As promised a few weeks ago, Greg Johnson and HumaNature Studios have officially announced the fourth ToeJam & Earl game, ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove.
Johnson and his team have recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the retro-inspired sequel. The developer, who originally created ToeJam & Earl back in 1991 with Mark Voorsanger, wants to refocus on what made the first game great while discarding the less-loved elements from the sequels:
Will it be like game one or game two, you ask? Well… (holding breath)… mainly like game one. We plan to go old school with this one. Fixed isometric camera, 2D sprites, simple controls, and an emphasis on coop play. It will also pull in some of the more beloved elements from game two, AND we have a list of exciting new gameplay elements planned as well.
Oh right, I almost forgot… and we’ll have funky music, and more funky music, and… then we’ll add in more funky music.
HumaNature is seeking $400,000 to complete ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove, which they’ll use to create a PC (Windows/Mac/Linux) version that includes four-player co-op play, a funky new art style, and “more fun features.” The plan is too eventually bring the game to as many platforms as possible, and the odds of that happening are good, as the campaign has already collected $100,000 in pledges with 29 days remaining. There’s currently no timeline on when Back in the Gorrve will be availabl if HumaNature reaches their goal, but you can find plenty of funky concept art and additional details at the Kickstarter campaign page.
Funky! OK, I’ll stop now.
