Oh wow—there are so many things I’d love to cover about Replaced. I want to talk through its side-scrolling style, expand on the cyberpunk atmosphere, and walk you through its flying vehicles, along with the corrupt corporation that governs this bleak setting. That said, you’ve probably already grasped the basics. All of it is clearly shown in the trailers, and based on my first few hours with the game, I can say with confidence that it’s all there. In fact, it’s wonderful—exactly the way I hoped it would be, ever since Replaced was first revealed years ago.
Before I go any deeper into those points, let me pause for a moment and focus on something unexpected I ran into during a recent visit to publisher Thunderful last month: the sheer amount of feeling packed into this unforgiving, depressing world.
Let me set the scene quickly. Replaced is a 2.5D “retro-futuristic” sci-fi platformer set in an alternate 1980s America. In this version, the country has been scarred by a nuclear catastrophe, and society has fractured as a result. One faction is the Phoenix Corporation, a corrupt power base that hides behind the fortified walls of Phoenix-City. Across the way are the people considered disposable, living in makeshift settlements beyond the city limits. Among them is a gang called the Termites—an underground crew that hunts other humans purely for entertainment. When an artificial intelligence named Reach ends up trapped inside his human operator’s body at the Transplantology Department, he soon discovers the grim truth that lies beyond Phoenix-City’s walls.
The instant I took control of Reach, now inhabiting this unfamiliar human shell, I immediately felt protective toward him. Reach only understands what his operator has passed on, and right at the beginning, he carries an innocence that feels almost childlike. He just tries to keep his operator’s body safe, without realizing why the PCPD is hostile toward him. Because of that, he makes a desperate escape into an unknown world. At one point, Reach even wonders why those beyond the wall wouldn’t have what they need to survive. “But this area is… devastated,” he observes. “The level of human hostility does not align with the data I possess,” he adds a little later.
Thankfully, Reach is soon pulled from the clutches of the Termites and collapsing ruins by Tempest, a heartfelt rockstar who brings him back to the comparative safety of Prospero (and yes, the Shakespeare-inspired influence in these names is hard for me to ignore). Even if Prospero doesn’t offer much in terms of comfort, it’s full of life. It carries a heavy sadness, but there’s also a real spark of optimism—because there are people who genuinely want to help others, and who still choose to do good.
Some of these moments could be missed, but from what I’ve seen so far, Replaced offers a lot of side quests that genuinely expand the world when you take time to talk with the characters nearby. I’d strongly encourage you to do exactly that. For example, I helped a young girl repair an arcade machine. After that, I spent around 20 minutes digging into a mini-game inside Replaced, which added an unexpected dose of depth to what I initially assumed would be a straightforward, action-heavy side-scroller.
In Prospero, I also met people dealing with brutally hard circumstances—extremely hard. Still, instead of giving in to self-pity, they were doing what they could to support others in the ways they knew best. At one point, a storyline beat (which I won’t spoil) left me with a lump in my throat. From this short time with the game, Sad Cat has gone far beyond my expectations in how it blends dystopia with moving character growth in Replaced, featuring a range of standout figures—from the no-nonsense matriarch of Prospero, known simply as Matriarch, to the lively “certified tech-wizard” Yo-Yo and Ironwood, who’s strict but quietly compassionate.
On top of that, Replaced is dotted with numerous collectible documents and similar items. Some are lighthearted—like a board game box—while others hit a lot harder, such as an eviction notice or a diary entry. Sad Cat clearly filled this world with an impressive level of care and detail.
And speaking of detail, seriously—just look at those environments. I found myself stopping constantly, simply to take everything in. Built with striking pixel art, the spaces feel remarkably alive: trees bending in the breeze, birds calling overhead, sunlight slipping through ground covered in leaves, cracked billboards hinting at a time when things were more prosperous, graffiti-lined walls, and much more. It’s genuinely a sight worth savoring.
As I mentioned earlier, when I wasn’t busy striking up connections in Prospero, I spent my preview time pushing back against the corrupt Phoenix-City police force and several members of the Termite gang. I relied on a mix of speed, raw muscle, and stealth to move forward. And when things started falling apart for poor Reach, I used the only approach I knew—I ran. I shot away from a barrage of bullets, vaulting fences and leaping over logs as I made my escape from the city and into the surrounding woods. The jumps
Between encounters, the transitions
It felt smooth and expertly put together, and while this section might have stretched a little further, the whole moment was genuinely exhilarating.
Before long, however, I ran right into a fairly bulky officer who seemed determined to bring me down. That’s when Reach and I understood how to respond and slip out of danger using a few familiar signals: strike back when those small yellow “lightning bolts” pop up over an enemy’s head, and make a getaway when you see the red warning. Later on, I managed to grab a firearm. Even though Reach couldn’t shoot it yet because of the built-in biolock, he could still swing it like a club—something that worked remarkably well against those Termite troublemakers. After that, it was simply hit, punch, and do it again.
At one point, I worried this style of fighting could start to feel repetitive, but luckily, as the preview continued, Yo-Yo finally gave me my chance to fire for real. Still, I couldn’t exactly go wild with it—this wasn’t the John McClane “Ho, ho, ho, now I have a machine gun” kind of situation. Instead, I had to power up the weapon with energy before pulling the trigger. I built that charge by landing strikes and countering incoming blows. Only then could I unleash a particularly satisfying, heavy-hitting blow at a charging foe.
The enemies I ran into ranged from fairly basic Termite thugs to the far tougher Tank Termites. Some opponents also carried weapons, so I needed to keep an eye on what everyone was doing during the chaos—because I still got hit more than once while I was focused on a single Termite, completely missing another one sneaking up on me from behind (at least those medical stims I picked up earlier saved me!).
Next came the Termites’ commander, a futuristic brute called Uncle Ben. He looked like a mix of LeChuck from the Monkey Island games, and once another journalist pointed it out, I couldn’t ignore how closely he also resembled Disney’s villain from Mulan. Still, before I could close the distance, I had to slip around the rest of his Termite crew, using—sure enough—the third item in my toolkit: stealth!
By staying out of the line of sight of a patrolling Termite vehicle that housed a surprisingly accurate Termite Sniper, I used a newly acquired pickaxe to get behind pillars and walls while remaining hidden. I stayed low behind crates, climbed up walls, and pushed through windows, all the while avoiding the beam of light that would quickly spell my end if it landed on me. To be clear, I didn’t pull it off on the first try. Not even the second. In fact, it took multiple attempts before I could finally dodge the roaming vehicles, and for quite a while I was accidentally tossing poor Reach into an abyss because I couldn’t time the pickaxe deployment correctly. I’m fairly certain he forgave me, though…
I truly enjoyed my time with Replaced. I figured it would be entertaining, but it ended up exceeding what I expected. Of course, it isn’t perfect—there are a few rough edges. The “yellow paint” markers that guide you like a hand can be a little distracting, and the enemy roster could have used more variety.
Even so, overall I genuinely think Replaced could become something special. I’m expecting to need tissues by the end, since I have an idea about where the story is heading—and, yes, it’s all about emotions. While emotions by themselves may not be enough, it’s the level of intensity and the connection to its dystopian setting that gives those feelings real weight and a distinctly human touch.