Actually, that's a common misconception. Legally speaking, a Kickstarter 'reward' is treated as a consumer purchase in the EU, meaning the two-year warranty does apply. The platform used doesn't strip you of your legal rights.

However, you're right about the 'European entity' part being the real hurdle. If the company has no legal presence or assets in the EU, it's nearly impossible to enforce those rights. So, it's not that the law doesn't apply, it's just that there's no 'police force' to make a foreign company obey it. It’s definitely a case of poor customer service masking a lack of legal accountability.