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Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland wakes up on Kickstarter

The final game from Thursday's Day of the Devs presentation is a 2D platformer based on a classic franchise.

Ozzie Mejia

June 9, 2022 1:53 PM

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After showing off over a dozen previously-revealed indie games to a new audience, the team at Day of the Devs had one last title to show off. It's a game that's extremely early in development, so much so that developer Die Soft launched its Kickstarter as the trailer was premiering. This is an animated 2D platformer based on the classic story of Little Nemo, titled Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland.

Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland takes players into a classic fantasy dreamscape, one that's in danger from the forces of Oblivion. The world is designed like a classic Metroidvania, challenging users to explore unique lands, meet interesting characters, and face off against nightmarish bosses en route to a final confrontation with Oblivion.

Created by solo developer David Mauro under the Die Soft label, Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is based on Winsor McCay's early 20th century comic strips. These comics are in the public domain, opening the door to developers like Mauro to create an original tale. That does mean that it has no connection to Little Nemo: The Dream Master, the 1990 NES platformer from Capcom, though the issued press release does cite it as an inspiration.

Mauro has gone to painstaking measures to bring this game to life, as it features hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation from top to bottom. In addition to the luscious animation style, the game will feature a soundtrack from pop band Anamanaguchi's Peter Berkman.

As noted, Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is extremely early in development and Mauro is targeting a Q4 2023 release on PC and Nintendo Switch. He'll look to release a demo before that, but of course, development could be affected by the Kickstarter and how much money it raises. Those interested can check out the Kickstarter right now. For more on this and other games revealed during Summer Game Fest, keep it here on Shacknews. We'll have updates, as well as a full recap, throughout the day.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?