Toejam and Earl lead designer Greg Johnson and his new studio Humanature have set up a Kickstarter campaign for a true sequel to the cult action platformer series.
Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove will be a true successor to the original, which pioneered a kind of roguelike, dungeon-crawling action style before publisher Sega transformed the series into more of a platformer.
With a Kickstarter of course, Johnson has full control to take the franchise back to its roots. That means our heroes, three-legged alien ToeJam and big orange thins Earl, will be going back to the old school with a rogue-like approach, ”fixed isometric camera, 2D sprites, simple controls, and an emphasis on coop play.”
”Toejam and his homeboy Big Earl go out for another joyride in their RapMaster Rocketship,” explains the team, ”and this time Peabo and Lewanda and a few other friends come along. Of course, TJ and Big E. have to take their friends to see Earth, where all the craziness started. While in orbit around Earth, TJ can’t resist showing off and pressing a mysterious new button on their ship called “Black Hole - DO NOT PRESS!””
Needless to say, this causes the ship to blow up, and ToeJam, Earl and friends must track down all its missing components to repair it. Unlike the originals, once they do, they’ll be able to fly it around.
Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is loosely planned for a November release this year. The cheapest you can grab a copy for is $15, but as usual there are several progressively expensive pledge levels that will net you extra goodies. The Kickstarter campaign has earned $88,000 from a $400,000 goal, with 29 days left to go.
