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topicnews · September 27, 2024

The makers of The Day Before are back and asking for your money again

The makers of The Day Before are back and asking for your money again


After the debacle surrounding The Day Before, Fntastic now wants to bake smaller rolls - but again with your money.
After the debacle surrounding The Day Before, Fntastic now wants to bake smaller rolls – but again with your money.

Fntastic, the development studio that made headlines worldwide with the disastrous launch of The Day Before, actually wants to make a fresh start.

Despite the enormous criticism, allegations of fraud and the rapid demise of their shooter prototype, the Russian Gotovtsev brothers apparently do not want to admit defeat yet. Around a year after the disaster, the studio launched a Kickstarter campaign as Fntastic 2.0 to finance a new project.

The Deep Fall of The Day Before

Fntastic’s story begins with great promise: The Day Before was supposed to be an ambitious survival open world MMO, but even before the release there were legitimate doubts about the authenticity of the project. The suspicion of embellished trailers and repeatedly postponed release dates makes many people suspicious.

When the game finally came onto the market, the fears were confirmed: A barely there game framework, technically poor condition and absolutely miserable game design led to a record-breakingly bad Metacritic score of 0.4 – just four days later the game was taken off Steam again. The closure of Fntastic followed immediately.

The Day Before: The most amazing scenes you will ever see
The Day Before: The most amazing scenes you will ever see


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2:58


The Day Before: The most amazing scenes you will ever see

But apparently the development team had not yet reached the final point. A few months after The Day Before’s failure, rumors began circulating that Fntastic was secretly working on a new game. But who would voluntarily continue after such a fiasco?

This is how Fntastic’s comeback should succeed

Unbelievable but true – Fntastic is back. With a new name (Fntastic 2.0) and a new game.

Escape Factory is a co-op puzzle platformerin which you play giant characters that look like a mix of Minions, Fall Guys and the worms from Worms. The game already has a playable demo on Steam, and the trailer promises a Halloween release:

Escape Factory: With this game, the makers of The Day Before want to regain your trust
Escape Factory: With this game, the makers of The Day Before want to regain your trust


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1:01


Escape Factory: With this game, the makers of The Day Before want to regain your trust

But the most amazing thing about this return: The developers are once again asking you for financial support. They want to raise a whopping $15,000 via Kickstarter to finance the project. So far only a handful of supporters have contributed a total of almost 350 euros – the goal seems a long way off.

The trust seems to be completely lost

It’s clear that Fntastic has a lot of work to do to regain players’ trust. In their official rescue plan, published on their new website, the studio promises more transparency, honesty and a professional approach to future projects.

They will provide regular development updates, conduct open beta testing, and make marketing clearer and less exaggerated – exactly the points that caused trouble in The Day Before.

In contrast to the past, the practice will also be abandoned, external volunteers will be included as unpaid workers and will instead rely more on permanent employees.

This turnaround sounds promising on paper, but whether the community is willing to trust again after the debacle of The Day Before remains questionable. There are already several threads in the new game’s Steam forum in which the developers are outright fraudsters be insulted. There is also already a list of assets from the Unity Store that Fnatic is using in the new game.

It seems as if Fntastic wants to draw a line under the past with all its might and now bake smaller rolls. At least there’s a good chance they can actually deliver a more modest project like Escape Factory. Whether the studio deserves a second chance is now in your hands. But with a history like this, skepticism is certainly warranted.

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