Toby’s Island is, for those wanting the short version, what promises to be a mix of Pokemon and Animal Crossing. The Kickstarter PC game is ambitious in its promise, with monstrous Ferral rearing and slowly building up a town on the floating island main character Red Toby is on.
 
A 2D, side-scrolling game, Toby’s Island has players exploring and rebuilding the floating land they’re now living on and interacting with the various Lost spirits. These Spirits aren’t there just for show, though—you’ll be able to inject them into Ferrals you capture and raise to boost a Ferral’s abilities. Putting a twist on things, Ferrals also will have multiple evolutions depending on how you fight with them. Battles are turn-based affairs that are more akin to your traditional RPGs, however.
You’re almost alone on the island though for a while, which is where the town-building bit comes in. Players will have to farm for resources and food which can be used to gain buffs or unlock new areas. You’ll also have to craft to complete items.
 
Also of interest is that the game will be semi-random. Sometimes you’ll encounter a Lost early in the game. In another playthrough, it might come near the end instead. Other events, while scripted, will also occur at random times. Whether this is a good thing or not for you is up for debate, but it does lead to some fascinating possibilities. Hopefully, one of them does not include “being screwed over by RNG.” The developers also say the game will be heavily story-driven with a mix of both light and dark themes. It seems you’ll eventually have to face down the Dark One locked into the world as well.
Like in any RPG worth their salt, you will also have a series of puzzles to solve (ahh mysterious boxes lying around, why dost thou torment me?) and minigames such as fishing. Kickstarting the game and getting it past stretch goals could unlock other mini games such as treasure hunting, bowling, tower defense (YES!) and a collectible card game (DOUBLE YES!)
You can Kickstart Toby’s Island over here, and vote for it to be Steam Greenlit over here.
