Team Behind Biggest Scam of Recent Years Is Back. The Day Before Devs Argue That „Everyone Deserves a Second Chance”
Studio Fntastic is back in a new, professional, and honest version 2.0 after the „fame” brought to it by the release of The Day Before almost a year ago.
The Day Before developers are back with a new project and crowdfunding campaign. Team Fntastic is back in the "2.0 version," asking players for a “second chance” in new social media posts.
The developer is adopting an "all or nothing" approach, promising that in case of failure, they will refund the money, and success will result in "more games" from the studio. All the "contributions" will be allocated to the development of the game, "not for profit." The team also takes "full responsibility" for the failure of The Day Before.
Fntastic 2.0 didn't impress players
To say that players didn't receive the announcements of Fntastic 2.0 with enthusiasm would be a significant understatement. The developer's posts on X have many more comments than likes, and the Kickstarter campaign for Escape Factory (as the studio's new title is called) was supported by a whole… 12 people. Another thing is that this group of twelve has already paid $520 out of the $20,000 set by the devs.
Even the most professional journalists in the industry cannot conceal their indignation at what can only be honestly described as the developers' audacity. The entire setup of the action seems like a joke straight from a stand-up comedy: from the new logo (specifically its color) to declarations of change and professionalism, admitting mistakes, and plans to "create games that will be loved for decades," to asking players for support, including financial one.
These are the actions of the devs whose game sparked controversy long before its release and then was abandoned shortly after its debut. At least its servers stayed up longer than Concord's... but that's probably the only comparison that puts TDB in a somewhat positive light: comparing it to a title whose release many gamers consider to be the biggest failure of the last decade.
Second or another chance?
Players are simply furious and repulsed by the announcement of Fntastic 2.0 and the plea for a "second chance," so there is no need to mention individual comments. As many internet users point out, this is by no means the team's second attempt at game development.
The studio has several other games to their credit. Not all of them achieved, "success" on par with The Day Before, but some of them were also abandoned even before the studio was closed. Many of them also faced accusations of so-called "asset flipping," which means basing a game on ready-made objects instead of creating models independently.
Fall Guys 2.0
The same allegations appear regarding the Fntastic 2.0 project. Escape Factory also seems to use ready-made assets, and the gameplay scheme seems to be a copy of Fall Guys.
The game is supposed to involve multiplayer gameplay, in which players will try to escape from the factory, and "cool challenges based on a credible physics system" will stand in their way. The first screenshots on Steam really do bring to mind the studio's game, even though we have a top-down view instead of the character's perspective from behind and a less colorful style.
These two accusations only deepen the dislike and lack of trust towards the new, "professional" and "honest" Fntastic studio in version 2.0.
On a side note: don't count on a comeback for either The Day Before nor Propnight. The band lost the rights to both of these titles, as reported on the official website of the "new" studio.
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