Backpack Boy: A Flashback to DOS Classics with a Time-Bending Twist

Screenshot: Backpack Boy

Starting out as a prototype in the Big Mode Game Jam in 2023, Backpack Boy has had a multi-year journey to make its way to 1.0. The first commercial game of developer Chuck & Niles Games, Backpack Boy isn’t going to redefine the sidescrolling puzzle genre, but it’s a charming game that does a whole lot of things right.

Backpack Boy is a 2D puzzle platforming side scrolling that focuses using light to peer into the same location at a different point in time. It’s a relatively simple concept that opens up a whole bunch of different puzzle ideas.

Screenshot: Backpack Boy

Like most puzzle games, your mileage may vary: it might be a lot easier for you to find the solution to a specific type of puzzle than someone else. It doesn’t indicate whether a puzzle is good, or whether the puzzle solver is slow. I found most puzzles in Backpack Boy to be on the easy side–but not too easy as to not give the appropriate “aha!” feeling when solved. Puzzles in Backpack Boy range from simple block and pressure plate type puzzles to more complicated puzzles that involve thinking a couple of steps ahead.

If you do find yourself stuck you can get a hint to help pass any tough puzzles. Or you can choose to skip the puzzle completely and get to the next one.

While Backpack Boy is a relatively short game–I was able to get through it in a few hours–there is some replayability in the form of different secrets you can find. If you miss a secret on a particular level you have to start from the beginning to try to get it. 

While indie games like to rely on the pixel art presentation, there was something nostalgic about Backpack Boy beyond just the pixel art. The game’s screens and character movement brought me back to my days playing DOS sidescrollers like Commander Keen and other games from that era.

Backpack Boy is a solid game, and I enjoyed my time with it. However, it’s a little short and mechanically simple, which makes it best to be picked up for cheap or in a bundle. Backpack Boy would be right at home in a compilation like UFO 50, but isn’t quite standout enough to justify buying on its own for full price. It is, however, a solid puzzle game.