Backpack Hero

Backpack Hero's "face of the game" and first playable hero is Purse, a rat. The game features five different playable characters, each with different gameplay. Resources gathered in dungeons can be spent in a town on the overworld in order to upgrade buildings and unlock new characters.

The game was funded on Kickstarter for US$223,893, out of a US$20,000 goal. Main developer Jasper Cole stated that the game drew inspiration from Slay the Spire, Into the Breach and XCOM. He cited the original Deus Ex and its grid-based inventory as an additional inspiration. It was initially created as a game jam game, but when its popularity drastically increased, he quit some of his jobs in order to work on it full-time.

The game launched for Windows, macOS and Linux via Steam Early Access in August 2022, and spent over a year in development before being released in full in November 2023, when the game would also be released on GOG.com and ported to the Nintendo Switch. Home console ports for PlayStation and Xbox followed in June of the following year.

The PC and Nintendo Switch versions of Backpack Hero both received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 64% of critics.

Robert Purchese of Eurogamer said he was "impressed" by Backpack Hero, calling it "very charming" with "friendly pixelated characters". He called the gameplay initially "a bit awkward", but having a great deal of tactical opportunity once the player learned more about it. He noted his desire for backpacks in video games "to be visible again". Sorrel Kerr-Jung of Destructoid praised the game, calling it "one of the most inventive deckbuilders" she had ever played.