Review - Replaced
"If every part of you can be replaced, what actually makes you human?"
Replaced
Thunderful, Coatsink, Sad Cat Studios / XBSX, PC
Played on Xbox Series X
Story & Lore
The world of Replaced takes place in a dystopian version of 1980s America. You play as R.E.A.C.H, an AI that has accidentally become trapped in the body of Warren, his creator, after an accident. As you explore this world, you learn about corporate corruption, the effects on the citizens of the city that R.E.A.C.H’s company (Phoenix Corporation) has an effect on, and you meet allies of a group fighting back against them. One cool aspect I loved as a history nerd was finding lore that pointed to questions about the fictional program and corporation becoming political issues that even Presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon had to tackle.
I personally felt the story wasn’t anything to write home about; it plays like a predictable dystopian plot, but I will say it does have a good message about the human experience.
Characters & Writing
Replaced has a bigger than expected character ensemble, as R.E.A.C.H meets and teams up with a group of outsiders living around a subway station, with some wanting to go further and rebel against the Phoenix Corporation. Tempest is the main one you team up with in several chapters, as he wants to take down the corporation more than anyone, although he does it in a risky way that puts others in jeopardy. There’s also the leaders of the community, who are against attacking the corporation. You’ll get help from a little girl who's obsessed with arcades, Veronica, Tempest’s girlfriend, and Yo-Yo, who helps upgrade your gun and abilities. Villains are spread out, with the closest thing to being a full threat being The Commissioner, and while he’s not a bad character, he’s not winning memorable villain awards. As for R.E.A.C.H, he’s interesting considering he’s more of a thing, since it's an AI and you’re talking to Warren’s body all the time, believing Warren may still be able to feel and see what you’re doing. As you go through, you can see R.E.A.C.H starting to understand the human experience.
Gameplay & Mechanics
Where Replaced shines like a bright star for me was the combat. At first, you think the combat is going to be fairly simple and get bored of it quickly, but I never did. Enemy encounters reminded me of the Arkham games, or some Assassin’s Creed games, in which you deal with a mob and focus on dodging and parrying at the right time. Sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming, but it was never difficult and was always fair. You have a gun that powers up after landing a certain number of strikes, which deals great damage and takes down bigger enemies. You’ll gain heavy attacks to help with armored enemies, and dodging is important with certain encounters too. It all mixes well and is the most fun part of the game. Boss encounters aren’t too bad either, with the classic special moves and pattern recognition, but nothing that’s too hard either. There’s a sequence near the end of the game on top of a train that was just a chef’s kiss for me.
However, there was one other major gameplay mechanic that I grew to hate and get frustrated with - the platforming. Now, I have a theory that the reason this didn’t click for me was the game's art direction. The pixel art style made it hard for me to understand where I was going when doing vertical platforming, and when you fall, the gap to get back into the game is long. Which goes to how SLOW this game can feel. There’s time you’ll have to pick up an object or push a block to set up a path to keep going, and I swear R.E.A.C.H is moving so slow, I can watch the entirety of Roots before he finishes. There’s no run button either, and jumping never feels right.
You have these chase sequences every now and then, and I did not like doing these. They aren’t the most terrible thing I’ve dealt with in a game, but it feels close. The running and jumping always felt off, and it took me multiple attempts. Again, I want to point out that, as someone with vision issues who wears pretty strong prescription glasses, the art style could have been messing with me at times, but it became a problem and started to make the game feel like a chore.
World & Level Design
Replaced’s world is an 80s dystopian alternative America. It shows well, and the developers did a good job of blending a new vision with the aesthetic of that decade. You get a tape recorder called the Wingman, which can scan parts of the world as you progress that reveal more lore, even down to some board games and store items that reminded me a lot of Fallout. The news articles, text font, buildings, lingo, and more look like the 1980s. It has a sort of Blade Runner vibe, just darker and less populated, but it works.
As for level design, I didn’t dislike any of the areas I went through, but again, I had trouble understanding where to go at times, especially during vertical platforming. It’s weird, too, because at times they did use paint to guide you, and then I would get to a darker area and feel like I couldn’t see anything. Outside of that, the subway station I had mixed views on. It was a pretty big area, and I found myself a few times a little lost trying to remember where to go to keep the game going. I did find Chapter 9, which had some interesting ideas for progressing through the city without focusing on combat, to be my favorite designed area and set of mechanics in the game.
Audio & Sound Design
When it comes to music and sound, this is a vibes-based game, which fits the aesthetic and world they want you to be in. The music has a 1980s feel, with a synth sound that’s a big part of that decade. The audio cues and sound effects, from the blast of the guns to hits from strikes, are solid, and they used sound well to immerse you in the world. However, none of the songs are going to be among memorable songs or scores that you’ll probably find in more titles this year, but as I said, the sound effects and vibes are well done.
Art Direction & Graphics
The main selling point for Replaced has always been its unique art direction and look. It uses a pixel art style reminiscent of some artworks you may have found online, and it looks really good. The 1980s retro-futuristic and dystopian look just feels right when applied to this art style. However, as I said, the pixel art style made some parts a little hard to see or understand. These character faces are practically impossible to look at, but that’s sort of the point, as it unapologetically sticks to it. If there’s one area I can argue deserves to be, at least, looked at by awards at the end of the year, it’s the art direction.
Direction & Performances
So, you’re not getting any performance here as the game has no voice lines. The body language we get is good, but you’ll be reading the dialogue. As for the game direction, aside from my complaints about feeling lost at times, I will say Yura Zhdanovich does a good job with the lighting and the placement of camera angles in important areas and scenes. To me, Chapter 9 is the peak of the game's direction, where everything comes together nicely, as if the game finally understood how it should be by then. The final sequence of the chapter is the best in the game, and the game direction is the main reason. I just wish they could make me understand where to go when climbing and jumping better.
User Experience
This is a very easy to understand game. You don’t get a massive menu screen with maps, lore, items, and more; just a tape recorder, and you’ll make your selections from there. It’s cool, too, because you’ll get an animation of your character’s finger scrolling, just like it would in real life. As for difficulty, it's not a hard game; it just got a bit frustrating, as I’ve mentioned multiple times. The combat is completely fair, even when it gets busier, and I think this is an easy game for people to pick up and play.
As for my personal fun factor, I think the game was the most fun for me in certain sections, especially in Chapter 9, but like I also said, I didn’t like how slow the pacing is for character movement, and the chase scenes were not fun at all.
Replay Value
I don’t think this game has the highest replay value. It’s one of those games that once you beat it, I don’t think you'll want to replay it again, especially because of the slower parts. There are optional scans to find, but I came away with zero motivation to find them all or want to replay to find the ones I didn’t. Obviously, maybe someone out there who falls in love with the game may want to replay it again, but for me, and I do believe objectively, I don’t see this as a game people are going to want to replay after going through it.
Recommendation
This is a mixed bag for me to recommend; I think if I know the gamer I’m talking to doesn’t mind slow pacing or feeling a little lost at times, I can say they should definitely check these out. However, if you’re not on board with the slow pacing or the sound of a lot of platforming and just pushing the stick forward to progress, I'd probably tell you it may not be your thing. I will say the combat is very easy to recommend, but the rest of the mechanics make it harder to fall on one ot the other. It’s one of those games that’s more about what you want to play than about me immediately telling you to play it.
C - Okay / Average
Overall, I feel like Replaced is the definition of a mixed bag for me. It has some of the best 2.5D action combat I’ve played recently, memorable boss encounters, and some great moments. I do think it has a message and theme about the human experience over machines. However, I thought its pacing was too slow at times, vertical platforming got frustrating because I didn’t understand where to go next half the time, and the story and characters aren’t bad, but nothing you’re going to remember in the future. The art style is without a doubt its biggest attraction, and they absolutely delivered there. It’s a game I felt like a chore at times, but other times I at least liked it enough.
What frustrates me most is that I loved the combat, but everything else was, at best, serviceable. It’s not a bad game; I just had issues clicking with it and had times when I didn't look forward to a few sections. It was an okay experience, not bad, but okay more than something I was happy to play.
It looks so cool. I want to play this one.