Replaced Review

I’ve been gaming since the Commodore 64 era, so when a title comes across my desk that successfully takes me back to the simplicity of yore it brings a smile to this old dial. Replaced is a gorgeous pixel-art 2.5D platformer that has a lot of the soul of classics like Pitfall and Flashback, with a gritty Bladerunner-esque aesthetic that makes it a joy to behold. But while it’s pretty to look at, the gameplay itself can feel a little ponderous and passive, slowing things down to a crawl at times.

Replaced is set in an alternate reality in which World War II ended with America hit with nuclear bombs and society essentially going to Hell in a handbasket. But from the somewhat literal ashes of this crushing defeat rose Phoenix Corporation, a conglomerate dedicated to reforming the vestiges of society and helping treat the maladies of those who remain. Creating a huge walled city, one of Phoenix Corporation’s more controversial procedures involves replacing body parts of those suffering from radiation sickness with body parts from donors, although the willingness of these so-called donors to part with their organs is somewhat disputable. Phoenix City becomes a sanctuary for the haves, with the have nots (with the thing they haven’t got being a vital organ or two) relegated to a grim existence outside the walls. They are the Disposals, literal human garbage in the eyes of the elites.

Trauma bonding with the Disposals outside the wall

Replaced puts you in the neo-noir shoes of Phoenix Corp egghead Warren (this will never be a good name for a protagonist, looking at you The Surge), who after a slight mishap involving a catastrophic lab explosion has trapped an AI he helped create named R.E.A.C.H in his head. Reach was created by Warren to match those needing organs with a suitable donor, and while Warren’s heart was in the right spot, his creation is a cornerstone of the nightmarish dystopia of involuntary organ donation that currently serves the elites. Following the explosion, Reach finds himself in control of Warren and outside the walls with the wretched Disposals, and his central motivation is to steer the fragile meat sack he inhabits back to the lab to divorce him from Warren’s mind and return his hapless creator to his body. But while Reach may be an ultra-advanced AI, he is yet to learn about the reality of life that he has had a virtual hand in creating, and the game is an attempted exploration of a naïve entity coming to grips with a reality it has helped wrought.

While the story is high concept, the gameplay is fairly standard 2.5D platformer fare. Reach has a deliberately weighty feel as you navigate him through some very simple chase sections and climbing puzzles, with a slight delay between input and response when performing simple actions like jumping over logs or climbing into ducts. This sounds like it should be maddening, but really does faithfully (and I imagine deliberately) emulate the endearing sluggishness of old school side-scrollers like Flashback. It is a little humdrum though, and despite a few new climbing mechanics being very slowly mixed in, much of it feels a lot like running around witches’ hats as opposed to meaningful input. Then again, people like Uncharted so I guess there’s a place in people’s hearts for that passive style.

Always pat the dog

While Reach may be an ultra-advanced AI, he is yet to learn about the reality of life that he has had a virtual hand in creating, and the game is an attempted exploration of a naïve entity coming to grips with a reality it has helped wrought.

The simplistic side-scrolling gameplay is sprinkled with quite a bit of melee combat, and I feel this is the stronger aspect of Replaced’s package. It gives distinctive Shadow of the Beast remake vibes, with crowds of enemies all coming at you at once and telegraphing moves that can be countered, dodged or deflected. A gun that charges with successful melee hits and a hook capable of tearing through heavy armour eventually round out the arsenal and make combat a frenetic but entertaining affair. Playing on Hard is recommended for those wanting a challenge, as in the first few hours it’s a bit of a pushover, with the spiciness only really itself in the latter half and through a handful of slightly gruelling boss fights.

Even a casual glance at a screenshot reveals Replaced extraordinary chops in the visual department. The art direction is utterly meticulous, squeezing every pixel for maximum effect and creating an incredible sense of dynamism despite the beguiling simplicity of the pixel-art medium it employs. The dystopian setting is realised in spectacular fashion, packed with light and detail that do much of the heavy lifting throughout the experience. It suits the slower, cinematic pace the game shoots for and even if some of the loftier themes feel a little overwrought, it’s classic gritty noir that bears itself with confidence and style.

The lighting and art is sheer black magic

Final Thoughts

Replaced harkens back to the side-scrollers of yesteryear, with some mixed results in the gameplay department and some absolutely stunning ones in the visual department. Whether the cinematic story has the nuance to pull of its pretensions to high-concept sci-fi, the grim setting is a testament to a lot of care and deep love for the style from the artists and stands as the game’s greatest asset, and perhaps its saving grace.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X|S // Review code supplied by publisher

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