Replaced Review

Replaced has been on our radar for some time, initially wowing us with those utterly stunning pixel art visuals. We’ve long wondered how the game would play as well, and after a few delays to the release it has finally arrived. Turns out, it almost plays as good as it looks in some respects, though it’s not quite the blockbuster title we were hoping for.

Let’s start with the presentation though, as that is where Replaced really sings. The animation is incredible, bringing the world to life with subtle and grand details, from the way main character Reach’s coat flaps as he runs, to the background cast and details giving a convincing illusion of a living world. Lighting also shines, giving an almost filmic quality to scenes. We lost track of how many times we got lost in just appreciating the art here, and especially in combat, it is easily one of the most visually impressive indie titles we’ve seen in some time. 

Sticking with combat, Replaced is at its absolute best when we’re in a fight. Enemies often outnumber us many times over, and the variety of foes we’re fighting at once means we can’t just mash the attack button until they all fall over. We don’t actually get a huge amount of new types as we progress through the game – though there are some variants added along the way – but that doesn’t really matter here as the combat is satisfying as all hell to engage with regardless.

Using a stolen police firearm-cum-baton, we mainly engage in melee combat. Some enemies will be shielded and require that to be destroyed first, others are too quick to hit directly or have guns of their own so keep at range, but the crux is bashing everyone over the head until they stop fighting back. Once again, the animation work here is super smooth, with Reach jumping and rolling into range of enemies, thwacks feel like they have good impact, and he feels like a 2D Batman with just how much ass he can kick. Indeed, the counter system from Arkham titles is present and correct, with yellow markers indicating an attack that can be reversed, red markers require dodging, and later on, we can even parry gunshots back at their owner.

It’s not an overly difficult combat system to learn, but it is very satisfying to play. Some later fights really test our abilities to manage enemy positions and our abilities, and are some of the most enjoyable fights in Replaced. As we hit enemies, we can build up a single shot for our gun, and getting in close and triggering this sees Replaced’s animation really show off, zooming in to show Reach absolutely decimating whoever was unlucky enough to be on the receiving end. There was a danger that we’d see Replaced be a case of style over substance but, in combat at least, that is far from the reality. 

Outside of combat we’re not so convinced. Replaced is a very lore heavy game – all AI creations threatening human existence, corporate greed, and vengeance at who the ‘real’ monsters are – and while the tale is good, we did find the opening hours quite plodding. When not in combat, Reach moves about very slowly, and exploring the small hub areas we come across – while worth doing for the rewards – feels like it drags the pace of the game down too much. Even when we’re back into the levels proper, just the act of running and climbing through them feels too slow at times. Reach is an agile dude, but there feels an odd disconnect between how fast and smooth he is in combat and how heavy he feels to move about elsewhere. 

We’re writing this just a day or two after a patch dropped to offer things like chapter select, and it also fixed what was one of our other bugbears with the story. Cutscenes are text based only with no voice over, but the text was unskippable, often leaving us hanging for multiple seconds after reading it. It’s a small issue that slowly compounded as cutscenes felt like they were dragging on. Thankfully, this has now been addressed, though skipping the text also skips the animation forward which can be a bit jarring at times. A fix for this is on the cards, and we much prefer this skipping to being left hanging as we found the story more engaging when we could read at our own pace. And what was a mildly interesting story to start with had us genuinely eager to see more by the time the game was approaching its conclusion. It’s not going to revolutionize game stories, but it ends far stronger than it starts for sure.

Conclusion

Replaced has been a long time coming, and for the most part we’re happy with how it has turned out. The combat and presentation are the highlights here, with incredible animation making every encounter look and feel awesome. A slow opening and generally heavy platforming and exploration can drag things down at times though. As it is, Replaced winds up being worth a play for sure, even if it isn’t quite the next best thing we were hoping for.