Kickstarter Highlight: Rōnin Trail

Kickstarter Highlight is a project my wife and I decided to start in order to bring attention to projects and help smaller indie developers create the games they're passionate about. Although Kickstarter is well-known, oftentimes, videogames go unnoticed or under the radar, and we would love to try and help them get more attention! Today's Kickstarter Highlight is Rōnin Trail!

Meet The Team

Rōnin Trail is the debut game of solo developer Danny. He has worked on the title for two years now, putting much of his effort into researching to get the history right, animating, programming, and sound effects. Additionally, Zhao is the composer for the game's beautiful music, which they've sampled on Twitter and their Kickstarter page! 

What Is Rōnin Trail About?

Rōnin Trail is an open-world adventure game that takes inspiration from a famous samurai named Musashi as it attempts to portray the life of a rōnin. For those that may not know, rōnin was the name given to samurai post-war, and the word itself means “drifter or wanderer without any purpose in life”. That is what the game ultimately aims to demonstrate: the war has ended, and now you must find a purpose again.

In Rōnin Trail, players will live off the land, defeat foes that wander about, survive through gathering food (such as by fishing), equip appropriate clothes for the weather, and learn many abilities along the way. The game also offers customisation by changing the cloak, katana, and hat for your character.  

What Makes It So Special?

The game stands out in many aspects (such as its unique, historical premise and the gorgeous graphics), but two main things distinct things are: 

• The combat is heavily inspired by realism, so the fights don't go on for too long, and one mistake can make the difference between defeating the enemy or dying by their hand. There is a lot of focus placed on combat, as the developer is a kendo practitioner and adds his knowledge to the game.
• The freedom in choice for what missions and stories you choose, allowing you to tailor your character's experience how you see fit, such as helping people or becoming a feared bounty hunter. 

Why Kickstarter?

The developer mentions that he has taken on all the jobs himself, and as such, he hopes that the funds from the campaign will allow him to work with artists and animators to help him improve the game, speed up the progress, and add more things to it. Additionally, he mentions that one of the challenges of developing a game alone is that he can only come up with so many ideas as a one-man team, so he is hoping to find others who are passionate about his game to help him better develop it. 

Stretch Goals

At the time of writing, the game is fully funded and well on its way to reaching the second stretch goal, which is the companion pets. Beyond that is a third goal, which will add clothing dyes and full controller support, and many more yet to be revealed.

Rōnin Trail’s Kickstarter will be available until the 18th of July, so if you’re interested in backing the project, there are only a few days left! Additionally, consider following the developer on Twitter to keep up with the game’s progress.