Set in 1950s New York, Blacksad: Under the Skin begins with two connected mysteries: boxing-club owner Joe Dunn is dead, and rising fighter Bobby Yale has disappeared before a major bout. Dunn’s daughter Sonia hires private detective John Blacksad to investigate while she faces the club’s financial troubles. The game places this case in a dark world of anthropomorphic animals, drawing on the distinctive atmosphere and characters of the comic-book series.
Investigation is shaped by how players pursue clues and make choices. Blacksad can use his feline senses while searching for evidence, and the adventure combines investigations with puzzles, quick-time events and multiple-choice dialogue. Decisions influence both the detective’s development and the story’s ending, giving the case a branching narrative dimension rather than presenting it as a mystery solved through clues alone. More than 30 characters, including familiar and new faces, populate the story.
Its single-player format centers the experience on following this one detective’s investigation, while the jazz soundtrack and 1950s noir presentation frame the action as an interactive detective story.
