''Kona'' is an

adventure video game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-base ...

developed by the Canadian studio Parabole and published by Ravenscourt. Set in October 1970, the game centers on Carl Faubert, a private investigator, who arrives at a snowy town in

Nord-du-Québec Nord-du-Québec (; en, Northern Quebec) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With nearly of land area, and very extensive lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula ...

, only to find the place deserted with something that is lurking around. A sequel, ''Kona II: Brume'', is scheduled for release in 2023.

Gameplay

''Kona'' includes survival and supernatural elements with buildings to explore, which contain loot (tools, light) and can serve as shelters. The threats include cold (solved by setting up fire) and wolves (which can be shot or distracted with raw meat). There is a stress level, which increases by seeing upsetting scenes, dealing with tough situations, or having accidents. A higher stress level will decrease the sprint speed and add a shakier aim, but Carl can calm himself by smoking cigarettes and drinking beers that are spread around. The navigation of the region is done by Carl's truck in a first-person viewpoint. While driving, Carl can hold the zoomable map in his right hand in case something needs to be checked. The game has Carl's thoughts being narrated as he goes through clues to find out what has happened to the town, along with puzzles that support the story.

Development

''Kona'' was developed by the Canadian-based company Parabole. Initial funding for the game came through a

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...

campaign on the ''

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

'' website. The campaign was launched on August 7, 2014, with a goal of CA$40,000; it ended on September 6, 2014, with CA$44,271 raised by 1,304 people. The lead developer, Alexandre Fiset, later said that the funding from ''Kickstarter'' would have produced a five-minute game. Later funding for the game came from the

Canada Media Fund The Canada Media Fund (CMF, french: Fonds des médias du Canada - FMC) is a public-private partnership founded on April 1, 2010 by the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian cable industry. It is used to fund the creation of original ...

, which accounted for roughly half. It was released on

Steam Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alp ...

in March 2016, and fully released a year later.

Reception

On its release, ''Kona'' was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics on ''

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

'', with an aggregate score of 73% for Microsoft Windows, 71% for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and 63% for

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.parabole.ca/en/portfolio/kona Kickstarter-funded video games 2017 video games Early access video games Linux games Windows games Xbox One games PlayStation 4 games Nintendo Switch games Adventure games Detective video games Video games developed in Canada Video games set in Canada Video games set in 1970 Stadia games Single-player video games Ravenscourt games