Backbone: Prologue

If you’ve ever wondered what Zootopia would look like if everyone smoked too many cigarettes and lived in a grimy noir film, Backbone: Prologue has the answer. You play as Howard Lotor, a raccoon detective who’s less about chasing garbage cans and more about investigating dark conspiracies in a dystopian Vancouver. The pixel art is drop-dead gorgeous, the atmosphere reeks of mystery (and probably cheap whiskey), and the dialogue feels sharp enough to cut you. Don’t expect a cheery adventure—this is about animal people with problems bigger than unpaid rent. It’s short, stylish, and leaves you wanting more, like a first sip of black coffee before the hangover really hits.