Cast your mind back. You’re in primary school, and that one kid won’t stop scratching their head. It won’t be long before your head is itching, too. No doubt everyone’s had a run-in with headlice at some point, so it’s definitely earned its stripes as a subject for a horror game. Headlice sees players fleeing an overfunded megacorp as a grotesquely cute biological abomination. Instinct is all you have as you swing and bite your way through office floors full of employees and even gain a few more genetic enhancements along the way!
The New Zealand-based studio, Bunguin Games, began development on Headlice back in 2023, funding the game’s development through work-for-hire arrangments. With the launch of the Kickstarter, Bunguin Games is looking to finance the final stretch of Headlice’s development. Making the game has been a labour of love for the team having already self-funded $200,000 towards making the game so far.
The complete game will have 16 levels in total for players to live their best parasitic life. This is exactly the type of experience perfect for fans of the Goat Simulator series, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Untitled Goose Game, Squirrel with a Gun or Bread. That mix of pure, unadulterated quirk and chaos in Headlice mixed with an array of abilities to let players live out their most parasitic dreams.
Among the Headlice’s Kickstarter rewards, backers can get special character cosmetics and physical merchandise along with opportunities to work with the developers on the game. There are limited opportunities to have input into the game’s design for those with the right budget. From naming an in-game employee, designing a poster or cosmetic, or even making a bespoke game level on the highest tier, there are many ways to make your mark on the final game.
For those interested in jumping in and getting an early go at Headlice, there is a demo available on Steam. It’s just a sneak peek of the action in the full game, but it does show off just how much fun the games are going to be. For now, players can preview three parasitic abilities present in the game, but be warned, it will have you more than itching!
You can pledge Headlice on Kickstarter here.
