A Rite from the Stars begins first trial on Kickstarter

Written by K R Parkinson — August 10, 2014 at 12:38

The concept of a youngster's coming of age into adulthood is important for many societies, and is often associated with a rite of passage. In tribal cultures, the rite might be associated with bravery and overcoming adversity, thus proving their maturity to the tribal elders or members of the warrior class. This style of ritual is the subject of A Rite from the Stars, an upcoming point-and-click adventure that's currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.

The game follows the story of Kirm, a mute boy from the Makoa tribe, as he embarks on a quest to prove himself in trials on the island of Kaykala. There are three paths that Kirm must master: Wisdom, where he must find his way through a trap-laden temple; Courage, in which Kirm and his "power animal," a meerkat, must work together to reach "The Beast's Cave;" and Spirit, where Kirm will learn to enter the spirit world in order to reach the highest point on Kaykala, the "Volcano's Crater." Upon completion of the three paths, there will be a fourth and final challenge for Kirm to overcome before he is judged a full member of the Makoa tribe.

Developed by Spanish indie Risin' Goat, A Rite from the Stars will be played from a mouse-driven, third-person perspective and features whimsical 3D graphics that might initially seem suited for a comic adventure. Despite a few lighthearted moments, though, the publicly-available alpha demo reveals that outright comedy is kept to a minimum. Tasks that players are faced with will differ depending on which path they have embarked upon, and the demo provides examples of gameplay for each path. Courage seems to be "light action"-oriented, whereas the Wisdom path involves solving environmental puzzles (think repairing ancient machinery to open stone doors), and Spirit requires interacting with the unusual supernatural beings found along the way in order to overcome obstacles in the physical world.

In order to bring A Rite from the Stars to reality, Risin' Goat is seeking a total of $40,000 on Kickstarter, with a deadline of September 5th. Early bird copies of the game can be had for $10 and $12, and once these are gone gamers can still get a download of the game for $15. In an interesting twist on the increasingly-popular "get yourself in the game" perks, Risin' Goat is giving all backers at tiers $10 and above a star located somewhere in the game that features a personal quote of the backer's choosing, in addition to featuring the name of their choice in the credits.

A Rite from the Stars is slated for release in February 2015 for a multitude of platforms, including PC, Mac, Linux, Wii U, and Ouya. Interested gamers can get more information at the project's Kickstarter page and at Risin' Goat's official website.