The Aggie Awards – The Best Adventure Games of 2021 page 5
Best Character: Howard Lotor (Backbone)
Howard Lotor is a private eye in the classic noir tradition; he's even got the trench coat, cigarette and cynical attitude. He could be Marlowe or Spade, but for one small detail: he's an anthropomorphic raccoon living in a dystopian-future Vancouver. Which means that along with dealing with deadbeat clients and dysfunctional relationships, he also has to weather the prejudice aimed at "stripers" like him and the fallout from the mysterious catastrophe that created this place. And yet Howard is more sanguine than bitter, accepting his lot in life and cherishing his few friends. He's flawed, but all the more relatable for it. Just as the world of Backbone is both very different from our own and yet painfully familiar, Howard's increasingly fantastical journey is filled with very human moments as he navigates a budding romance and befriends society's outsiders. The choices he faces can be uncomfortable at times, forcing us to confront issues ranging from racism and class to new parenthood and loneliness, but he never loses hope. Howard, the rumpled everyman, is the perfect guide to this broken world, its troubles and its dreams, and that's why he's the latest owner of our Aggie Award for Best Character.
Runners-Up:
Veronica Villensey (Overboard!)
Inspector Waffles (Inspector Waffles)
Mo (Minute of Islands)
Meredith Weiss (Lake)
Sir Typhil (Alien Function)
Readers’ Choice: Officer Dooley (The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark)
A loyal sidekick to Detective McQueen of the Twin Lakes constabulary, Officer Patrick Dooley is cheerful, cheeky, and counted on for several wisecracks per scene. Some are wise: “Even I know you can’t go around tearing off people’s arms.” And some are just cracked: “Infinity is endless. You can’t really add it to anything.” He complains that perps can’t be convinced to tie themselves up and admits he has always wanted goat legs. No virtual animals were harmed in the making of this game, yet Dooley declares that zapping a chicken with a death ray is the reason he joined the police force. He is distracted at the sight of food, no matter how rancid or disgusting, and suggests madcap uses for inventory items. Is Dooley a genius hiding behind an often-clueless façade? Or is he a numbskull with frequent flashes of brilliance? There is no task too bizarre for him to take on while solving a case, no attire too funky, no question so dense that he would hesitate to ask it. He is insanely entertaining and jaw-droppingly obtuse. He may be the junior partner in The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark, but no one is superior as the readers’ choice for 2021’s best character.
Runners-Up:
Inspector Waffles (Inspector Waffles)
Alex Chen (Life Is Strange: True Colors)
Howard Lotor (Backbone)
Veronica Villensey (Overboard!)
Next up: Best Gameplay... the envelope, please!
