Anthropomorphic animals, a dystopian Vancouver, and high-quality pixel art are all on display in indie studio EggNut’s Kickstarter campaign for Backbone.
Backbone will have players take control of private investigator Howard Lotor, who also happens to be a raccoon. According to the campaign, “His mundane life is interrupted with the appearance of a powerful technology that can blur the lines of conventional order and change society forever.”
The game seems to meld both stealth and action, similar to the Arkham series. Although the combat looks clearly different, taking inspiration from side-scrolling beat-em-ups, the game also has you collect evidence and interrogate witnesses. The campaign says that each case will have multiple trails to follow, and it doesn’t make every solution clear.
The campaign also says that stealth is a big aspect of the game, tasking you to mask your scent and escape pursuers.
The gritty visuals encapsulate the noir aesthetic. There are dark streets and bright lights, with what seems to be a gritty filter. The game uses the Unreal 4 Engine, so even though the visuals are pixel art, the game has layers in its visuals.
At the time of this writing, the game is well on its way to meeting its funding goal of $49,032. It will release on Windows, Mac and Linux in 2019. If the game meets its stretch goals, it will expand to consoles.
The campaign can be found here.
