time? If you weren’t impressed with the first episode, would you be willing to invest in a second episode? I am thinking more about this because, since I have been playing Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 2, I have been finding a lot more flaws with that game’s story, due to the episodic design. I know I came off slightly negative towards this concern, but it is something to think about, since there are a few games out there that only have one episode made.



Anyway, I think this game will be pretty satisfying and fun to play. It obvious that they already have a gameplan going forward and won’t suffer the fate of many Kickstarter developers, where they don’t have a full-fledged plan going into Kickstarter, and the entire experience turns into a disaster. Luckily, this game has reached its funding goal, and is still increasing. It has stretch goals set up for additional episodes, full voice acting, and Wii U/PlayStation 4 console support. If you are looking for an adventure game that has a lot of charm and personality to it, and need to get that adventure gaming fever, then why not help back Jenny LeClue?

(If you want to support this Kickstarter, go to this link!)