Star Garden hits $100k on Kickstarter in 24 hours

Star Garden, an ambitious video game that launched on Kickstarter on September 2nd, more than tripled its target in just a few days. With a modest goal of $35,000, the game, inspired by the likes of Kirby’s Air Ride, Sonic Adventure 2, and Jet Set Radio, sits at $113,000 at the time of writing. This isn’t just an impressive launch for the aspiring devs at Game Garage LLC – it’s a sign that there’s a significant demand for those who love the Chao Garden minigame in the aforementioned Sonic Adventure 2. With a historic precedent of nostalgia for that portion of the game, it may nudge SEGA in the right direction towards modernizing it in their IPs.

Launching alongside the Kickstarter is a free Trial version that’s not just single-player, but has an online multiplayer Versus mode for up to 4 players. Playing is quite similar to Kirby Air Ride‘s city trial mode, where racers navigate an open space collecting stat bonuses before the combat stage begins, and the players duke it out. I found the multiplayer to be lag-free and a blast, but having played the source material, my friends (who didn’t) had to get used to the controls and the rules before they could dig into the title with the same level of fun I did.

It’s fantastic to see gaming Kickstarters do so well after all this time. For every Mighty No. 9, there’s a Bloodstained, and the way Star Garden plays so far, it seems like it’ll fall under the latter’s pattern of success. Despite the impressive $100k+ reached, Game Garage announced even more stretch goals for the remainder of the campaign, including a hard mode and a time attack mode. The Kickstarter’s current release date puts Star Garden at a December 2027 release date, which is quite a way off. With the stellar funding and quick communication, though, this should be one to watch until then for fans who are so inclined.