Like Backbone, Tails - a pun, because the game is story-focused, and all the characters in it are anthropomorphic animals - is a “post-noir” game set in a post-apocalyptic Vancover. The four characters in the micro-trailer above are all in Backbone, so my prediction is that Tails will be basically the preliminary chess game putting them in place on the board for the start of Backbone. How does raccoon Howard Lotor go from idealistic photography student to a hard-bitten down-on-his-luck private dick?; why does Clarissa Bloodworth end up running a club that disappears people? I don’t know that for sure, but it’s a solid “I reckon” based on playing Backbone and hearing from the press release that Tails is a “narrative adventure with branching choices, focused on an intertwined series of vignettes about change, circumstance, and consequence”. Of course, the choices can’t be that branching, since Backbone already exists - but there’s always a chance that Eggnut go all wild card and let you create a separate timeline, like what they did for the new Star Trek movies. Tails is going to have some puzzles and different interactions, so it’s not just a philosophy lecture. It also comes with a “branching tree interface” tracking the choices you make, which is the sort of concession to conventional playability I didn’t think Eggnut would be bothered with. Weird story beats aside, my other reckon is that Tails will be worth a read, a look and a listen, because Backbone had very well written dialogue, spectacular pixelart visuals and a very cool soundtrack. It’s coming to Steam on February 2nd.
