Finally, the thrilling game of Russian roulette will be making its way to your living room! Andrew Reitano was “inspired by the best kinds of bar games” and nostalgia for the 8-bit NES when he began developing Super Russian Roulette. Since then, he has taken the cartridge—designed for play on the original NES console—on the road, and the party game was a favorite down at the Fantastic Fest arcade in Austin, Texas last year. Now, Reitano has started a Kickstarter campaign in order to bring Super Russian Roulette to the masses.
According to the Kickstarter page, “One unhinged 8-bit cowboy is prepared to call you yellow, call you crazy, mourn your death, or kick up his boots for the last time. One bullet waits in the light gun’s chamber. You, up to two friends, and The Cowboy take turns passing the pistol, spinning the chamber (or not!), and drinking to your own demise (or not).” (So, Russian Roulette is simply a more dangerous version of Pieface?)
“The NES has a special place in my heart,” Reitano says on his Kickstarter page. “So when I set out to make a game using the zapper, my intention was to work deliberately: to push its limits and show what it could do.” With its 8-bit, Morricone-inspired score and over four minutes of actual speech, the game is sure to thrill anyone who used to try and shoot that goddamn dog in Duck Hunt:
There are plenty of rewards for backers of the game, ranging from a digital download of the soundtrack, a copy of the cartridge to play at home, and, for the big-time robber barons, an opportunity to make an appearance in the game. The project currently has 100 backers, and has raised $7,006 of its intended goal of $20,000. There are only 33 days to go, so if you’ve always wanted to recreate scenes from The Deer Hunter in your rec room without the messy cleanup, donate today.