This retro-inspired JRPG just became the biggest Kickstarter game of the year, and puts a Greek spin on one of my favorite genres

Another year, another creature-collecting game looking to light the world aflame. And those eager to capture more tiny computer critters have made Elestrals Awakened, a 16-bit retro throwback to some of the best JRPGs, the most-funded videogame project on Kickstarter this year, breaking the $1,400,000 mark with the help of over 10,000 backers before the campaign ran its pre-determined course. That means colorful creatures like Arcalith, Helialith, and Verdalith are now set to join characters like Heracles in their videogame debut in… 2027. If we're lucky.

Elestrals Awakened isn't the first time we've seen some of these designs, but it does mark their release from a few sheets of card. That's because Elestrals has existed as a tabletop game for a little while. Now, it's looking to make the jump to PC, not as a virtual TCG, but as a 2.5D creature-collecting turn-based RPG that has you meander through tall grass before transitioning to an over-the-shoulder battle stage when a wild animal decides to pick a fight. Boy, that does sound familiar, doesn't it?

Still, there's always space in my heart for another cutesy creature-battling game. And we've had a few over the years. Coromon channelled the golden era well, Temtem realized the dream of taking the genre down the MMO path with a focus on hardcore strategic battles and shared-world adventures and,  more recently, Cassette Beasts managed to blend an 8-bit artstyle with a 2.5D look to 'overwhelmingly positive' reviews on Steam.

Now, although Elestrals Awakened gets to proudly wear the "most funded videogame on 2025" banner along its page, it's still a ways down the list of the most funded games on the platform. Cozy games like hit Coral Island and largely missing-in-action PuffPals: Island Skies sit further up the list, with the brilliant mech strategy game Battletech and even the long-in-development MMO Ashes of Creation found higher still.

But the frankly massive funding Elestrals has secured through Kickstarter means a bunch of fan-favorite modes and features have been unlocked. Extra save files mean you won't have to commit genocide to play through the game again, there's permadeath for you sycophants who really want to feel your poor choices in battle, a randomizer mode to mix things up, and a… level cap? The campaign didn't quite reach the lofty heights required to unlock the Clash Tower mode, but a post celebrating the end of the Kickstarter road has confirmed that it's coming anyway. Funny how that works.

Though it's too late to pledge for early access, which would have set you back $500 to get in at the alpha stage anyway, you can still toss a coin to this one while the 'Late Pledges' period is open.

Feeling a little skeptical? Who can blame you? Creature-collecting games rarely manage to do what they presumably set out to do. And a funded Kickstarter project hardly guarantees a success story. Either way, Elestrals Awakened is already sitting pretty on Steam, waiting to slide onto your wishlist. Alpha and beta tests are planned until summer 2027, with a full release currently penciled in for "late 2027." With so long left to wait, you might want to check out some of those alternatives we mentioned earlier.