As Kickstarter matures, crowdfunded games find safety in sequels and big names

If you take a look at the “most funded games” section of Kickstarter, one major trend becomes immediately clear. You’ll spot a number of spiritual successors, games meant to evoke (and made by many of the same developers as) classics like Castlevania, Mega Man, and Banjo-Kazooie. If a game isn’t a spiritual successor, it’s a direct one, with sequels to cult classics like Shenmue, Wasteland, and Elite filling out the list.
During the initial boon of crowdfunding, the