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Howard is delightfully snarky and bitter, yet lovable (or that’s how I chose to play him, anyway), Clarissa is a confident and imposing villainess, and others like paranoid conspiracy nuts, chipper cab drivers, at least one notable cameo and a recurring newsstand owner are also treats that also provide nice levity as well, alongside the more sympathetic characters and dramatic moments. Sure enough, the characters in Backbone are one of its biggest selling points. It’s a game where multiple playthroughs are encouraged, maybe not changing more plot-heavy elements, but worth going back just to see if different options have different impacts, even if it’s just seeing how certain characters react this time around.
#Backbone game how to#
And even those options can come with their own choices about how to approach them. Or sometimes you might have to decide how to sneak into a building, like either climbing up and getting in from the rooftops or sneaking in through the back entrance. Saying the wrong thing may put a quick halt to a conversation, and thus might require Howard to find alternate means of getting what’s needed, if possible. It helps that with different approaches when it comes to how you handle Howard’s investigation, the opportunity for multiple paths arises.
#Backbone game full#
And trying to untangle this web until it makes sense is indeed fun, and the game is at its strongest when letting you go full detective. Some bits may be essential to the big picture, a couple may be just red herrings.
![backbone game backbone game](http://www.gamingdragons.com/images/game_img/screenshots/backbone/e148348c231e5b67fa9f7d085d92da52.jpg)
You have to do whatever it takes to get the facts out of people…but what conclusions and theories you arrive at with these facts, especially when it comes to discussing them with people like Renee who can help, is mainly up to you. The majority of the gameplay in Backbone is dialogue-based (with a couple of light puzzles), meant to evoke classic CRPGs, where Howard has to rely on his words and whatever wits he has in order to get ahead. The closest comparison I can make is the Rubacava portion of Grim Fandango, which is probably one of the highest honors I can give a game’s story.Īnd like a lot of noir tales, the plot goes through a lot more twists and turns than it appears at first. The true joy comes from discovering all of the details about the game’s world as you go along (in particular, the caste system they have and hints towards what the dystopian parts actually come from), which is delivered in a natural way as you interact with the cast of colorful characters.
#Backbone game free#
Or to be more accurate, I suppose I don’t really want to, since this is another game where going in blind may be the best approach (even if there has been a free prologue out for a while now). I really can’t go into spoilers about what exactly drives the plot in Backbone. But when hired to track down a potential cheating husband and find out what’s going on, Howard’s investigation leads him to a club called The Bite, where he has run-ins with crime boss Clarissa Bloodworth and investigative journalist Renee Wilson, eventually uncovering…let’s just say something shocking that leads to a much larger case than Howard expected.
![backbone game backbone game](https://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/backbone.jpg)
Set in a dystopian version of Vancouver (simply known as “The City” here) that’s populated by anthropomorphic mammals (birds and reptiles remaining regular animals), Backbone sees you playing as Howard Lotor, a raccoon and a private investigator with the type of gruff, snarky exterior that you’d expect from a character such as this, having been stuck with small-time cases. Coming from Raw Fury and developers EggNut, Backbone is another offbeat noir adventure that easily commands your attention and finds ways to keep a hold of it. Does anyone really want “normal” detective games anymore? Was Disco Elysium a possible game changer, alongside the more Twin Peaks-inspired titles like Kathy Rain or the Darkside Detective games? Or is there just something about certain genres or twists on established ones such as film noir that draws us in more? I don’t think I can necessarily say, but after games such as Backbone, I can say that I’m okay with never going back to normal if it means more games like this.