As much as video games have advanced in the quality of their graphics, sometimes it’s fun to go old school. If the gameplay is fun and there’s a good story, literally seeing the pixels on the screen can make things more interesting. That’s what you get with Backbone, a pixel art detective adventure inspired by noir now on Kickstarter. 

Set in a dystopian Vancouver, you play as Howard Lotor, an anthropomorphic raccoon and private investigator. You get to investigate cases, collect evidence, interrogate witnesses, explore the city and avoid trouble by sneaking around and, when necessary, using smell-based stealth techniques. What makes the game more interesting is that you can follow leads in your own way – there are a number of possible trails to follow in each case and the player decides where to go.

Backbone “combines the visual and social contrasts of film noir with anthropomorphic animals, retrofuturistic technologies, and dystopian fiction.” It uses pixel art with 3D effects and even includes effects like dynamic lighting and lens flares to give the game a more noir cinema feel. The game will initially release on Windows, Mac and Linux in 2019, but if some of the Kickstarter stretch goals are met it will be made available on platforms as well.

Check out the campaign page for details about game play and storyline, and to see some of the cool graphics that EggNut has developed for the game.