Backbone

Marktplatz

Plattform: PC Veröffentlicht: 01.06.2021

24,99€

Preis Update 13.11.24

Man muss schon aus ganz besonderem Holz geschnitzt sein, um sich dem größten Übel der Welt entgegenstellen zu wollen. Man braucht einen messerscharfen Intellekt. Unerschütterlichen Mut. Und den unbeugsamen Wunsch nach Gerechtigkeit.

Aber du? Du versuchst eigentlich nur, genug für die nächste Miete zu verdienen.

Du bist nichts Besonderes. Und schon gar kein Held. Allerdings bliebt dir aufgrund der Verkettung einiger unglücklicher Umstände nichts anderes übrig, als vielleicht den größten Fall deines Lebens zu lösen.

Also mach dich an die Arbeit, Detektiv!

ÜBER BACKBONE
Backbone ist ein Detektivabenteuer mit Rollenspielelementen im Post-Noir-Stil. Du trittst in die Fußstapfen von Waschbär-Privatdetektiv Howard Lotor und erkundest wunderschön gerenderte Pixel-Art-Umgebungen im dystopischen Vancouver.

Nach vielen Jahren kleiner Fälle und einsamer Abende gerät Howard Lotor, der meist kaum über die Runden kommt, an einen äußerst ungewöhnlichen Fall. Was einfach beginnt, entwickelt sich schnell zu etwas viel Düsterem und zwingt Howard dazu, gegen die unterdrückerischen Machthierarchien der Stadt ins Feld zu ziehen.

Minimum
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CPU: Multi-core 1.8GHz or faster
GFX: Nvidia GTX 760 or equivalent
RAM: 4 GB RAM
Software: Windows 7
HD: 1 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
LANG: Englisch

CPU: Multi-core 2.5GHz or faster
GFX: Nvidia GTX 950 or equivalent
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Software: Windows 7
HD: 1 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
LANG: Englisch

Deutsch (2)
Englisch (47)

1599 Produkte im Account

24 Reviews

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661 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.06.21 20:48

Die Story:
Willkommen in einer besonderen Stadt. Die Bewohner sind keine Menschen, sondern alle Tiere. Speziell Howard Lotor gerät in den Fokus des Spielers. Der alte Waschbär liebt seinen Trenchcoat und ist PI, also Privatdetektiv. Seine Wohnung ist vollgemüllt und dreckig, die Auftragslage ist schlecht und Freunde hat er auch nicht mehr viele. Umso begeisterter ist er deswegen, als eine schwangere Otterdame bei ihm erscheint und ihm einen Rechercheauftrag gibt. Ihr Mann würde fremdgehen und wir sollten einen Beweis dafür finden. Howard hätte nicht geahnt, dass dies nur der Einstieg in die Untiefen der Unterwelt ist und er sogar um sein felliges Leben bangen muss. Glücklicherweise ist er nicht allein, denn er bekommt eine Schriftstellerin an seine Seite. Diese wird seine Strategin, während er für die dreckige Laufarbeit zuständig ist. Dazu kommt noch der Taxifahrer Anatoly, welcher seinerseits um keinen Spruch verlegen ist. Mag es diese ungleiche Gruppe schaffen, der Kriminalität ein Ende zu bereiten?

Die Welt:
Die Stadt ist in verschiedene Bezirke unterteilt, wobei es ein Armenviertel, einen Arbeiterbezirk, eine Nachtmeile und die Science City gibt. Alles ist umringt von der Mauer, welche die Stadt von der angeblichen Wüste abgrenzt. Aber auch innerhalb der Stadt gibt es harte Strukturen: die Affen bilden die Regierung, die Nager werden unterdrückt und Katzen und Hunde genießen Sonderrechte. Natürlich gibt es Obdachlose und Räuberbanden, demnach existiert ein (hoffentlich nicht wertendes Pendant) zur aktuellen Gesellschaft.

Die Charaktere:
Der Waschbär Howard bietet das typische Abbild eines Klischee-PIs: am Rauchen, schlecht angezogen, rauer Charakter und immerwährende chronische Geldnot. Aber auch die anderen Figuren, wie die pfiffige Renee sind gut getroffen wurden. Eine Vertiefung der Beziehungen entsteht durch die intensiven Dialoge, doch sind die Auswahloptionen mitunter relativ unpassend.

Das Gameplay:
Der Akteur kann mit den Richtungstasten bewegt werden und nur wenige Orte untersuchen bzw. Gespräche führen. Ein Vergleich mit einem P&C-Adventure ist dadurch leider irreführend, da es relativ linear verbleibt und auch wenige Kombinationsmöglichkeiten existieren. Auch sind die Entscheidungen meist nur auf Beziehungen bezogen. Geschlichen wird auch, jedoch ist dies größtenteils irrelevant und es existieren wenige Rätsel. Den überwiegenden Anteil des Spiels ist man jedoch am Diskutieren mit all den Figuren, weswegen es meines Erachtens eher eine Visual Novell mit alternativen Spielelementen ist.

Die Probleme:
Über die Geschichte soll nicht so viel verraten werden, da sich der Twist nach 2/3 des Spiels noch einmal deutlich ändert. Warum jedoch genau dieser Marvel-artiger Anteil storytechnisch eingebaut worden ist, wird nicht ganz klar. Ebenso verläuft sich die Detektivgeschichte leider relativ schnell ins Nichts, da der Grundplot schnell verraten wird. Warum die Demo die besten Elemente beinhaltet und das Spiel diese dann vernachlässigt, ist auch eine seltsame Entscheidung seitens der Entwickler. Das Spielkonzept wirkt dadurch eindeutig nicht rund und kann auch nicht durch die tolle Pixelgrafik gerettet werden. Der Soundtrack beinhaltet auch schöne Tracks, welche jedoch seltsamerweise immer mal wieder in den Dialogen ausfaden, was den Spieler in einer unangenehmen Stille zurücklässt. All dies wäre nicht so problematisch, wenn diese 10 Stunden Spielzeit (wenn man die englischen Texte genauer analysieren will) satte 25 Euro kosten würde.

Fazit:
Ein wunderschön gestaltetes Abenteuer im Film-Noir Stil mit Anleihen an einen Marvelfilm. Dieses Kickstarter-Spiel war sehr ambitioniert, verliert sich aber in vielen Punkten. Wer einen besseren Eindruck gewinnen möchte, sollte die kostenlose Demo spielen, sich jedoch dessen bewusst sein, dass nirgends die gleiche Qualität wieder erreicht wird. Trotzdem kann ich das Spiel empfehlen, da es schöne Stellen besitzt und man noch nie so einen toll animierten Pixel-Waschbär auf zwei Beinen gesehen hat. Jedoch sei die Einschränkung genannt, dass die Empfehlung nur für einen reduzierten Preis auf 10-15 Euro gilt und man Fan von vielen Dialogzeilen sein muss.

Youtube (übersetzt ins Deutsche): Playlist von Elandirthor

???? Powered by HoI 4 Deu Curators group in German / English ????⠀⠀

181 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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293 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.06.21 19:22

Das Spiel macht es einem wirklich nicht einfach.
Die Atmosphäre, die Musik und die Charaktere sind großartig.
Bis zum Kapitel im Labor hat das Spiel eine tolle Geschichte alles was danach passiert ist... nunja Geschmackssache.
Es gibt einen Twist der meiner Meinung nach völlig unnötig war und die Geschichte ab dann immer unnötiger verwirrender/verstörender macht.
Letzendlich ist zu sagen das mich die Story unbefriedigend zurück lässt,

+ sehr gelungene Atmosphäre
+ sehr guter Soundtrack
+ gut geschriebene Charaktere
+ interessanter/schöner Grafikstil

- verwirrende, unnötige schräge Story ab der Mitte
- trotz des guten Soundtracks zu oft Momente in völliger Stille

Ich weiß nicht ob ich mir eine Fortsetzung wünsche um irgendwie die Story zu retten oder aber ob mein einfach andere Geschichten aus dieser Welt erzählt.

Das Spiel lässt mich leider sehr unschlüssig zurück.

151 Produkte im Account

16 Reviews

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172 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 08.05.22 12:01

Was a big fan of the prologue and was very excited for the full release. However past the first chapter it abandons all puzzles and stealth sections and just turns into a point and click talking simulator. The story goes nowhere and becomes extremely boring as you sit around for long periods in the game doing nothing but repeating conversations to the same characters. It then abruptly ends with numerous open plot points and no real conclusion. Art direction and music is amazing but the gameplay and story fall off very quickly. I was able to beat it and get a refund as the game is so short it took me a little under 3 hours to finish it. If you can get it for $5 or under I'd recommend it to see the ideas and art but any higher you're better off getting something else.

441 Produkte im Account

67 Reviews

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335 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 06.05.22 23:59

I mean the art is pretty good - Like the scenes and such and pixel art.
Really just expected an anthropomorphic detective story...

Decent story up to a point till it went way off to left field.

I mean??? - Someone stopped mid pitch and said, that's all I've got, where should we go with it.
Nope: it's heading too.... Zootopia... we've gotta change this.
Then the janitor stepped in and finished the story while everyone was at lunch.

Curious if they do another and see how it progresses. If it can get anymore out in left field.

43 Produkte im Account

10 Reviews

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241 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 05.05.22 21:15

I played the initial demo and really enjoyed the pacing and wish that could have continued into the full length. It's not bad awful, but it's somewhat frustrating given the promise of the original demo. Dialogue writing and some bits of the gameplay just seemed unpolished. Also distracted by bites of Disco Elysium. I lost interest after about 4 hours of play and am very glad i got this during a sale.

39 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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283 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 05.05.22 12:53

this is rather a novel than a game. your choice doesn't change the results. sometimes even the logic of the dialogues seems not fluent, as you can tell that the authors want to force the dialogues to a certain ending.
however, I would not say it has a bad ending. Actually I really love the ending, it feels like there is hope raise from the foggy and painful world.

149 Produkte im Account

33 Reviews

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136 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.05.22 02:58

Played the free prologue, enjoyed it, good set up, good atmosphere, excellent music. Was really excited for this game. Finally bought the game and was disappointed to find out that all the charm and multi-path approach of the prologue was lost. Pair this with the fact the writing took a nose dive. Couldn't bring myself to finish it.

173 Produkte im Account

49 Reviews

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287 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 30.04.22 20:46

the story is good, the art style is interesting and reminiscint of 90's games which allowed a classic and nostolgic feel. That being said i found myself annoyed, or bored at parts, and became frustrated by the game play and the story arc in which i participated. I have not finished this game and am not sure i want to

79 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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314 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 26.04.22 15:15

Great art work, details and world building.

Though after a certain point the game takes a twist and differs from the noire detective genra that it portrayed till that point, such a pointless plot twist.

Completely took me out the experience.

708 Produkte im Account

50 Reviews

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7 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 24.04.22 22:58

I can't in good faith suggest this game to Point and Click fans :(

I backed this game on Kickstarter because at the time, I was going out of my way to pursue and support games doing full releases on GOG, but what really caught my attention is that it was a Point and Click game. One look at my profile, and it’s easy to tell that I’m insane for point and clicks.

Awhile after the Kickstarter, a demo version of the game came out, labelled Prologue. One of the features showcased here were puzzles for the player to solve. The puzzle mechanic is absent from the final retail version of the game, barring one or two things to solve. For this reason, I think the demo is superior to the release game. Additionally, one the features funded via Kickstarter but absent in the final game is any voice acting. This is extremely disappointing. The developers also backed out of their Kickstarter promise of selling a version for those running Linux operating systems without notice.

Now, spoilers below, be warned!

The story of the final game starts out as advertised. You’re a raccoon detective named Howard who solves routine and mundane mysteries. When one day you get a phone call, regarding disappearances of people and a request to look into it. So, your task is to talk to people who may know about it and explore a fictionalized version of Vancouver. The music and visuals of the game really help to set the tone of Backbone, and I believe is the strongest part of the game. The gameplay is also unfortunately almost fully linear, leading to the few choices you make ultimately not mattering much.
The storyline on the other hand is easily what makes this a bad game. For the first and second acts, the story stays consistent within itself and reality slowly sinks in that people are being butchered for meat to be eaten by the affluent of the city for pleasure. The story after you get found out for snooping is where things go off the rails and fall apart. Not only is there a butchering murderer, but for some reason that’s also a secret laboratory with an alien symbiote in it! One thing leads to another, and it’s attached itself to Howard and you’re taken captive to prevent it from getting out. This is the point where all the plot development and atmosphere of the game goes out of the window. It’s one thing to have a giant twist late in a story, it’s another to essentially start telling a completely different story in the middle of telling another.

At this point the symbiote has begun consuming and transforming you, leading to Howard trying to make an escape from the laboratory, later waking up in a rebel commune without memory of how he got there. From here on out, the game focuses on the alien sci-fi story and pretty much discards the Noir story that was happening before, all amounting to an end screen where Howard just collapses and dies, the main story AND this alien story unresolved.
Upon release, I had a viewing party with a friend of mine as he played through the game. We had both been excited for years for the game to be released, so we played the game the first chance we got. This ending took all our excitement away the moment the alien laboratory appeared. We were pulled out of this murder mystery we’d been tasked with and essentially played for fools. The developers have been adamant that all this was their intention, but that still doesn’t justify the ending clashing with the rest of the story, and it ending in a disappointing fashion. I’m gonna side with the reviews on the Prologue and agree that you should skip the full game and go with just the Prologue. Also for some reason the game asks for Firewall access and I’m not sure why.
On that note, the developer’s behaviors toward players asking them questions has been really poor. Case in point, a fan and player of the game simply asked the developer why Howard’s ear was damaged in the final game, when there’s scenes in the Prologue where this isn’t so. Instead of being kind to the person, the development staff and fans of the game proceeded to mock the person who asked openly, both within the game’s community discord and on the game’s official Twitter. So, in writing this review I’ve taken it upon myself to scope out why this person may have been confused, and I found my answer; the visuals for Howard are inconsistent, as seen here. These screenshots are from the Prologue version of the game, but I confirmed the frames are identical in the release version as well.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2799374335

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2799374384

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2799374430
Just by looking at these screenshots, you can understand why somebody would be confused as to why the ear was injured and suddenly not harmed in the next scene. As a disabled person that misses subtle details, I understand why the person that asked this question was confused, and the developers should be ashamed for helping to enable the mistreatment of this person. For the privacy of the person, I won’t be posting screenshots regarding them, they’ve had enough happen to them already. This toxic behavior from social media teams for brands has been normalized by brands like Wendy’s, and to some it’s amusing, but in my opinion the person in charge of social media for Backbone acted in bad faith toward the person that asked about Howard’s ear for clout and relevancy.

In closing, just because video games are art, doesn’t mean they’re immune to criticism. An artist’s vision is imperfect, and by putting an artistic work out into the world you open yourself (and those who worked with you) to criticism for that work. For these reasons, I cannot recommend this game, and am disappointed the game turned out way different than what I bought into.

43 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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246 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 21.04.22 17:24

Beautifully drawn and very engaging, at least for the first half of the game. The less autonomy the player character has, the less engaging the game becomes. Could use more puzzles and exploration, but overall, a wonderful game.

354 Produkte im Account

11 Reviews

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125 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 29.03.22 13:33

Backbone is a short 2d walking simulator. I was expecting an adventure game with puzzles and actual game play, and there are none except a few infiltration séquences. The branching dialogues are pointless, because thé story will be the same anyways. Speaking of the story, it is... Unexpected, at least. But it is also unfinished. You are left with many unanswered questions.
The good parts are the graphics, which are great as you can see on the screenshots, and the music, if you dig blues and jazz.

350 Produkte im Account

19 Reviews

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440 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 26.03.22 06:19

- Compelling first 2/3rds let down by a really terrible ending.
- It's like the devs decided the stakes weren't high enough and added some extraneous nonsense without either tying up their loose plot-ends or thinking about how to integrate player agency into the latter part of the game.
- The art direction in the game is phenomenal. Lively characters and settings, great detail in every environment.
- I liked the dialogue trees in the game, I've read that not much dialogue actually affects the plot and it seemed to me that every failed speech puzzle had an alternate method.
- The 'detective' aspects of the game felt really shallow - there were some brainless puzzles, some 'codebreaking', some monkey-island style, that all felt very linear and not so much a problem-solving struggle than a find obvious object and take it to obvious use-case.

51 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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375 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 23.03.22 19:53

Short but worth it. Despite a variety of dialogue branches, the story has a single linear path.

149 Produkte im Account

58 Reviews

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215 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.03.22 08:45

I mean it's good and worth getting (IF IT'S ON SALE) but this did end up being Loose Ends - The Game. The art style and soundtrack really carry this game to being enjoyable. The story isn't bad, but as I said..... LOOSE. ENDS. EVERYWHERE

442 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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257 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.03.22 03:15

While I agree with the general sentiment that the ending felt rushed, I thoroughly enjoyed Backbone. The art style is gorgeous, the soundtrack was full of incredible numbers, and the team clearly tried to write a story that grappled with a number of different philosophical problems. I can't say that they accomplished every task they set out to do, but at the end of the day I enjoyed the experience enough to walk away wanting more.

45 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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430 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 07.03.22 21:57

No game-play, rushed story, disappointing ending

264 Produkte im Account

18 Reviews

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321 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 04.03.22 17:01

This game had a strong start. Unfortunately what sells as a Noir Detective game, mid-game changes its course and becomes a philosophical drama. The story is also pretty shallow and sometimes quite cheap, with lots of details which are not relevant soon after. Im disapointed. But hey, the art is top. Beautiful, indeed. If that is enough for you this game is for you but thats not good enough for me. I couldnt recommend.

34 Produkte im Account

7 Reviews

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207 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.01.22 11:55

I'm disappointed. I had played this game way back and haven't even hit 3 hours on a $25 game. Don't get me wrong the art is beautiful and I love the idea of being a detective and well as everyone being animals like Zootopia but my god is this game short and there's only one ending. This would be such an amazing game if it had a better story, longer gameplay, and had different ending depending on your actions. If I would have known how short it was and the dumb ending I wouldn't have bought it or gotten a refund but alas i'm over an hour.. $25 are you serious? If anything it's worth $10 with the reasons I've said. I'm sorry to say but I don't recommend this and I would have rather watch someone play it.

51 Produkte im Account

9 Reviews

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575 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.01.22 23:16

The fall of a man

162 Produkte im Account

16 Reviews

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710 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 11.01.22 08:40

Such wonderful pixel art design but i feel like this game so much wasted potential at the end...Wait so long for this game but it end up like that its kinda sad. It feels like if u dont read dialogs at the end it doesnt matter. When u choose something it changes nothing at the end...Soo much wasted potential here =/

9 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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281 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 10.01.22 00:36

Beautiful art and good music. Ending was a bit anticlimactic and didnt have as good an atmosphere as the rest of the game, but the narrative was very strong and the characters well written, so as long as you can manage an open ended story its definitely worth a play through. good social commentary too.

21 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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355 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 04.01.22 14:44

Although after act one, there were practically no puzzles to be solved, and the game felt a bit rushed at the end, I still very much enjoyed the story and felt that it was worth the money if gotten on sale. The world they have created for this game has a lot of potential.

111 Produkte im Account

10 Reviews

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400 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 03.01.22 05:56

I can understand why people didn't react well to the way this game was announced and marketed, because the marketing definitely made it sound and look like this was several things it isn't. When I compare this to what the marketing told me it was going to be, I'm disappointed to.

But that's not the fault of the game itself, which is still a very good story. Just throw away the expectations before you go in.

39 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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328 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 28.12.21 20:34

Ok, great story, at least, great prologue, but after that it has no depth whatsoever, it feels cut short, almost as if the game was paid only for the prologue. Has an abrupt ending, and after searching for its kickstarter, I can definitely ask the devs, where's the STEALTH? ACTION? DETECTIVE WORK? SPECIAL SKILLS? CHOICES? STORY FFS? It has nothing. It's only a beautiful shell with 2% of content. Beautiful and well done art, but it ends there. I hope you, the developers, can finish this game, because it looks worth it.

263 Produkte im Account

11 Reviews

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300 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 23.12.21 07:18

Backed it on Kickstarter because of the great prologue.

Great visuals, music and atmosphere but terrible writing, purely cosmetic dialogue choices, no puzzles or gameplay variation whatsoever.

The game's also shifts genres midway from hard boiled noir to sc-fi pseudo philosophical case study on class-struggle and existential post-humanism(post-animalism?).

Couple all this with a terribly nihilistic ending.

What a disappointing mess.

142 Produkte im Account

12 Reviews

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254 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 10.12.21 18:40

I was originally a backer of the game. I was expecting a game similar to the prologue and I was absolutely psyched upon release.

Very quickly that excitement dwindled when I realized the actual detective aspect is gone beyond act 1, and there would be no other puzzles in the story. The remainder of the story is dialogue. Normally that would be alright, however the story strongly deviates from a noir detective story to what seems like a political science art project.

Having known what I know now, I would not have backed it and that pains me to say because I had very high hopes and watched the development process. We were left in the dark for the remainder of development where the story takes such a wild and strange turn.

31 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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345 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 01.12.21 08:22

☆☆☆
This is a complicated game that leaves you wanting in both good and bad ways. The world building is super rich and I was invested throughout and well after finishing it theorizing about the structure of the setting and how a bigger story fit within it. However, there is a stunning lack of delivery on ANY resolution to the numerous story lines presented.
In terms of visuals and mood, this game has some of the most stunning graphics I have come across, with an attention to detail that is really breathtaking. For game play, the first Act has quite a few semi-challenging puzzles that were really enjoyable, while the rest of the game has very little in terms of engagement past text options.
In the end though, I truly recommend Backbone. This game has really stuck with me and in some ways it's shortcomings add to an experience that is, in my opinion at least, well worth the time.

41 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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203 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 27.11.21 05:56

I haven’t finished yet but, as for now, the music, narrative and aesthetic really go well together, forming a really memorable noir-ish hardboiled detective ambience. As for now the stakes are pretty high so let’s hope they wrap up the mystery in a memorable way, that i guess will be the most hard thing to do. A must-play if you like detective narrative adventure games.

PS: It would be great if the developers add a B&W option.

440 Produkte im Account

7 Reviews

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256 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 25.11.21 14:58

The mystery of acts 1-3 and the decent writing devolves into an unfinished and hamfisted blob. The epilogue was extremely unsatisfying and clearly rushed.

465 Produkte im Account

76 Reviews

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230 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 24.11.21 00:53

Game is kinda janky, pretty short, and I'm not sure how the branching paths work. There isn't much gameplay, and the walking sequences aren't really my jam. People complain that the game didn't live up to its promises, and I believe them.

That said, the pixel art is gorgeous, the world is detailed, and I was genuinely engaged in the story. I enjoyed the game for what it is, and I'm glad I got it on sale. I plan on playing through it again with my girlfriend sometime, since I think she might like the story and world as well.

8 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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170 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 23.11.21 19:08

Officially speaking it's a good game: the visuals are amazing, very detailed, a lot of dialogue choices, 3 dimensional characters and an interesting plotline.
My personal opinion: it's not what I was expecting after having played the demo.
The multiple dialogue choices give you an option to expand your knowledge of what's going on but there is no real impact on the story.
As a matter of fact there is only one ending, Backbone is a linear visual novel game.
The puzzles stop at Act I, after that it's mainly story telling through interviewing people.

Long story short:
what I liked: visuals, characters, the way the game sucks you into the narrative and keeps you at it and the suspense it surrounds you with while giving you most of the tools to understand the story.
what I don't like: how some mysteries never get solved, how after Act I puzzles are never to be seen again, how the game makes me feel like there is more, there gotta be more but as a matter of fact there is not.

I am aware of how much it must have cost to make the game but I kinda regret buying it.
I am not really satisfied with the experience.
Maybe I still need to get over the expectations I had before playing the game and maybe just then I'll be able to properly review this game again.
To be honest I feel like I have been played but not in the good way.

20 Produkte im Account

4 Reviews

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585 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 19.11.21 05:51

THE SLOPPIEST ENDING EVER. Devs say its complete so Im assuming the had the same writers block George R.R Martin has, and decided to claim artistic license. I PAID for this slop.

15877 Produkte im Account

243 Reviews

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262 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.11.21 16:12

Code ✔️ For more game reviews, check out the curator at ZaliasAgurkas Reviews

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655555849
Backbone is a sidescrolling point & click game where you play as a raccoon detective named Howard in post noir Vancouver.
In a world filled with Anthropomorphic animals, citizens come to you for help with such matters like finding evidence of infidelity.

Though the story is very linear and is a bit short with a slightly rushed ending, it was still quite enjoyable for the interactions, worldbuilding and visual aesthetics.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655555763
There is plenty of dialogue to undertake with the residents in order to find clues and uncover problems and mysteries. A lot of the choices do not matter much and are just for idle chit chat, but that is fine since they are still fun to read and keeps the game a bit more casual at times.

Visuals and graphics are the selling point to me in this game. The pixel graphics are well drawn/animated with lots of vibrant colours and detailed backgrounds which makes the areas feel lively.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655555912
This is enforced with aspects like the rain which even drips onto your screen. The backgrounds are eventful with a lot of things happening like the residents chilling at the bar, people waiting in line for the theatre or at food stands, and people just loitering and walking about. Music is another solid point with the jazzy and electronic soundtrack that plays in the background. Adding to both the story and visuals that you see on screen; the soundtrack creates an atmospheric and cinematic experience which feels immersive as you become more connected with the world.

Being a simple point & click game, the controls are easy to play with, with only a few various buttons to use for things such as movement and interactions. Though, the price is a bit steep for a typical indie game. However, it is published by Raw Fury so I can see it being bundled sometime in the future. I would say to pick it up during a sale or if you are a patientgamer, can wait for it to be bundled.

The game did have a kickstarter campaign which ended a few years ago, and then took the developers another couple of years to deliver the keys. I read that this has caused a stir with the backers understandably, though I can’t comment on that since I am not one of them.

Overall, it is a story rich game with a wonderful and vibrant world full of life. If you want to play an absorbing point & click game where you meet and converse with a lot of the townsfolk, then this is one of them.

163 Produkte im Account

17 Reviews

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297 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.10.21 03:53

Conclusions first:
Best interactive visual novel this year with deep thoughts, terribly heavy story, fantastic art style and graceful soundtracks.
Backbone probably won't qualify as a game. Very little gameplay elements were present in the whole experience, and the storyline is set. Your choices will not make a difference. However, this doesn't stop me from rating this piece of work one of the Must-have Indie games.
Starting with the obvious: art style and soundtracks. These two should strike anyone as the most prominent features of Backbone. The mix of pixel art and neo-noir film style is very expressive. Background music is unique in every scene, and they bring out the atmosphere MASTERFULLY.
The plot, contrary to what most of the negative reviews stated, is fine by itself, it just took a more subtle and abstract approach. This is due to the philosophical and political problem devs try to discuss in the game, and I believe both the narrative method and the half-open ending contributed towards that purpose quite well. It's a bit like the TV version of Evangelion; things were left unsaid and story was sad and unfinished, but that's how things were meant to be.
I must stress again that the music did a huge favor here. Try searching for the OST on music platforms and you'll see what I mean, a bit. Retro, slow jazz just vibes with the mood of this sad, pathetic story.
Character building is marvelous. After all the playthrough is only 3-5 hours long, perhaps even less for a quick reader. However almost all characters in the story are convincing, have individual motives and are possible for you to relate to. Of course this cannot happen within a bleak, lamely built world, and I must say that the devs told you how the world is like without telling you. Details just sink into every corner.
And I don't know if it's a personal preference or what, but the feeling between Renee and Howard gets to me the most since, perhaps, Harry Du Bois and Dolores in Disco Elysium. Or I'm just a sucker for heartbreaking love stories, you decide.
One last point I must mention is the use of metaphor and parallelism. It's hard to describe, but you'll see how the lead writer cleverly used literature methods in this video game. In retrospect that makes sense since it's more like a visual novel(
Anyway, Backbone gets a 10/10 from me for being deep, moving and breathtakingly beautiful. But it's definitely not for everyone.

576 Produkte im Account

36 Reviews

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421 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.10.21 00:13

I played and finished this some time back but needed time to fully process what I enjoyed and didn't. Lets get the big positives out of the way first

+Art Style
+Music
+Writing
+Big Set Pieces

I really can't compliment the devs enough on those things and I don't feel as though I would be able to properly explain how well they were done.

Now, the biggest issue with the game is that it was very clearly missing two or three more acts that would tie everything together. I would say that there's three separate plotlines going on and only one gets a conclusion. The first two work together but are left completely unresolved in order to do a rather sudden and dramatic tonal and plot shift. The final plot could work, but it needed more time to be built up, instead it's very rushed, which makes me feel as though several acts were cut that would've fleshed all of this out.

If you can look past the poor payoff and enjoy the parts of this that work, then I would greatly recommend it. However if you're looking for a complete narrative that flows properly to the next point, you will be disappointed, and I wouldn't blame you.

45 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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699 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 21.10.21 11:17

Backbone is one of the best games I've played in a while. Everything about it is stunning: the music, the atmosphere, the graphics... I was completely immersed in the story and when it ended, I just wanted more. Which is not a bad thing at all.

242 Produkte im Account

4 Reviews

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597 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 09.10.21 18:03

[Important comment on negative reviews: You HAVE to have an interest in existentialism to appreciate the story within this game.]

If you like visual novels even a little bit and appreciate existential philosophy, this is one not to miss. The graphics are beautiful, the characters are interesting and contain depth, even when the interactions are incredibly brief. There is enough game play aspects that reward exploration of the environment and curiosity about the dialog choices to keep it from feeling too much like a walking simulator. The story is true to its genre. It veraciously embraces the Noir concept and quickly becomes a penetrating introspection into the darkness of our inner and outer worlds. There is an unsettling quality about the conclusion that leaves questions unanswered, articulating the story's esoteric take on our search for meaning and resolution.

Overall, I absolutely love this game and would recommend it a thousand times over. I will 100% be playing it again. For some, it won't have this replay value, as the story doesn't change. There are not alternate endings or branches you may have missed, but the achievements are fun and somewhat random, enough so that I personally want to find out which others are hidden in the different dialog and action choices. This, of course, is an addition for those of us who do enjoy this aspect of games; it only enhances the game for those who do, and does not take away from the game for those who do not.

I will say, this game is *not* for those who want a Hallmark, buttoned up ending. It is *not* for those who do not appreciate or enjoy philosophical examinations of society or the human condition. It may not even be for those who do not like a little bit of exploration and choice in their visual novels. It is definitely for those who feel some visual novels are a bit too straightforward.

If the concept of this game and the art style seem even a little bit interesting to you, you will not regret playing through Backbone.

184 Produkte im Account

5 Reviews

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210 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 08.10.21 04:59

I liked the prologue more than the actual game. Once you get into the story....it's lacking. Makes not one lick of sense and has no percentage of closure whatsoever. If they're planning for a second game, developers : I don't recommend it.

195 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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499 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 01.09.21 20:54

It feels like the Prologue was a completely different game and the rest was something else with the same art and characters. The multiple routs to overcome situations, the dialogue options, the puzzles, they all vanish as soon as the prologue ends.

It's still gorgeous to look at, the pixel art is beautiful and the music is excellent. But the aesthetic alone does not make a good game which, in this case, is very unfortunate as was very excited for it after playing the prologue.

I actually stopped playing it for weeks because since the start of Act I it turned into a boring visual novel with meaningless dialogue options and no puzzles. The abrupt change of pace in the story is so bizarre too. It feels like at some point between the end of the prologue and the launch of the game they exchanged writers for some reason and what started as an interesting noir PI point and click ended in some weird dystopian/horror visual novel thing.

10 Produkte im Account

1 Reviews

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128 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 17.08.21 03:54

haha furry raccoon go snoop

786 Produkte im Account

50 Reviews

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330 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 16.08.21 20:03

Backbone is the most unfairly review-bombed game I've seen in a long time.

It's a good game for what it is. Leaves you with a feeling.

The negative reviews are mostly from people who wanted it to be something else.

180 Produkte im Account

12 Reviews

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349 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 15.08.21 06:04

Backbone has very rich storytelling, great characters, stunning art design, and beautiful music. For me, this game is easy to recommend. I expect that my experience of Backbone will linger for some time. However—reading the reviews—I can understand how some people are left unhappy by the twist. If you value homogeneity within your games, you'll need to come into this one with a very open mind. If you're looking for a more turbulent experience, then Backbone is for you.

146 Produkte im Account

6 Reviews

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273 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.08.21 18:47

Pretty game, good game.

7 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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289 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 10.08.21 19:56

do not buy if you aren't into the story aspect of games, there is practically no game play. the joy is in the setting, story and characters.

269 Produkte im Account

6 Reviews

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298 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 10.08.21 18:32

This game had a nice start, but towards the end the story kind of started falling apart. Nice graphics though.

457 Produkte im Account

2 Reviews

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563 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 31.07.21 17:43

Visually stunning, great soundtrack. The story starts out a little slow, then gets very interesting, and then gets cut short. Cut short as in the ending made it feel like I watched an art house film that's supposed to have a deeper meaning through an abstract ending, but actually just leaves you feeling unsatisfied and like you're dumb for not understanding it. The reality though is that there just wasn't an ending, the game just stopped.

I'm not recommending this game because the story was ultimately disappointing. It felt like I'd been thrown into a world with so much depth and lore behind it, but there's no way to explore it. If another game came out (or DLC or something I guess) that expanded on the world built here I would honestly probably consider buying it just to learn more about the world that the creators have built here.

124 Produkte im Account

13 Reviews

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445 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 21.06.21 12:33

After playing the prologue Backbone was one of my most anticipated games of the year. I bought it day one and I'm disheartened to say It's really hard to recommend.

The prologue showcased clever puzzles, stealth sections, multiple ways to progress, and taught the player to make careful decisions about their choices especially if they choose to be undercover. I was disappointed to find out these mechanics are nowhere to be found in the full game. It might as well be just a visual novel from act 1 onwards.

Forgetting what was promised in the prologue, the game was still quite enjoyable, mostly because of its intriguing story. The narrative did a great job of making you feel like you’ve stumbled upon a nationwide conspiracy that could change society forever and no matter how much of the story you unravel there is always a new mystery, a new perspective.

But all of this immediately collapses once you get to the 4th act and only goes downhill. It really feels like the very end of the story was extremely rushed. We’re introduced to a twist that basically cements the idea that you will never get to the bottom of this case. The game throws at you cryptic, philosophical dialogues about the idea of existence, of identity and life, which I’m sure will have its audience, but for this to come right after a turning point in the story and bringing it to a screeching halt was really confusing and disappointing.
Not to mention the epilogue in which the characters acted in a nonsensical way. The best conclusion I could come up with is this was all still deception, but the worst part is you will never get to know if the villain was lying and why she was lying. Which for what was set up to be a detective story for the first 3 acts was extremely disappointing. If you really like ambiguous, philosophical, almost Lovecraftian stories with lots of loose ends and no way to connect them then maybe it’s worth a trying, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to people who want to immerse themselves as a detective and get to the bottom of this mystery.

All of this on top of the numerous bugs I encountered. Backbone not only had a large number of visual glitches, but some that actively stop or mess with your progression such as dialogue boxes skipping themselves or being unable to click a response option. Bugs like this would be excusable if the game featured manual saves. It only gives you the option continue the game or start it from the very beginning. Lack of chapter selects also makes achievement hunting very tedious. And I’m not sure if this would classify as a bug or an oversight but some characters you meet earlier in the story seem to completely forget you. [spoiler] As an example I met Florence in the prologue and once I met her several chapters later again she acted as if I was a stranger. I guess that might be because the prologue featured multiple choices of progressing (helping Florence was one option) but the game seems to be unprepared to handle these choices later. [/spoiler]
It’s not all bad though. In some ways this game can be truly beautiful , the graphics, environments, soundtrack and character interactions are honestly amazing, but they’re just completely overshadowed by all the things I listed above.

I really wanted to love this game and I don’t want to put down the team of honestly talented people. This was their passion project, they had a message to send out to the world and they did it. It’s just very hard to recommend as a game that focuses heavily on a story with no conclusion.

175 Produkte im Account

22 Reviews

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272 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.06.21 01:51

Good game, bad ending, lacks the puzzles it claims to have, and was only 3 hours long. Not worth 24 dollars. Wait for a sale or some sort of free added content to make the game longer.

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