1950’s film noir-style games have a following like no other. Games like L.A. Noire, The Wolf Among Us, and White Night show this. So when a comic book that’s the same timeframe and same feel, 1950’s film noir, comes to life in a video game, it’s no surprise it’ll get some traction. Especially when that comic is Blacksad. And especially when the main character is a hard boiled detective. And a cat.
Now, Blacksad is an Eisner-winning comic created by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido. It didn’t hit the US until 2000, and has had 5 issues come out since then. Though issues 6 and 7 are out, they have yet to be translated. Though, fans of the comics don’t have to worry about Blacksad: Under the Skin being a repeat of one of the comic issues, and new fans don’t have to worry about knowing about the previous encounters. As Blacksad: Under the Skin is a brand new story that’s set in the comic’s universe of anthropomorphic animals, and well, New York in the 1950’s.
Blacksad is set up like another mystery; the owner of a boxing ring, Joe Dunn, is found dead, A rising fighting star, Bobby Yale, is missing. The owner’s daughter, Sonia Dunn, takes over and realizes that the ring’s financial situation is a lot worse than everyone thought. She goes to the main character, John Blacksad, for help. John Blacksad, is the one players take control of and control the story.
In the trailer, Blacksad talks about it a little bit while the scenes play out; there are a lot of choices to be made if he wants to get this case done in time. These choices can alter Blacksad’s development as well as alter the ending. These choices have to be made through investigations, puzzles, quick time events, and dialogue with the other characters. Each choice will affect the outcome, but some choice will have to be thought quick and on your feet.
The game as well does it’s job of trying to make players feel like they’re coming right out of the comic it had started in and keeping with the era. The game will have a full jazz soundtrack to immerse players into the time frame. As for the characters, there will be over 30 characters, including new ones made for the game, and familiar faces from the comics. The animation as well is done in the style of Juanjo Guarnido’s original work.
Blacksad: Under the Skin is set to come out for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on September 26, 2019.