Paper Animal RPG takes inspiration from Paper Mario and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

Paper Animal RPG is a rather cute looking upcoming game. Currently in development from Cuddling Raccoons Studio it's a mixture of exploration, dungeon crawling, combat and a little relaxation by the campfire too.

With inspiration taken from the likes of Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi as well as the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series it sure does look rather lovely. Each game is randomly generated and that includes a different map, items, skills, events and NPCs so it will be fresh(ish) each time. Featuring a rather interesting battle system that blends together tile-combat with real-time mechanics so it definitely has my attention there.

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Game Features:

• Procedurally generated maps!
• 6 adorable characters, specializing in power, utility and defense!
• A bunch of consumable items. Once you stole a cookpot from an enemy camp you can combine them and experiment with the results!
• Equip and upgrade skills suited to a character's role and customize your playstyle!
• Find stickers that grant passive abilities - if you get lucky you can even find more powerful, holographic ones!
• Defeat mean bosses, which have each an alterantive stronger version when you start a Rewind Run!
• Classic Mode is too hard? Try Casual Mode, which features tweaked gameplay settings for an easier experience!
• Compete against other players for a global online highscore who played with the same generation seed as you in Tournament Mode!
• Numerous unlockable achievements, which guide you to explore all aspects of the game!

It's crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with the developer telling me clearly Linux will be supported. They've also now updated the campaign to note this in the FAQ:

Does PC include Linux? What about Steam Deck?

Yes, and yes! Paper Animal RPG will be natively supported on Steam Deck.

Seems the campaign has been popular, with the €40,000 goal nearly hit with 28 days still to go so it's a clear winner.

You can also follow it on Steam.