Tails Noir (previously known as Backbone) is a noir role-playing indie video game developed by EggNut and published by Raw Fury. It was released for Microsoft Windows in June 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in October 2021, and on Nintendo Switch in February 2022.[1][2] A prequel, titled Tails Noir Preludes, was released in February 2023 on Windows.[3]
| Tails Noir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | EggNut |
| Publisher(s) | Raw Fury |
| Director(s) | Aleksandra Korabelnikova |
| Producer(s) | Ishani Birch |
| Designer(s) | Alexander Kolchin |
| Programmer(s) | Nikita Danshin Artem Pisarev Diana Stolyrova |
| Artist(s) | Toma Klepinina Kristina Dashevskaya Kirill Simonenko Julia Migacheva Sonya Ptitsyna Antonina Shipulina |
| Writer(s) | Danny Wadeson Alexandra Korabelnikova Martin Hanses |
| Composer(s) | Nikita Danshin Arooj Aftab |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | 8 June 2021
|
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Plot
editSet in a dystopian version of Vancouver, Canada, populated by anthropomorphic creatures, Tails Noir follows Howard Lotor, a raccoon and private detective tasked with solving mysteries.[4][5]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 72/100[6] PS5: 63/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Adventure Gamers |   [8] |
| Destructoid | 7/10[9] |
| RPGFan | 78/100[10] |
| Shacknews | 6/10[11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
The game was awarded with the Gran Prix, Best PC Game and Best Art categories at the DevGAMM Unreal Engine competition in Minsk, Belarus,[13][14] and with the Best Indie Game Award at the Strasbourg European Film Festival in France.[13]
References
edit- ^ Backbone - Official Switch Release Date Announcement Trailer. GameTrailers. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Warner, Noelle (19 January 2022). "Narrative noir game Backbone is sneaking its way onto Switch". Destructoid. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ Tails: The Backbone Preludes - Official Launch Trailer. IGN. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ Iwaniuk, Phil (2 September 2021). "Backbone review – raccoon PI stars in a noir adventure with an inexplicable twist". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ Jackson, Lara (18 August 2021). "Backbone Player Solves Puzzle Using a Famous Gaming Cheat Code". Screen Rant. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Backbone for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Backbone for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Mattsson, Peter (12 September 2021). "Review for Backbone". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Handley, Zoey (12 September 2021). "Review: Backbone". Destructoid. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Argyros, Caitlin (12 September 2021). "Backbone Review". RPGFan. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Jarrard, Chris (12 September 2021). "Backbone review: Anthropomorphic apathy". Shacknews. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Iwaniuk, Phil (12 September 2021). "Backbone review – raccoon PI stars in a noir adventure with an inexplicable twist". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Backbone — noir dystopian adventure". EggNut. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ @backbonegame (November 22, 2019). "Backbone won Best Art and Best PC Game and BEST GAME at unreal engine contest in Minsk! THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2019-11-22. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via Twitter.
Further reading
edit- Bell, Alice (June 8, 2021). "Backbone review: it's not what you expect, but hot damn is it pretty". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- Lee, Jonathan (June 9, 2021). "Backbone: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- Korabelnikova, Aleksandra (27 October 2021). "Creating the anthropomorphic world of Backbone, coming to PS4 and PS5". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved 27 October 2021.