Genesis Noir: not all black and white

Last January I wrote a post which opened with the statement that I hadn’t backed anything on Kickstarter in quite a while. I’d previously given my support regularly to old adventure sequels and quirky indie titles, but over time the quality of campaign had dipped and so I’d stopped visiting. It had reached the point where I could no longer be bothered to trawl through all the rough to find the diamonds.

12 months on and it turns out that 2017 was actually a pretty good year in terms of Kickstarter projects: I ended up backing seven in total, five of which were successful. Beautiful Desolation is an isometric adventure by the makers of STASIS; Ama’s Lullaby is a point-and-click set in a cyberpunk world; Epitasis is a colourful exploration game; and Trüberbrook is a sci-fi mystery inspired by Twin Peaks. Then there’s The Tomb Raider Suite, where composer Nathan McCree is re-recording the original Tomb Raider music.

And it looks as though 2018 could be a good year too if Genesis Noir is anything to go by. Being created by Feral Cat Den, it was the strapline which first drew me to this campaign while browsing through the crowdfunding platform last week: ‘A noir adventure game set before, during and after the Big Bang. To save your love, you must stop the expansion of the universe.’

Although there is plenty of information available on the Kickstarter page and official website, it can be hard to decipher what this title is actually about. There’s something of the ‘Amanita Design‘ about it all: the abstract story is told through visuals and music rather than text or speech, and the feel is reminiscent of the Samorost series. This makes a lot of sense seeing as the developer cites the studio as one of their influences.

Here’s what I’ve been able to make out so far. Players step into the role of No Man, a watch peddler stuck in a deterministic hell as he gets caught up in lust and crime. Confrontation over a love triangle gone askew results in a shot being fired – the Big Bang – and a piece of shrapnel – the planet Earth – hurtles towards the heart of a fragile god. Can you find a way to stop the Big Bang and save her?

It’s up to No Man to discover worlds both familiar and alien, collect cosmic clues, solve puzzles and possibly even destroy the universe. You must enter the Big Bang at various levels, search for a way to stop it from striking your love and then change something in order to affect the outcome. Along the way you can express yourself by planting seeds, transforming landscapes, creating stars or improvising a jazz duet.

I just backed Genesis Noir – A Cosmic Adventure on @Kickstarter kck.st/2FNuvDg

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Later Levels (@LaterLevels) January 23, 2018

A crowdfunding project doesn’t need to explain every little detail about a potential game in order to make it interesting or appealing; in fact, the way that the page for Genesis Noir holds a little something back just makes it all the more intriguing. I’m looking forward to finding out more from Feral Cat Den as the project continues, and even more so to playing the title when it’s hopefully released at the end of next year.

At the time of writing, there are still 22 days left on the clock so head over to campaign page page to show your support. You can also give the developer a follow on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on their progress.