Zelda 2-inspired indie asks for $200 to make a spin-off in a month, but accidentally racks up $17,000 in Kickstarter funds instead

Retro-styled adventure game Sheep Lass: Tower of Ragigund has secured $17,000 on Kickstarter despite its creator only seeking $200 in funding.

Robin Poe is creating Sheep Lass, which was inspired by Zelda, Atari, and indie games like Fear and Hunger. "Unlike many of my contemporary Zelda-like adventure games this one aims to emulate the look and feel of the NES classic," Poe writes on the game's Kickstarter page, revealing that this means Sheep Lass won't have a huge story or complex control scheme.

"When I say Retro I mean it! Expect a stiff challenge that will have you theory-crafting the best route through the dungeon. I won't be pulling any of my punches. Here you have to earn your victories," Poe adds. Sheep Lass will boast just one main dungeon, through which the player has to fight a variety of enemies and utilize all the critical items around them to make it through alive. 

The plot of the game follows an evil sorcerer, Ragigund, who has been kidnapping knights and mages alike to enact some terrible plot. Your best bud Artegal set out to stop the fiend in their tracks, but you've not heard from them since, so now it's Bianca the Ewe's turn to venture into the grand dungeon and save the day.

Poe is seeking just $200 to make Sheep Lass, a surprisingly small amount. This is because Sheep Lass is a "small side project I expect to finish in a month," and a trial run to see how Poe handles making a Kickstarter-backed game. The current goal for Sheep Lass is to launch on Steam at some point in May 2024.

Shocking everyone, not least Poe, Sheep Lass has managed to blaze past $17,000 in funding, in under two weeks since the project first launched on April 12. The developer writes that they never could've expected this level of support, and that "everyone here at team sheep (just me) is extremely grateful." For someone who describes themselves as "just a passionate college dropout chasing a dream," that's nothing short of fantastic.

This means Poe now has to hit a lot of stretch goals on Kickstarter, including bringing in outside musicians to score Sheep Lass and adding unpredictable floors to the layout of the dungeon to add re-playability. There'll also now have to be hats and other cosmetics, and even another playable character on top of the titular Sheep Lass, with a "gimmick."

Hell, if you feel like it, you could have Poe as President if the game reaches $1 billion on Kickstarter. "The game will cost a negative amount, and I will run for US President in this year's election and enact world peace," Poe says of the very realistic stretch goal. If you feel like donating $25 billion to the cause, you'll secure a lovely PS4 port of Sheep Lass (locked to 30 frames per second).

While you wait for Sheep Lass to land, you can read over our upcoming indie games guide for a look over all the other small-time gems yet to come.