Genesis Noir
A noir adventure through cosmic creation and heartbreak.
Genesis Noir is a point-and-click adventure game from developer Feral Cat Den and publisher Fellow Traveller Games. Players guide the protagonist, No Man, through a series of vignettes, interacting with scenes via on-screen prompts. The story uses the Big Bang as a metaphor for a failed romance, blending film noir detective elements with cosmic creation and destruction. No Man, a depressed watchmaker, tries to stop Golden Boy from killing Miss Mass, a nightclub singer. After touching a bullet casing marked with a spiral, No Man gains the ability to pause time and decides to create a black hole to stop the bullet. He collects spiral symbols across vignettes depicting the universe’s creation and life on Earth, befriending characters like the Huntress, Ronin, Musician, and Scientist. These segments reveal Golden Boy’s jealousy over No Man’s relationship with Miss Mass. Once enough spirals are gathered, No Man creates a black hole that consumes reality. A white figure, formed from his friends, comforts him and shows he can see all timelines; he doesn’t have to save everyone. No Man then returns to the moment he first encountered Miss Mass and turns away, allowing Golden Boy to kill her and the universe to be born.
The idea for Genesis Noir emerged around 2013 after creative lead Evan Anthony and technical lead Jeremy Abel read Italo Calvino’s *Cosmicomics*. They built a prototype in 2014, which received positive feedback from indie developers, leading to expansion plans. Early prototypes used Unity but had animation issues, so the team switched to Unreal Engine in 2015. They worked part-time through 2016, then used personal funds for full-time development. The game was teased in February 2017, with a Kickstarter launched on January 17, 2018, seeking $40,000. Originally set for fall 2020, it was delayed to early 2021. Art influences included animation studios Buck, Giant Ant, and Golden Wolf, artwork by Kevin Huizenga and Marc-Antoine Michel, and the game *Windosill*. Music was composed by London duo Skillbard.
Critical reception was generally favorable. On Metacritic, the PC version scored 77, while the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One versions each scored 81, based on 18 reviews. Eurogamer’s Malindy Hetfeld praised the visuals, noting the game’s unique look with brilliant whites, smooth animations, and yellow accents.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Genesis Noir
- Released
- March 26, 2021
- Developer
- Feral Cat Den
- Publisher
- Fellow Traveller
- Director
- Evan Anthony
- Programmer
- Jeremy Abel
- Writer
- Evan Anthony · Evan Stark
- Composer
- Tom Carrell · Vincent Oliver
- Modes
- Single-player
- Genre
- Adventure, puzzle
- Platforms
- macOS · Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch · Xbox One
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game follows No Man, a watchmaker, who falls into depression after breaking up with Miss Mass, a nightclub singer. After hearing her cry for help, he races to her apartment and finds Golden Boy, a saxophone player, about to shoot her. By touching a spent bullet casing with a spiral marking, No Man gains the ability to pause time and decides to stop the bullet by creating a black hole. He tracks spiral symbols through vignettes depicting the creation of the universe and stages of life on Earth, befriending characters like the Huntress, the Ronin, the Musician, and the Scientist. These vignettes reveal Golden Boy's jealousy over No Man's relationship with Miss Mass. Eventually, No Man creates a black hole that consumes reality, but a white figure—an amalgamation of his friends—shows him he can see all possibilities. He then returns to the moment of the shooting and turns away, allowing Golden Boy to kill Miss Mass and the universe to be created.
Reader's Guide
Genesis Noir received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic, with scores of 77 for PC and 81 for both Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Critics praised its unique visual style, with Eurogamer noting that 'brilliant whites, beautifully smooth animations and occasional yellow accents combine into something overall quite memorable.' The game was lauded for teaching players through visual cues without tutorials, described as 'a substantial game design achievement.' However, Rock Paper Shotgun criticized the lack of actual gameplay, calling it 'an animated film, with bits where you borrow the main character in order to tackle strange, cosmic minigames,' and noted some puzzles were confusing. Nintendo Life gave the Switch version 5 stars out of 10, citing awkward controls, visual and audio glitches, and poor performance. The game's art style was influenced by animation studios Buck, Giant Ant, and Golden Wolf, artwork by Kevin Huizenga and Marc-Antoine Michel, and the video game Windosill. Its music was provided by the London-based duo Skillbard.
Did You Know?
- The game's creative lead Evan Anthony and technical lead Jeremy Abel were inspired by Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics around 2013.
- The early prototype was created in Unity but switched to Unreal Engine in 2015 due to animation issues.
- A sequel titled Nirvana Noir is currently under development.
- The game's music was composed by the London-based duo Skillbard.
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