Blacksad: Under the Skin
1950s America. The world is far from the place where you want to live. The only power on the city streets belongs to mafia groups and individual criminals, soldiers returning from the war suffer from physical and mental trauma, the police are corrupt through and through, and society is saturated with racism and severely segregated.
Private detective John Blacksad lives and tries to work in this noir world. He does not have time to rest after another business, when a cutie Sonia Dunn appears in the office, who in tears talks about the suspicious death of her father, the owner of a boxing club. In addition, after his death, one of the fighters, a real star, disappears.
John Blacksad sighs heavily, takes up this case - and plunges into the world of New York crime. As it turns out, there is much more behind the "simple" murders and kidnappings, and a private detective will have to risk his life more than once to find out what exactly.
There is only one "but". There are no people in this post-war New York. Only anthropomorphic animals. Blacksad himself is a black and white cat, his friend and friend from the police Smirnov is a German shepherd, and the annoying journalist Weekly is a weasel. And the rest of the characters are also animals. In every sense of the word.
The Dog's Life of a Black Cat
Blacksad: Under the Skin is based on the graphic novel of the same name by two Spaniards, an artist and a writer. The novel was first published in France in 2000 - and almost immediately it became a real phenomenon. The dark, noir setting contrasts quite strongly with the fact that all the characters are anthropomorphic animals of different species and breeds. True, this is true only when you start reading - after a few pages you forget that the action takes place in a world inhabited by dogs, cats and rhinos, and you begin to follow the detective story with interest.
The same is true for Blacksad: Under the Skin. The cognitive dissonance that all the characters are animals, but the setting is gloomy, wears off pretty quickly. The complex plot fascinates almost instantly, you immediately begin to collect evidence and lure information from the mouths (mouths) of other NPCs.
Blacksad: Under the Skin Gameplay
Blacksad: Under the Skin is a detective with quest elements. Most of the gameplay is devoted to working with evidence and interrogating witnesses. You have to talk to each of them for a long time - the characters are in no hurry to share information, they constantly hide secrets and just behave not too frankly.
All this information is remembered by Blacksad and is available to the player at any time. You can open a special menu and see what is there when one of the characters said. The information blocks are also quite interestingly designed - in the form of comic inserts or graphically novelized.
When Blacksad collects enough information, the game goes into deduction mode (induction, but because of Sherlock Holmes, you have to call it that). The main character collects new fabrications from scraps of data and forms a picture of what is happening.
Of course, you need to search not only for data, but also for full-fledged evidence. At some moments, you can slow down time, look around and get additional information about the character or environment.
Blacksad: Under the Skin Characters
The graphic novel Blacksad is famous for the elaboration of characters. The game is not too inferior in this. The central character is completely under the complete control of the gamer. You can decide for yourself whether he will be callous or empathic, arrogant or neat, greedy for money or a model of altruism in the flesh.
Policeman Smirnov and reporter Weekly are exactly what you expect. One is practically disinterested, and the other is annoying. The mafiosi turns out to be a wolf, and in his monologues, quite adequate thoughts about the nature of freedom can be traced, and in the actions of his subordinates, a certain kind of justice is manifested. A good joke is that one of the most vile characters is the bald eagle, the symbol of all of America.
Each of the characters is really interesting. So long-term dialogues with them do not tire - on the contrary, I want to learn more about these creatures, about their life and motivation. And they are not "cardboard" - even the most disgusting of them have their own paradigm, which determines actions.
Blacksad: Under the Skin is a classic detective story at its best. A fascinating story, an intricate multi-level plot, vivid characters and an addictive atmosphere - all this quickly "hooks" and does not let go until the very final credits.
