Fntastic, the developers behind 2023’s disastrousThe Day Before,have returned, hat in hand, asking for a second chance.
This Parody Of The Day Before Looks Better Than The Actual Game
The solo developer has dubbed the project ‘The Day After’.
Escape Factory, the dev’s latest announced project, is a physics-based platformer where 4–8 players try to escape- you guessed it -a factory. In a way, it’ssimilar toFall Guysand the recently popularChained Together.
The devs have launched aKickstarter campaignto raise $15,567 to refine the game per player feedback, not develop it from the ground up. While it’s common for indie games to be crowd-funded,heads turned when the people behindThe Day Beforeexpected the gaming community to fund their project.
Fntastic also has an announced prop hunt game that will only be worked on if the Kickstarter campaign succeeds.
The game is slated for aHalloween release, with a free demo available.
Only two people haveleft reviews, both negative.However, both reviewers only referenced the developer’s past, with no commentary onEscape Factory.
At the time of writing, the devs haveraised $414 from 14 backers.
An Unsavory Past
For the unaware,The Day Beforewas marketed as a big open-worldsurvivalzombie game on PC. Withflashy graphics, decent gunplay, and animation, it had all the makings of a gamePCplayers would go crazy over.
Delays, rumors, and statements from the devs prematurelydenying scam allegationsmarred the game even before it came out. Still, the game was finallyreleased in Dec. 2023.
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Counting the differences between marketing and actual gameplay would take an age betweenlost features, horrible servers, clunky gameplay, anddowngraded graphics— simply know this, the game’splayer countbetween Dec. 4 and Dec. 25 dropped from 38k to 2.
Fntastic announced itsclosure only four days after releasein a now-deleted X (then Twitter) post. But that didn’t stopthe floodthat was going to overrun them.
The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue,
Should the negative press and accusations of false advertising not have harmed them enough, it was revealed thatFntastic was enlisting the help of unpaid volunteers for the brunt of the work; even the person bringing in said volunteers was one themselves,later firedfor not being quick enough in their “hiring” process.
However, if the game was nothing more than a scam,why would the devs come back with much smaller games, asking for forgiveness?
An Uphill Battle For Trust & Reputation
A year after their fall from grace,Fntastic has been revived with Fntastic 2.0, their new strategy.
Fntastic has pledged that it has learned from past mistakes, and isnow committed to honesty, transparency, and professionalism.
Many users questioned the “audacity” of coming back and asking for money, saying thecompany deserves to be sued for theft.Indeed,no one faced legal repercussions forThe Day Before.
Others asked for a return of Fntastic’s former game,Propnight, which the studio hadlost the IP rights to after it closed down.
In almost all the replies, Fntastic has ushered users totheir websitefor more information.
The revamped website, now a mix of bright blue and white, hosts an entire PDF that details Fntastic’s plan, which you canread here. The company claims itwon’t be using volunteer workers anymore and that it will post frequent updates on social media to keep fans in the loop.
The new color scheme is followed by a focus on smaller games, befitting their nowsmaller team.While some employees are there on “goodwill,” others are juggling multiple jobs, showing the studio’s financial limitations.
We realize that it will be difficult to regain the trust of the audience, but that doesn’t mean that nothing needs to be done. We are fully motivated and will put that motivation into our next projects. We hope we will live up to expectations
Fntastic has also promised thatif the Kickstarter fails, which will result in their second closure, backers will be refunded.
Trust is hard to gain, and almost impossible to regain, especially in the gaming industry.There’s no telling if players will be generous enough for Fntastic to make a comeback or not.
Still, games should be judged on their own merit—why should a new IP carry the burden of those who came before it? But, all things considered, a thief on parole probably wouldn’t be wanted as a jewelry store clerk on their first job back.
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