After a dashing re-announcement of sorts a little over a week ago, side-scrolling action game Cresata is planning to officially launch its Kickstarter campaign in late 2026. Following its reveal, we were able ask Rocket Panda Games CEO Mikey McNamara (M.Panda) some questions.
McNamara explained how the project’s big refresh happened, how they’re Rocket Panda and Shatter Flask are planning to differentiate it from other side-scrollers, and more. Here’s our complete Q&A over email:
What can you tell us about how and when the project came to be? The teaser we’ve seen looks quite mature already.
Thank you very much. The original developer, Shatter Flask Games (SFG), has been working on the project for quite some time, and they reached out to us to assist them with a Kickstarter campaign. When we reviewed the game, we liked it so much, I offered Rocket Panda Games to co-develop the game and publish it. Rocket Panda Games got involved around October of 2025.
How hard was it to nail down the striking 2D+3D aesthetic? Was it always envisioned like that, or did you at an earlier point consider a more traditional presentation?
David at Shatter Flask Games has been working very hard over the years to perfect this particular aesthetic. When getting involved in the project, he showed me past prototypes and versions that looked very different to what we currently see. There are versions that don’t have the “pixelated” 3D feel, versions with completely different lighting, etc… This was a huge point of focus for David and the team.
How do you intend to stand apart from other Castlevania-inspired indies and brutal action platformers? What would be the main gameplay hook?
One way we are standing out is through the 2D+3D aesthetic, and the revolving camera work, which will feel very fresh to players.
Likewise, our game is not a metroidvania, but rather a stage-based progression: 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, etc… We believe there are players who prefer simple level-based progression these days because they want a quick and satisfying action platformer experience.
How much of a story are you planning to have in Cresata? Is it more of a setup and then old-fashioned progression, or do you have fully fleshed-out narrative beats throughout the adventure?
As much as I love reading, I don’t love excessive reading within video games. There will be interactions between our hero and certain enemies before and after their fights, but nothing too excessive.
Our hope is for the player to feel immersed in the world and “want” to learn more, as opposed to being told about the world’s lore through excessive text.
Aleks Le and Ben Starr’s involvement will no doubt bring attention to the game. Are you planning to reveal or cast more big names in the space?
Thank you very much! These two have been instrumental to our campaign, and Aleks Le has come on board as a co-producer of the game, taking charge of voice over direction and casting, etc.
We are still working on the cast, but hope to have a really good team assembled in time for our Kickstarter campaign launch later this year.
What is something that you hope to achieve with this Kickstarter campaign in terms of game content or stretch goals, if you can talk about those?
We are actually discussing in real-time with the team how we would like to approach the Kickstarter. We will definitely be sharing a demo of the game when we launch the KS, so players can get some hands-on time.
The Kickstarter’s main focus will be on:
- Completing the game with super high quality
- Additional ports
- Japanese voices?
At least those are some items we’ve been tossing around.
What can you tell us about the music? Who’s doing it?
Great question! We’re still developing our musical strategy, but the trailer’s music was done by a pretty famous Japanese composer, who is still unnamed at this time. Hah!
Hopefully we’ll have more to share in time for the Kickstarter campaign.
Cresata, previously known as Revenant’s Reach, is coming to PC and consoles in 2027. No specific launch platforms besides Steam have been announced yet, as development is still ongoing and might be partially shaped by the Kickstarter campaign.
For the latest gaming news, follow GameWatcher on BlueSky, check out our videos on YouTube. We sometimes include affiliate links in our posts, which grants us a small commission, thank you. Please support independent Games Media. ❤️
