New Dreamcast Game Xenocider Hits Kickstarter With Playable Demo

As if you needed reminding, we've been closely following the development of Space Harrier/Sin & Punishment homage Xenocider for some time now. Coming from Spanish developer Retro Sumus, the game represents something of a leap forward for indie games on the Dreamcast as it features a fully polygonal engine built from the ground up for Sega's hardware. The good news is that the Kickstarter project to fund the final development and physical release of Xenocider has now been approved and gone live so it's up to us - the Dreamcast community - to get behind it and ensure it reaches the funding goal. There are a range of backer tiers, and as is the norm each will yield a different reward depending on the amount of money you pledge.

The goal stands at $92,000 in order to get Xenocider fully funded and the higher backer tiers feature such perks as having your own face transplanted into the game as a stage boss, bespoke models of the main protagonist Xara, and even limited edition customised Dreamcast consoles! Perhaps the most interesting part of this Kickstarter though, is that Retro Sumus isn't happy with simply showing potential backers what the game looks like. No, you can actually download a fully playable demo of Xenocider and play it on either PC, Mac...or Dreamcast.

You read that right - head to the Kickstarter page and you'll find download links for three of the most popular disc burning formats. Grab the files (Discjuggler, Nero or Clone CD), burn to a CD-R and play Xenocider in your Dreamcast right now!
We've said this before many times but Xenocider looks like it could be one of the best indie games ever to hit the Dreamcast and with this Kickstarter you can actually test it out before you back it. There are multiple stretch goals listed, an OST sample, development diaries and more concept artwork that you can shake a stick at embedded on the project page. Oh, and there's a campaign video featuring such luminaries from the Dreamcast scene as Falco Girgis of Elysian Shadows, Nicholas and Julienne from Alice Dreams, Jorge Serrano from Games Tribune...and *cough* me.

"Xenocider is a 3D arcade action game with retro-futuristic aesthetics, currently in development for Dreamcast, Windows, Mac, Linux and 3DS.

An innovative approach to the on-rails shooter genre and the first 3D arcade game for the Dreamcast in over a decade, Xenocider is our personal 3D homage to the classic Space Harrier, with a little influence from Galaxy Force and Sin & Punishment thrown into the mix.

The game tells the story of Xara, a cyborg from a remote planet turned into the ultimate weapon of mass destruction thanks to her superhuman strength and speed and her combat skills in extreme environments."

There are also biographies of all the members of Retro Sumus, many of whom have already worked on some of the Dreamcast's most well-known indie games, so you can rest assured that the credentials of the development team are rock solid. With all the work that has clearly gone into this project it would be a travesty if Xenocider doesn't get funded, so stop reading this and head over to Kickstarter!

Retro Sumus Links
Retro Sumus Official Website
Xenocider Kickstarter Page

Further Reading/Listening
Retro Sumus Developer Interview
Retro Sumus DreamPod Episode

Click the image to go straight to the Kickstarter...

...and then you can tweet about backing Xenocider like we did!