A team made of former Rare devs is planning to bring their spiritual successor of the Banjo Kazooie franchise to Kickstarter.

Playtonic Games, the studio made up by former developers of Rare Ltd., announced that their upcoming spiritual successor, codenamed: Project Ukulele, would be hitting Kickstarter in May. The team explained why on their studio's website.

Why Kickstarter? “Ivory backscratchers. Also, we want to make this the best game it can possibly be, with the creative freedom to ensure that the final product is something we can all be proud of. Since our public unveiling the community has cranked up the pressure for us to deliver the best game of our careers (so far…) and this will help us do that. It’s also a great opportunity to build community and have fans get their hands on all the cool physical rewards they want (and can sell on eBay in a few years at inflated prices… everyone wins!)” -Playtonic Games

Playtonic Games also noted that should the Kickstarter fail, they will try to release the game, but the Kickstarter is for adding new features and platform versions. Playtonic Games made the announcement during a developer session at EGX Rezzed. The two main characters of the game have yet to be revealed, but a glimpse of one reptilian creature can be scene between the foliage of this in-engine screenshot.

Playtonic Games admitted that the reason their characters have yet to be revealed is that doing so would "reveal too much about its gameplay" according to their interview with Eurogamer. Given its reptilian appearance, which may reveal gameplay elements, speculation might point to a camouflage or tongue grabbing game mechanic. A second in-engine view of the game was also posted, though regrettably no viewable character could be seen.

Rare is famous for such hits on the Nintendo 64 as Banjo Kazooie, Golden Eye, Diddy Kong Racing, and Donkey Kong 64. After being purchased by Microsoft in 2003, and canceling their upcoming Donkey Kong Racing title, the company began to see a change in direction and a gradual decline in critical acclaim. Many titles sold lower than expected, such as Viva Piniata and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.

What do you think of Project Ukulele, given what limited info we have? Would you like to see a resurrection of the 3D platformers of old? What changes, if any, would you like to see in the game from its spiritual predecessor? Is Kickstarter the best option? Let us know in the comments below!