ever since that hanfree story [0], Kickstarter has been a bit more explicit about creator obligations [1]. Creators are now told to "make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers" should the project fail or rewards not make it to backers. The terms of use also has an explicit warning about possible legal action at the bottom.
That's actually a watered-down version of what Kickstarter had before, with significantly less protection for backers. Previously the ToS said creators had to give either the rewards they'd promised or a refund. Kickstarter made a big deal about protecting backers a few years ago after ZionEyez took a quarter of a million in backer funds and then disappeared to a tropical beach never to be heard from again, then quietly removed those protections and more after the heat died down.
Not requiring a refund does seem somewhat reasonable. It's not as good for the backers, but won't terrify the companies being funded with a super-massive liability.