Kickstarter Spotlight: Wolf Gang ⋆

Category: Video Games
Developer: Nylon Blonde
Platform: PC, Mac
Location: Calgary, Canada
Goal Date: November 30, 2017
Currently Funded (At Time of Writing): $3,881 of $17,000
Campaign Type: All or Nothing

Wolf Gang was created by indie developer Nylon Blonde and looks to improve on the combat dynamics of tactical RPGs with unique mechanics and marked objectives, turning every territorial battle into a challenging and engaging puzzle that can’t be solved by simply wiping out your enemies.

The campaign revolves around the unlikely team up of a lone wolf named Lucas and an outcast sheep named Otis, who wants revenge for being ostracized (and protection of course). After a short tutorial skirmish, the two join forces to take out the other sheep, but as the Wolf Gang grows, so do your territorial ambitions! It’s a humorous campaign that features some adorable character designs and sharp outfits!

The biggest differences that set Wolf Gang apart from other tactical games using the rock-paper-scissors hierarchy are the knock-out-recovery mechanic and the ability to change your type and the type of your enemies during combat. What does this mean? It means that killing an opponent won’t knock them out of the fight forever, they will recover after a few turns and rejoin the battle at full health. This keeps combat tense and interesting, as the objective isn’t just eliminating all enemies on the field. Instead, you need to take out the other team’s monument before they take out yours, so it’s as much about being offensive as being defensive, and you can’t afford to leave a downed enemy out of your tactical plans.

The monuments are what allow the animals to attune to the elements and they give them one of three attunements. This is where the rock-paper-scissors hierarchy comes into play, as each attunement is strong against one and weak against the other. Your own character can change attunement mid-combat by becoming vulnerable for a turn, but what really throws a wrench into things is that defeating an enemy makes them take on your attunement when they recover. Since the monuments themselves also have an attunement, this can make for some head-scratching situations where you need to really keep track of enemies that are temporarily KOd and factor in when is the best time to change attunements.

The creators have set a number of stretch goals as well, the first of which is set at CA$22,000 and will bring the talented composer Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid, Bayonetta) into the collaboration with a featured composition! Other stretch goals would grant players access to a Level Editor, Local Multiplayer, or Level Sharing, all of which would be available post-launch. If anything, these stretch goals show that Nylon Blonde is committed to bringing lots of additional content to the game!

Our recommendation: If you’re just looking to snag a copy of Wolf Gang, then there is still plenty of room in the early bird special CA$10 category. However once it fills up, it will be bumped to CA$15, so get your name in fast! For more avid gamers interested in supporting indie developers, consider upgrading to the CA$30 level for early access to the game and to the private Discord channel.

Reward Tiers

CA$1 — Their heartfelt gratitude! Oh and access to behind-the-scenes updates
CA$10 — Digital Copy and Name in the Credits (early bird special)
CA$15 — Digital Copy and Name in the Credits
CA$20 — Digital Copy, Name in the Credits, and Digital Soundtrack
CA$25 — Digital Copy, Name in the Credits, Digital Soundtrack, and Digital Art Book
CA$30 — All lower rewards with Early Access to the game and Private Discord Access
CA$35 — All lower rewards, with either a Physical Copy of the Soundtrack or Art Book
CA$50 — All lower rewards, with Physical Copies of the Soundtrack and the Art Book.
CA$60 — Same rewards as the CA$30 Tier, but 4x the Digital Copies included
CA$150 — Same rewards as the CA$50 Tier, but you get to Design and Name a Character
CA$250 — Same rewards as the CA$50 Tier, but you get to Design an Outfit for the Animals
CA$350 — Combination of CA$150 and CA$250 Tiers, you get to design all the things