I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do. Shaun and I have been talking all day, and he has infiltrated my mind. The knee-jerk headline for this article was close to being "SHE RIDER ON MY CRANE UNTIL I DISCO ELYSIUM." But I successfully rolled a Self-Restraint skill check. You aren't here for amateur comedy hour, though -- you're here for me to tell you all about a Kickstarter for an incredible upcoming mystery game: The Crane Rider's Tale.

Why You Should Back This Kickstarter Project ASAP

Before I hold you all at e-gunpoint and demand your support, I'll be nice and abridge the why. Ahem. The Crane Rider's Tale is a project by Psychic Kiss, using inspiration from Disco Elysium and Chinese folklore to create a tantalizing murder mystery. As the Kickstarter campaign explains:

"You play as Mourn-No-More, a kind but sickly man whose giant pet crane Snowfall is the fastest form of transportation around. You make a living flying your fellow townsfolk from place to place. When your friend Peach Blossom is killed under baffling circumstances shortly after being flown to her destination, it's up to you to solve the mystery by picking your passengers wisely and learning all their secrets. Or is it? Actually, maybe you get murdered next?"

True to form for any game taking inspiration from one of the greatest CRPGs of all time? The Crane Rider's Tale is unhinged. One segment of the game's trailer shows Mourn-No-More attempting to stop his crane, Snowfall, from choking on some unknown object. Which requires a skill check, of course. As someone with a furry companion that likes to get into chaos -- against what you would hope is their natural sense of self-preservation -- I deeply related to this Herculean struggle. Hell, I'd argue one of the aspects I'm most looking forward to is how our relationship with Snowfall develops!

From Dream To Reality -- Let's Show 'The Crane Rider's Tale' Some Love

If you need some additional motivation? I got you! The Crane Rider's Tale's Director is none other than Brianna Lei, the brain-child behind Pom Gets Wi-Fi (which is free through itch.io, by the way) and the critically acclaimed, brilliantly written Butterfly Soup series! If you play through any of Lei's previous games? You'll immediately understand that we're in great hands on the writing front. The Crane Rider's Tale is shaping up to be a wildly ambitious experience that I hope fully reaches its Kickstarter funding goal and then some! (Click here to get to that campaign and support the cause!)

As of this writing, the campaign is less than $5,000 away from hitting its $80,000 goal with a little over two weeks to spare! At this point, why wouldn't you chip in? What are ya, some kinda Call of Duty player? (CoD fiends, please don't take offense to that. I bruise easily!)