The future of game development

There’s a ton of AAA titles out there that have a ton of funding but fail to deliver up to their full potential. With crowdfunding becoming a more and more popular version of game development, some crowdfunded titles really went above and beyond in terms of quality. 

Here’s a list of 5 games that managed to secure a ton of crowdfunding and received praise from both its fans and reviewers.

5. FTL (2012)

FTL Faster Than Light Gameplay (No Commentary) Part 1

The crowdfunded rogue-like, space survival simulator FTL reached almost 20 times its crowdfunding goal (over $200k), and for good reason. The game offers an intense survival simulation that forces you to make tough decisions while pitting you against a ton of overpowered enemies, all the while making you run from the massive fleet that is chasing you down.

The game received stellar reviews, with a 10/10 on steam with almost 30k reviews! A remastered edition of the game is also available now and its insanely addictive gameplay and intense battles make it into one of the best crowdfunded titles to date.

FTL’s combat will force you to choose which modules you should repair with your crew and what modules you want to target on the enemy ship all in real-time.

With very limited resources, you will have to decide which modules would be best to upgrade, as there are no refunds and one mistake might cost you the game!

4. Grim Dawn (2012)

Grim Dawn Gameplay (PC HD)

At first glance, Grim Dawn might seem like another Diablo clone, but it’s so much more than that. With a skill that rivals that of Path of Exile, 6 classes that can be combined in pairs, a huge random generated world full of unique monsters and a faction reputation system, Grim Dawn offers insanely fun and replayable gameplay.

The game that reached almost twice its funding goal (more than $500k raised), has become immensely popular since its release and has recieved much praise from its fans.

Grim Dawn pits you against hundreds upon hundreds of unique enemies, which is a must for any good dungeon crawler.

Grim Dawn’s skill tree is very reminiscent of Titan Quest - simple but powerful.

3. Wasteland 2 (2014)

Wasteland 2 Gameplay (PC HD)

Ever since Wasteland 2 was announced by inExile, Fallout fans everywhere rejoiced of a sequel to the game that was the spiritual predecessor of Fallout 1 and 2. Controling a group of rangers through the post-apocalyptic wasteland, Wasteland 2 features a very long story full of tough moral decisions that truly matter. 

With turn-based combat, a varied skill system and over 100 hours of gameplay, its no wonder that the game raised almost $3 million in crowdfunding (almost 3 times its initial goal). 

The game offers deep, strategic, turn-based combat that gamers of old will love.

Traveling on the world map is very reminiscent of the old Fallouts.

2. Divinity: Original Sin (2013)

Divinity: Original Sin - Spider Queen Combat Gameplay

One of the best RPG’s to date, Divinity:Original Sin encompasses everything that made old RPG’s great and takes it on a whole new level. Its turn-based combat offers an insane level of variety, and features many unique features like elemental synergy (aka electrifying a pool of water with a lightning spell or exploding a cloud of poison with a fireball) while its non-combat gameplay offers an awesome story and plenty of humorous characters as well as robust character customization.

The game raised almost $1 million in funds (almost twice its initial goal) and has been a tremendous success with a sequel already in the works and set to release in 2017.

Combining elements can totally change the playing field.

The game also allows the single player campaign to be played in coop with a friend and solves disputes between PCs with a simple game of rock, paper, scissors.

1. Star Citizen (in development)

Star Citizen: 2016 Gamescom Alpha 3.0 Demo (High Quality)

Arguably the most ambitious game to date, Star Citizen aims to get rid of all of its competition of space simulators by offer its players something that no space game has done before. This includes, among other things - proceduraly generated planets, ships that can fully be traversed and piloted in first person, the ability to exit your space craft and float around in space or on planets and much, much more.

The game is currently in development and will be for the next few years, but is already playable and is the most funded title to date, raising over $142 million!

The game allows multiple players to walk inside a ship and take their position in the crew...

...and allows them to step outside and explore procedurally generated planets and/or outer space.

Like this article? Check these out as well: 

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• Divinity: Original Sin: 10 Interesting Facts About This Awesome Game
• The 11 Most Successful Kickstarter Video Games (PC)