Ex-CoD and Titanfall devs announce shmup/brawler hybrid To the Death

A couple of ex-Infinity Ward and Respawn devs at new indie outfit Scary Mostro have launched a Kickstarter campaign for the unique-looking 2D action affair To the Death.

The genre hybrid sees two gravity-defying opponents running towards each other across a massive plain while battling throngs of foes. By defeating enemies you'll gain power-ups and customise your character on the fly before you inevitably run into the other player and do battle with them.

To prepare for the climactic rumble, you'll be given a series of optional objectives that can be completed to unlock rewards and there will be milestones to hit that will permanently upgrade your character's progression. Beyond that, even small behaviours will improve your prowess in some capacity. For example, running along the ground sharpens your sword.

While the basic premise is seemingly built for one-on-one versus modes, there will also be single-player and co-op options as well. In fact, there will be an entire single-player campaign where you'll alternate sides and discover secret areas as you learn why the two main characters are so dead set on killing one another.

To the Death's developers have quite the pedigree too with lead game designer Todd Alderman having headed game design on Modern Warfares 1 & 2, as well as Titanfall. Lead software engineer Francesco Gigliotti also worked on those games and claims to have been directly responsible for the control scheme that's become the industry standard for console first-person shooters. Additionally, art and animation is being handled by Section Studios, a team headed by Cecil Kim who worked heavily on the God of War series and was the visual development lead for God of War 3.

While Scary Mostro is looking for $400K to complete the project, it will add additional game modes and platforms upon hitting various stretch goals. At $500K and $600K the developer will add an infinite mode and four-player support respectively, while $750K will greenlight a PS4 and Vita version.

To the Death can be reserved for PC, Mac and Linux for $20, while $40 gets you two copies in addition to a digital art book and soundtrack. It's expected to come out around May 2015.

Currently To the Death's Kickstarter campaign has only raised $22,466 of its $400,000 goal, but it's still early days as it's got until 19th February to hit its funding goal.