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‘Ashen Rift’ Kickstarter Becomes an Early Success
With more than three weeks left in its crowdfunding campaign, the survival horror game Ashen Rift has already become another success for the horror genre after exceeding its humble $7,608 funding goal by more than a grand. The game follows a man who’s “afflicted with visions of his own death,” and his journey to find answers in a post-apocalyptic, monster-infested wilderness with the aid of his trusty canine companion.
There are still the stretch goals to consider, and to reach the first of them they’ll need to raise $30,000. That’ll unlock 2-3 additional Feeder enemy types, which they say will come in “all shapes and sizes,” with “some relying more on sight, sound or smell than others.”
If you’re interested in helping Ashen Rift reach its stretch goals, or if you’d like to learn more about the game, you can do both on its Kickstarter page.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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