REPLACED - cyberpunk action game where everything is pixel art; literally "replaced" The Last Night

[Romeo]

Probably the most excited I've been for a video game. There is a free demo out in the Steam page if you want to check it out.

REPLACED is a 2.5d action platformer cyberpunk game made by Belarusian studio Sad Cat Studios, which has since become a stereotypical Slav studio by relocating to Cyprus for better networking (since the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened and Belarus was an ally of Russia). Its main appeal is the pixelated style of the characters and the backgrounds being 3d but also pixelated with blur and glow effects, giving the game a 2.5d style that turns the gameplay into a PC wallpaper, so basically, the game looks absolutely gorgeous.



Since the occurrence of a nuclear incident that caused a worldwide collapse, a conglomerate swept in to rebuild America: Phoenix Corporation. With it came a massive walled cyberpunk city built by Phoenix Corporation called Phoenix, Not-Arizona. You follow REACH, an AI that has since taken over its human inventor Marcus and has escaped a crackdown by Phoenix in its corporate laboratory. You escaped the city but must come back to the laboratory to return Marcus' conscience back to his human body, fighting through gangs and corporate police along the way.

Here are some trailers:



Having played the demo, besides the gorgeous graphics, the movement is easy (WASD, 'Space' to jump and dodge) and the combat is intuitive. Your left-click is your main attack, in which you are free to spam it. Enemies have two attacks: an attack that can be counterattacked (an alert overhead in yellow) and ones that MUST be dodged (an exclamation point alert overhead in red). Counterattacks can be done via the right-click in the mouse. There is bar in the shape of a gun in the bottom left that fills up as you attack enemies. Once full, by pressing 'E', you get to insta-kill an enemy with a cool cutscene with your weapon. 'E' is also your main key for interactions with background objects. There is also an in-game UI "diegetic" device called the Wingman, which is a micro-computer that REACH holds that contains the story objectives, music tracks, lore, and brightness. Bringing up the Wingman is through pressing 'J.'

It is to note that REPLACED was inspired by a so-called unreleased "game" called The Last Night that is still stuck in development for over a decade (late 2014). Developed by Frenchman Tim Soret from concept art of a game jam that is a 2d cyberpunk platformer, Soret gave it that 2.5d pixel-art vibe that shocked audiences to line up their wallets in preparation for the release of the game.



Unfortunately, Soret voiced opinions supporting Gamergate that caused the Swedish **** publisher of his studio Oddtales, Raw Fury, to drop support for the game. Soret, meanwhile, was dumping libshit opinions on Twitter, ignoring the development process. For almost 10 years, The Last Night has been stuck in pre-production until 2024, where production finally started with a programmer finally being hired. When compared to REPLACED, this only amounts to incompetence, as the three Belarusians who were inspired by The Last Night started developing their game in 2018 and are on track to release it fully in April 2026. People are meme-ing on Soret's incompetence declaring that REPLACED has literally "replaced" The Last Night as the definitive 2.5d pixel-art cyberpunk action-platformer game.

The demo is out right now, and REPLACED will be released on 14 April 2026.

[Romeo]

More gameplay videos if you want spoilers. I believe this is stuff that occurs right after the demo, where Tempest brings Reach to his settlement outside of Phoenix after escaping from the Termites gang.

Replaced: 15 Minutes of Exclusive Narrative Gameplay

I forgot to mention, the publishing company for REPLACED, Thunderful, is owned by Atari. Here is commentary from the game's developers with a podcaster working for Atari with footage of the first hour of the game in the background.

Atari Podcast Episode 75 - Let\u0027s Play REPLACED (w/ Sad Cat Studios)

[J1M]

Looks cool.

[Breathe]

They've taken so long to finish this game. That said, I am still interested. I just hope there haven't been any real problems.

[Romeo]

Game comes out in less than 3 hours. I'll be working during the time so for people who bought the game, let me know how it goes.

[Eyestabber]

I read the title and thought this would be a post apocalyptic game set in 2026 London.

[DecadeRiptide]

Had this on my Steam wishlist. It looks really good. Too bad Im not playing anything ATM. Might check it out in future though

[J1M]

I tried the demo. Setting is interesting but the gameplay was 2D Arkham and it didn't hint at depth beyond that so I am not motivated to buy it.