If you’ve been playing EA Sports FC 25 and the Silent Hill 2 Remake over the past couple of months, an indie game looks like it could be right up your alley. It’s called FEAR FA 98 and it’s a “horror arcade soccer simulator” that’s just launched a Kickstarter.
The work of Madrid-based indie developer Jacob Jazz, whose previous projects as Celery Emblem include Tamarindos Freaking Dinner and Baobabs Mausoleum, both of which look to twin retro vibes with an odball variety of influences, FEAR FA 98’s very much contiuing that trend.
So, what is it? Well, based on the Kickstarter page that’s just gone up, Jazz is hoping to be able to build what’ll be a FIFA Street-style version of FIFA 98, but with a cornucopia of spooky and violent elements as the unique factor, rather than the ability to play a one-two to yourself off of a wall or play in some slightly more casual threads.
Matches will feature teams made up of the likes of “serial killers”, “sectarians”, and “psychopathic nurses”, and take place in stadiums modelled on graveyards, asylums, and spooky towns.
“During the match, the environment works against you, with monsters and traps appearing to make the game more interesting,” Jazz writes, “You can also use your weapons to drain the opposing team’s strength, with options like axes, rusty scissors, syringes, or even assault rifles. Additionally, you can summon ancient demons to assist you in battling the enemy forces!” Assuming these demons are the lanky lads lumbering about the pitch in the preview GIFs, they certainly look like they’ll fun to try and nutmeg with the ball, which is a severed head, because of course.
As of writing, the game’s Kickstarter has raised £874 of the £4,174 it’s aiming to reach by November 22. Jazz has outlined a bunch of ambitious plans for it, including both single-player and online elements, a story mode, and local co-op. They’ve also teased a “commentator mode” if backers want one, which would allow two players to channel their inner John Motson and natter over an online match being played by a couple of other players and sounds to me like it could be comedy gold.
“FEAR FA 98 plans its release on all consoles and mobile devices, depending on the economic stretch goals we achieve during the campaign,” Jazz writes, with PC via Steam being the starting point they’ve got in mind platform-wise. Thart version will be released if the project reacvhes its initial goal, with a bunch of other features and platforms being lined up if it can hit bigger goals, including a movie if the project raises a million Euros.