| Attack of the Fanboy |
Ian Lehine |
4 / 5 stars |
06-09-2021 |
Backbone does both, striking a balance between nostalgic and new, breathing another breath of life into the genre with its gritty, sad grin. This 2D, sidescrolling, pixel-art noir is a short but solid adventure mystery with stunning visuals and meaningful characters. |
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| Checkpoint Gaming |
Tom Quirk |
7 / 10 |
06-12-2021 |
Backbone is full of potential for greatness and makes a terrific first impression. With its compelling lead and supporting cast, and a fascinating setting full of tantalising lore and mysteries to solve, I spent most of my experience excited to find out where it was all leading. Unfortunately, much of the detective gameplay and plot start to come apart by the end, leading to an oddly inconclusive and unsatisfying conclusion. |
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| COGconnected |
James Paley |
90 / 100 |
06-07-2021 |
Between the clever mechanics, the compelling narrative, and the gorgeous pixel art, there’s a real fire lit beneath you from the very start. If you’re looking for a detective story with glistening fangs, glittering eyes, and sharpened hooks, Backbone will be perfect for you. |
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| Critical Hit |
Brad Lang |
7 / 10 |
06-17-2021 |
Backbone presents the player with an intriguinging world, populated by interesting characters that drive it’s often depressing and strange story home to what feels like an eventually inevitable conclusion. It’s just a pity that the minute-to-minute gameplay is not only uninspired, but it’s also rather boring. |
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| Destructoid |
Zoey Handley |
7 / 10 |
06-07-2021 |
As a whole, Backbone is stylish but not exceptional. It’s a good time with an enjoyable story, but otherwise it’s just kind of routine. The visual style is great, but it’s offset by uneven audio design. There’s definitely a lot to love about Backbone, I just don’t feel it sticks the landing quite well. It will be worthwhile playing for most, but I’m more interested in what comes next from EggNut. |
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| Eurogamer |
Vikki Blake |
Not Recommended |
06-17-2021 |
Backbone’s sumptuous pixel art and promising narrative threads are undermined by flat gameplay and a non sequitur of a final act. |
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| GameMAG |
Unknown |
6 / 10 |
07-19-2021 |
Backbone is a stylish game, which promising story with some interesting characters takes a disappointing turn by the third chapter. The plot was cut short, which only adds to the general disappointment. |
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| GameSpew |
Chris McMullen |
6 / 10 |
06-08-2021 |
Is Backbone worth a look? Yes, particularly if the idea of playing as an anthropomorphic animal appeals to you. There are times when it’ll have you on tenterhooks and there are several characters that are strong enough to stand out. It’s admirable that this was achieved on a small budget, but ultimately the developers have tried to cram too much in for Backbone to be truly successful. |
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| GamingTrend |
David Flynn |
65 / 100 |
06-07-2021 |
Backbone bites off far more than it can chew, with a completely out of nowhere twist in the third act, disregard of your choices, and a lack of resolution to any of its plot threads. While the promising story and gorgeous visuals had me hooked initially, the game tries to juggle too many things and ends up dropping all the balls. |
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| GBAtemp |
Prans Dunn |
7 / 10 |
06-18-2021 |
With its gorgeous aesthetic and intriguing plot, Backbone has a lot going for it but suffers from pacing and execution issues. |
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| God is a Geek |
Chris White |
9 / 10 |
06-08-2021 |
Backbone features a compelling story and a well-realised post-noir dystopia, with engaging characters and some smart gameplay. |
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| Guardian |
Phil Iwaniuk |
3 / 5 stars |
09-02-2021 |
Uncover a grim conspiracy and sweet-talk snooty bears in this genre-hopping indie game |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Kyle LeClair |
4 / 5 stars |
06-07-2021 |
Even if it’s brief and falters during the third act, there’s no denying that Backbone is a truly gorgeous and captivating adventure, with an engrossing world that you’ll want to see even more of. |
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| Hey Poor Player |
Andrew Thornton |
3 / 5 stars |
07-02-2021 |
Backbone gets off to a great start and it definitely has a lot to say. Great visuals and a stunning soundtrack made me want to give it the benefit of the doubt, to ignore its issues. As it goes on though, Backbone loses everything that made it interesting in its early hours. What replaces it is so different that its hardly even the same game. Different doesn’t have to mean bad, but the changes and ideas thrown around in the second half are too underdeveloped to overlook. Perhaps a sequel can allow the development team to further delve into its many themes. I liked enough of Backbone that for most of its running time I was enjoying myself. In its current state though, it’s hard to enthusiastically recommend. |
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| KeenGamer |
Kyle Chamaillard |
7.3 / 10 |
06-25-2021 |
Can you solve the cities darkest secret? Backbone is a tense post-noir adventure game that takes place in a dystopian Vancouver, BC. Follow local raccoon and private investigator Howard Lotor as he stumbles into a world full of deceit, murder, and desperation. |
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| Luis Alamilla |
Luis Alamilla |
9 / 10 |
06-08-2021 |
Backbone is a fantastic post-noir point and click adventure game, modernized with beautiful-looking visuals. Its story completely captivated me and I was enthralled by the numerous amount of fleshed-out characters that only further piqued my interest. While it’s not a challenging game by any means, there are puzzles and bits of clues that help progress the investigations and more importantly, the unique conversations you choose to have. While it is on the short side of 5-6 hours, I think it’s completely work experiencing and it’s available on pc game pass. |
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| MonsterVine |
Nick Mangiaracina |
4.5 / 5 stars |
06-08-2021 |
From beginning to end I was hooked on Backbone |
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| New Game Network |
Ben Thomas |
60 / 100 |
06-25-2021 |
With amazing art and music, Backbone has a killer introduction and a great vibe. Unfortunately, due to a dreadful turn in the narrative and underdeveloped gameplay, this is a classic case of style over substance. |
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| Noisy Pixel |
Semy Rahman |
7.5 / 10 |
06-07-2021 |
Backbone dwells into the dark reality of a dystopian world full of corruption and injustice. Though the game has some gameplay issues and the story isn’t as long and well-paced as I had hoped, it brought a gorgeous cityscape with a comprehensive narrative. The dialogue is well-written, and the plot is greatly engaging, as it keeps you desiring to know what could happen next in the life of Howard Lotor. |
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| Oyungezer Online |
Mert Köse |
7.5 / 10 |
06-15-2021 |
If you’ve come to expectation by playing Prologue, you’ll be disappointed. A more linear, puzzled and different environment awaits you, especially in the second half. |
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| PC Invasion |
Andrew Farrell |
7.5 / 10 |
06-07-2021 |
Promising and lovely, Backbone can’t live up to its stellar early chapters, but there’s still a worthwhile experience contained within. |
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| PlayStation Universe |
Sebastian Hawden |
8.5 / 10 |
10-31-2021 |
Weird, unique and brilliantly designed, Backbone is a game like no other in 2021. The narrative is both mysterious and absorbing, the characters and dialogue are fun and it never overstays its welcome. I wish I was given a little more information in the second half of the game and the ending a bit more fleshed out but I was left wanting more. Backbone surprised me massively and I enjoyed it a lot. |
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| PSX Brasil |
Paulo Roberto Montanaro |
75 / 100 |
11-02-2021 |
Backbone is an interactive narrative-based adventure with some underused classic point-and-click gameplay elements mixed with choice possibilities that don’t always represent real cause-and-effect options, but bring in its artistic style and well-written text its best qualities. |
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| Push Square |
Stephen Tailby |
4 / 10 |
10-28-2021 |
We were enjoying the lowlife-detective-gets-in-way-over-his-head storyline, but it takes another turn later on into something decidedly more obscure. The final hour or two throw the whole story for a loop, and to make things worse, it feels as though none of the plot threads are resolved — you’re just left hanging, probably with a furrowed brow, while the credits roll. It’s a shame, as the music and visuals are excellent throughout, but the presentation just isn’t enough on its own, and that’s about all it has. |
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| Screen Rant |
Jacob Zeranko |
5 / 5 stars |
06-07-2021 |
Howard’s journey ends far, far away from where it began and each step continuously develops the emotional investment for everyone in this world. While there are minor mechanical issues such as the “interact” input not always being immediately responsive, each element of Backbone is polished and expertly crafted. Backbone is a must-play GOTY contender that deserves every bit of mainstream recognition it receives, and exceeds the usual reach of its genre, making for a compelling experience that even those with little interest in point-and-click adventures will find difficult to put down. |
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| Shacknews |
Chris Jarrard |
6 / 10 |
06-29-2021 |
I am disappointed by the mixed feelings I get from Backbone. It is absolutely worth a look solely on the merits of its audiovisual presentation, but its attempt to offer commentary or insight into the topics its narrative broaches repeatedly fall flat, particularly in the latter half. EggNut clearly has the goods in the art and music departments, so I would love to see what they can do with a stronger narrative in the future. If you do choose to give Backbone a shot, make sure to get the Artifact Edition, as it includes the wonderful soundtrack. |
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| Softpedia |
Cosmin Vasile |
8.5 / 10 |
06-29-2021 |
The game also delivers on its tonal shift and twist and does things that a simple noir detective story could not. Backbone understands the value of good writing and works hard to make words matter. The development team has already said that it has more stories to tell in this universe and I very much want to see how they expand on the best elements of Backbone and how they can make the world even more intriguing. |
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| TechRaptor |
Jackson Wery |
8 / 10 |
06-07-2021 |
Backbone offers beautiful graphics and evocative music, though it takes some shocking swerves as the plot progresses. |
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| TheSixthAxis |
Aran Suddi |
4 / 10 |
11-24-2021 |
Backbone had the potential to fill a bit of a void for a noir style game, but it comes up short. It opens with a strong prologue, but the story that follows tries to hit too many different themes meaning there’s a lack of focus by the time it comes to a conclusion. |
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| WayTooManyGames |
Heidi Hawes |
7.5 / 10 |
06-18-2021 |
The main reason it’s hard to recommend Backbone is that so much is left unanswered. I truly hope there will be more games in the franchise, because the world building and character development are outstanding. If they could bring back the puzzles and stealth elements from the prologue into future titles, then I have no doubt EggNut could have a classic on their hands. |
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| Worth Playing |
Andreas Salmen |
6.4 / 10 |
06-08-2021 |
Backbone starts off strong with an interesting premise and setting and tops off everything with great visuals. What starts as an intriguing detective story quickly loses its appeal, as it doesn’t scratch more than the surface of its potential with a rather unsatisfying ending and a setting that is never explored to the extent that it likely deserves. |
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