Kova is a new 2D side-scroller shooting game that is described as Mass Effect and Destiny, combined with Metroidvania elements, as the main plot explores the concept of the Fermi Paradox.

Kova is developed by the husband and wife duo at Black Hive Media. The story follows around the lead protagonist, named Kova Rimor, as she travels the galaxy as a merc for hire. Humans have colonized hundreds of planets, but they have never come across alien life.

So when Kova stumbles upon a mysterious alien beacon out in space, she goes to investigate it. Before Kova has a chance to get any answers, her ship is interdicted by an unknown enemy ship and is shot down, where she crash lands on a deadly ice filled planet where she is forced to survive. Your starting objective is to mine for resources, craft items, and repair your ship so that you can get off the planet and get some answers.

What is the Fermi Paradox? In simple terms, the main story explores the concept that if the universe has an infinite amount of stars and planets, somewhere out there, there must be intelligent alien life similar to humans, yet despite that, we haven’t come across any aliens, which leads to the question “Where are they?” In the story for Kova, she believes that the strange beacons are a major clue, and if she follows them, the beacons will lead her to the answers she seeks.

However, the developers say that you won’t be stuck on just that one planet and Kova is primarily an action-adventure, platform game. Kova will feature a variety of different planets with their own distinct atmospheres, different town hubs, as well as a variety of side-quests for you to tackle.

You will also have a large selection of different upgrades and abilities that you will be able to unlock to customize Kova to match your playstyle. You will have to manage Kova’s battery and power usage to stay alive, upgrade your ship’s parts, and buy new powerful weapons to defeat enemy foes you come across. You will also be able to choose between three different factions, each with their own unique perks, quests and dialogue options for you to explore.

You can see from the gameplay video linked below that Kova was heavily inspired by classic titles like Castlevania and Super Metroid, but I also see a few elements of Starbound. Take a look at the Kova Kickstarter trailer linked down below to see for yourself.

https://youtu.be/v0ki7x_2oQ4

If you are interested in supporting the Kickstarter campaign you can visit the provided link to learn more, the project currently has 29 days left and they are shooting for a goal of $28,000 USD. For additional information about Kova, you can also visit their official website for further details.