Detective stories are some of the most flexible ones out there. It doesn’t matter if they’re set in the late 1940s, the distant future, or even in a whole other world; as long as there’s a mystery to be solved, someone with a reason to keep it hidden, and a detective dedicated to uncovering the truth, there exists a solid foundation for a strong detective story.
The upcoming detective adventure game Backbone, appears to exhibit all the above qualities. The now-available hour-long demo provides a peek into Backbone’s world that fans of games like L.A. Noire and Disco Elysium might just fall for when the game launches later this year.
Backbone’s Broken Protagonist
Backbone stars a raccoon named Howard Lotor, a private investigator who operates in a dystopian, alternate-universe Vancouver that’s populated by anthropomorphic animals. Lotor isn’t necessarily a savant of his craft, like Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew. Rather, he’s sort of a mess, kind of like Disco Elysium’s own Harrier Du Bois AKA Tequila Sunset AKA Raphael Ambrosius Costeau.
The bumbling hero was among the highlights of ZA/UM's highly-praised Disco Elysium. Forcing him to stumble his way through conversations is one of the most entertaining ways to play, and is a nice subversion of tropes commonly associated with private eyes in fiction. Detectives are often depicted as being way too smart, sly, or witty, but not Du Bois.
A similar feeling can be felt while watching Backbone's protagonist interact with the world around him. Lotor is crude and pessimistic, his home is a pigsty, and he's berated consistently for not calling his mother as frequently as he should. It's evident that Lotor is not the archetypical hero or sharp-minded detective. He's far from perfect, but just like Disco Elysium's frequently-failing lead, that's what makes him so compelling. Lotor's flaws being front-and-center make him relatable, and based on the demo, it's incredibly easy to get invested in him. He'll likely be faced with some pretty tall tasks throughout the game, and it will be fascinating to watch how he overcomes them.
A Deeper Mystery
Backbone Prologue, the demo currently available on Steam, lays the groundwork for the full game. Lotor takes on a case for a woman who suspects her husband, Jeremy, is cheating on her. The P.I. tracks him to a Vancouver bar named the Bite, and after sneaking his way in, finds his man. There's only one problem: Jeremy's been killed. As Lotor escapes, his mind races with all sorts of questions. Who did this? Why? And why, of all people, did Lotor have to be the one to take on this case? After his exit, Lotor collapses outside of the Bite in response to the traumatic sight of Jeremy's lifeless body. The story has only just begun, and the hero is already on the ground.
Fittingly enough, Backbone's story appears to have a pretty strong backbone. Seeing how the above tale will unfold is undoubtedly a reason to look forward to the game, but its world might be an even bigger one. The demo is peppered with interesting tidbits and pieces of information about Backbone's world that shed a little bit of light on its lore, while not giving too much away. Similar to Rockstar's L.A. Noire, players can learn a lot or a little based on how they talk to people. Certain conversations with pedestrians indicate that themes such as discrimination and speciesism will be present throughout, and may tie into the grand conspiracy awaiting Lotor.
Fans of detective games should definitely keep an eye on Backbone when it launches later this year. As mentioned before, a free demo is also available under the title Backbone Prologue. It's only about an hour-long, allowing it to serve as the perfect sampler for those who are on the fence about this wonderfully weird dark mystery. For everyone else, they can consider it their first step into a brand new mystery.
Backbone will be releasing in 2021 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.