Nostalgia continues to live on as one indie developer gets its newest Game Boy exclusive backed on Kickstarter. The Shapeshifter has reached its first of four milestones, and is currently in the early stages of development.
Oftentimes, players will call for old classics to be made available on the newest consoles, such as with the original Legend of Zelda games on Switch through Nintendo Switch Online. Recently, the gaming scene has seen a small resurgence of interest in the Game Boy, turning the tables by releasing new games on old hardware. Greenboy Games has been doing exactly that, having released several new Game Boy games already including Micro Doctor and Lunar Journey. Now, Greenboy is tackling its "most ambitious game by far," The Shapeshifter.Â
In The Shapeshifter, players assume the role of Elliot, who is spending the weekend camping in the mountain with friends. An elf wakes him in the middle of the night, asking Elliot to save the elves from the wizard's spell. The elf gives Elliot powers that allow him to become whatever any he touches. In this new Game Boy game, Elliot can shapeshift into various animals such as an octopus, bat, or sea urchin, and objects as well, including rocks, water, and even a daisy.
Unlike Greenboy's past games, The Shapeshifter won't be made available on the Switch; it will be a console exclusive for the original Game Boy. The Shapeshifter will also be longer than past games, Greenboy says on Kickstarter. It will possibly exceed three hours and will be broken down into three chapters: The Uncertain Mountain, The Calm River, and The Gold Mine.
The upcoming Game Boy game has exceeded its first goal of 6,000 euros, getting The Shapeshifter fully funded, and it is well on its way to its second goal of 21,000 euros. At its second milestone, Greenboy will add two additional chapters, The Ice World and The Rockfall. The third milestone will deliver a collector's coin for those who order a physical copy of the game, and at 40,000 euros Greenboy will use the extra money to port the game onto the NES.
On its Kickstarter page, Greenboy says its goal is to keep the origin of portable games alive. Recent creations onto retro hardware, such as Disco Elysium being ported to the Game Boy by a fan, prove that classic games can still hold up today.
The Shapeshifter is slated for a spring 2021 release on the original Game Boy.