Since the PS Vita’s launch we’ve seen countless games announced. While the majority of them have made it to stores, either physically or digitally, some have fallen by the wayside. Some of these have been as a result of publishers closing unexpectedly. Others simply because developers have bitten off more than they could chew. They just realised too late that their games were too ambitious for the PS Vita to handle. Then there were games that vanished completely like Red Goddess…
What Was Red Goddess?
Red Goddess was a Metroidvania style game, developed by the Spanish team Yanim Studio. Funded through Kickstarter in June 2014, the game was scheduled for release in May 2015. It was planned to be a multiformat release coming out for the PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, WiiU and the PS Vita. Not only did the campaign reach its $30,000 funding target but it’s first two stretch goals as well allowing the developers to extend the scope of the game.
Things looked promising at first. The game was released on Steam and subsequently on the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Unusually for a Kickstarter-funded video game, the PS4 version was released in July 2015, just two months behind schedule and arrived to mainly positive reviews. Then everything went downhill for Red Goddess.
The Other Formats
Time passed and there was no sign of any of the other versions of the game. Kickstarter updates from the developers stopped in August 2015 and that immediately triggered warning signs. The developer’s own Facebook page ceased to have any posts from September of the same year, and two months later for the page dedicated to the game. It was clear that something was wrong. Backers kept asking for updates on the game and ports to other platforms but nothing was forthcoming. More worrying was the fact that the promised Steam codes and other rewards weren’t provided.
Complaints went ignored and it soon transpired that payments weren’t made by the developers to people who assisted in the creation of the game. Funds dried up and sales of the existing versions weren’t as strong as expected to generate the additional income needed. The team simply chose to ignore everyone and moved onto other projects. Kickstarter failed to intervene (as seems to be the case with failed projects these days), and backers were left high and dry.
As for the Vita version? This and the other three undeveloped ports are never likely to see the light of day.
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