I love playing Noir detective styled games with all the questions, the intrigue, and the overall mystery of the case you're trying to solve. When I first came across Backbone I knew that I needed to add it to my gaming list. At the moment the game isn't full released, however, the developers over at EggNut did share the free demo with everyone so that we can see what the game is all about. So let's get started!
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| Backbone Prologue: Vancouver Movie Theater |
Game Description
Backbone: Prologue is the demo of an upcoming noir-inspired detective adventure. Step into the shoes of Howard Lotor - anthropomorphic raccoon and private eye - and explore the beautifully rendered 2.5D pixel art environments of dystopian Vancouver.
Howard Lotor is smart, self-assured and set in his ways. Caught in the tedium of day-to-day life, he’s resigned to the abuses of the authoritative regime in power and compliant with the systemic inequality that permeates society. Most of the cases he works on are unremarkable domestic disputes. Odette Green’s case probably won’t be any different.
Backbone's gameplay is a new take on point-and-click adventure, featuring stealth, exploration and extensive branching dialogues inspired by classic CRPGs. As Howard, you must traverse the different districts of a now walled-off Vancouver, sniff out clues, collect evidence, interrogate witnesses, and choose which leads to follow.
Inspired by film noir, Backbone will submerge you into its dark dystopian atmosphere. Every animation in the game is handcrafted frame by frame, and environments are modeled after real streets of Vancouver, BC. The breathtaking combination of high resolution pixel art and 3D effects like dynamic lighting, pouring rain, volumetric fog and neon lights bring the sprawling city to life. Original doom jazz soundtrack will keep you on the edge with the enveloping veil of bebop and cinematic soundscapes, where every sound tells a story.
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| Backbone Prologue: Investigating Scene |
Storyline
I was super intrigued with the storyline. In the beginning I thought that Howards case would be simple, find evidence for his client and move on to the next case. Oh boy, was I wrong about that. This case is deeper than anything that I could have expected. Well, maybe not 100% unexpected but it defiantly opens the doors into what the game will focus on and I can't wait to see what's coming next.
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| Backbone Prologue: Howard Hiding From Rats |
Gameplay
I really liked how the gameplay was super open. While playing the game you had the ability to choose who you spoke to as and used it to either make things better for yourself or more difficult. For example, what you say to a character will determine if you they either help you or they ignore you. Because of this, this forces you to change your game plan on how to approach each situation and I had so much fun playing the game and looking at how each of these conversations affected my game play.
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| Backbone Prologue: Taking to Clarissa |
Puzzles
When I first started to play the game, at first I believe that there was only one way to play the game. For example, while Howard investigates a bar where you're looking for a your clients husband, you have the option to enter a building a few different ways after getting kicked out. One way is solving a password code to have a door opened for you as you seek up to the second floor. The second way is climbing a ladder to the roof and then entering the building. Though I will admit I haven't explored this second route, I still find it fun that you can chose how you investigate.
Thank you everyone for reading! I'm really looking forward to the full released of Backbone and I will be keeping my eye on the games development as the team moves forward. So have you played Backbone Prologue? I would love to know down in the comment below what you think of the Prologue. If you haven't played the game yet, you can find Backbone Prologue on Steam.
Until next time,
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