Trial by Viking Kickstarter Launches with a War Cry

The latest of IGM’s Crowdfunding Initiative partners is the platform dungeon-crawler Trial by Viking , developed by Last Life Games.

, developed by Last Life Games. Players take on the role of an axe-wielding, wall-jumping viking running for his life and kicking butt along the way. The Kickstartercampaign launched on August 18, and holds a variety of rewards for fans of games like Rogue Legacy and Metroidvania platforming.

The game is set to include 130 levels, ranging in difficulty and ability set, from races against the elements to slow, steady walkabouts on the hunt for treasure. Over 80 unique enemies and 27 boss battles await players, with various obstacles to keep things interesting. In each level, there are sunstones which are only collectible once; each sunstone grants the player a permanent upgrade, including a Frost Axe, Bombs, a Double Jump, and several others. Each realm also hides heart containers that grant a permanent boost to health. Boss fights earn character points that can be applied in an RPG-like manner to the character’s critical hit rate, armor, and life drain skill.

A variety of puzzles and other challenges are present, as the developers sought to mix it up quite a bit to keep the gameplay from feeling tedious. Special equipment is necessary for navigation in some areas, while creative platforming may be the only way through in others. If players miss something in a level, it can always be replayed, and the percentage of sunstones found will be visible before selecting a level so that they know what, exactly, they’ve missed.

Last Life Games has set a goal of $7,000 USD for their Kickstarter, and are already at $2,292 after being featured as a Staff Pick. Reward tiers begin at $10 for early bird backers, who will receive a DRM-free copy of the game, or a Steam key (pending Greenlightapproval). At the $16 tier and up, all backers will receive a digital copy of the Indie Game Magazinevia Joomag, featuring a variety of great indie game content.

Find out more information about Trial by Viking on Last Life Games’s website. Follow the team on Twitterand Facebookto receive up-to-date announcements on the status of both the Kickstarterand the game itself.