80
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is a riveting adventure with characters that encounter relatable, sympathetic scenarios while also presenting an intriguing and unique world. The choice system and well-written dialogue serve to elevate these elements, as does the overall presentation. With no voice-overs, however, reading lengthy text may eventually become tedious to some, with the game taking over seven hours to complete. Nevertheless, this is an adventure worth playing, especially for those who have enjoyed choice-driven games in the past.
92
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is another stunning title from Eggnut and Raw Fury. Excellent writing and character work, stunning presentation, and multiple paths to explore make this an easy recommendation.
70
Tails: The Backbones Preludes is the prequel that fans likely weren’t expecting and didn’t know that they wanted, and due to a lack of variety mixed with brevity, they may also walk away still expecting and wanting more. But what’s here is a set of well-crafted stories in what is still a highly-engrossing world with a bunch of great characters to see a little more of, so even if it’s just a slight chunk of what Backbone can offer, it’s still one for fans of the series and fans of well-done narratives to check out. And hey, it’s still one of gaming’s most unique and best dystopias. If we have to spend time in some sort of hellscape, it may as well be here in Vancouver.
4
I believe this is the "backbone" game looking at the poster. Since there's no other entry for backbone I'm reviewing it here. The game seemed very promising from the demo but turned out to be less appealing due to the odd conversation choices that I would not have used in the least bit. Simple yes / no conversation choices are turned into gaslighting and going all-out insulting. Also, there are so many characters in the beginning without explicitly telling you who's who in a proper way. By the time you move on to Act 2 it becomes a chore to understand what is happening and who's who. Dropped once again the weird conversation choices appeared.
Tails: The Backbone Preludes
Released On:
Feb 2, 2023
Metascore
Generally Favorable
77
User score
Mixed or Average
5.9
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
77
75% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Feb 10, 2023
92
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is another stunning title from Eggnut and Raw Fury. Excellent writing and character work, stunning presentation, and multiple paths to explore make this an easy recommendation.
Feb 2, 2023
90
Like its predecessor, Tails: The Backbone Preludes tells an unconventional and surreal story with confidence, resulting in narratives that are sincere, vulnerable, complicated, and heart-breaking. The only downside to this branching narrative style of storytelling is that it's easy to accidentally take the short route and leave the experience feeling like something is missing. Ultimately, Tails: The Backbone Preludes tells four phenomenal stories that either deepens the characters that players know and love, or introduces them to new players entering this stunning world for the first time.
Aug 3, 2023
80
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is a riveting adventure with characters that encounter relatable, sympathetic scenarios while also presenting an intriguing and unique world. The choice system and well-written dialogue serve to elevate these elements, as does the overall presentation. With no voice-overs, however, reading lengthy text may eventually become tedious to some, with the game taking over seven hours to complete. Nevertheless, this is an adventure worth playing, especially for those who have enjoyed choice-driven games in the past.
Feb 2, 2023
80
Tails: the Backbone Preludes tells an intriguing prequel that easily hooks the player with its story and characters, despite its glitchy flaws and potential soft locks. For those wanting to get into the Backbone universe, then this is an excellent place to start and the perfect way to introduce yourself to Howard Lotor’s life along with a genuinely charming supporting cast.
Feb 2, 2023
75
It’s a complimentary piece to Backbone, which can stand before or beside it but shouldn’t be set apart from it. However, in context, it’s a terrific addition to the series. While it isn’t as compelling or fully featured as the first act of Backbone, it is a much more solid experience. The series, as it is currently, is a lot stronger with the inclusion of Tails: The Backbone Preludes. It’s a great collection of fiction. But without Backbone, it completely lacks the ability to stand on its own.
Feb 3, 2023
70
Tails: The Backbones Preludes is the prequel that fans likely weren’t expecting and didn’t know that they wanted, and due to a lack of variety mixed with brevity, they may also walk away still expecting and wanting more. But what’s here is a set of well-crafted stories in what is still a highly-engrossing world with a bunch of great characters to see a little more of, so even if it’s just a slight chunk of what Backbone can offer, it’s still one for fans of the series and fans of well-done narratives to check out. And hey, it’s still one of gaming’s most unique and best dystopias. If we have to spend time in some sort of hellscape, it may as well be here in Vancouver.
Feb 2, 2023
50
Tails: The Backbone Preludes is a beautiful game with an intriguing plot and some absolutely fantastic puzzle mechanics, but it does itself the disservice of playing second fiddle to its predecessor. It’s too brief and leaves too much unsaid to feel like a game in its own right. It’s as though it aimed too low and decided to settle for being a teaser or demo that’s made to tempt players to jump into the full story of Backbone, rather than take on a role of a fully-fledged game in its own right.
User score
Mixed or Average
5.9
33% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Jun 22, 2026
4
I believe this is the "backbone" game looking at the poster. Since there's no other entry for backbone I'm reviewing it here. The game seemed very promising from the demo but turned out to be less appealing due to the odd conversation choices that I would not have used in the least bit. Simple yes / no conversation choices are turned into gaslighting and going all-out insulting. Also, there are so many characters in the beginning without explicitly telling you who's who in a proper way. By the time you move on to Act 2 it becomes a chore to understand what is happening and who's who. Dropped once again the weird conversation choices appeared.
Summary Tails: The Backbone Preludes is a post-noir narrative adventure with branching choices. It is an intertwined series of vignettes about change, circumstance, and consequence. Guide four characters through formative moments in their lives in a dystopian Vancouver inhabited by anthropomorphic animals.
