Back To The Retro-Future
If there’s one thing that this year’s Xbox/Bethesda E3 presentation has shown us, it’s that the Xbox Game Pass is going to be a tour de force of easily accessible titles, from AAA games like the new original Bethesda IP Starfield to smaller indie titles like the star-studded Twelve Minutes. One such indie title that’s sure to catch the attention of Game Pass subscribers is Replaced: A retro-futuristic, 2.5D action platformer from Sad Cat Studios.
Replaced follows the story of R.E.A.C.H, a sentient artificial intelligence that’s been trapped inside a human body against its will. R.E.A.C.H journeys into the cyberpunk dystopia of Phoenix City, where the ruling class have established an oppressive power structure in which human organs – and humans themselves – are used as currency. In this broken world, R.E.A.C.H will uncover the mysteries behind why it’s been transferred into a new body, rooting out corruption and conspiracy and learning what it means to be human.
With a slick, Blade Runner-inspired voxel art style and fast, fluid combat, Replaced is set to be a breath of fresh air for the action-platformer genre. While we don’t know too many details about the gameplay yet, the few glimpses we’ve seen in the reveal trailer shown at the Xbox/Bethesda conference show off slick combat and fast-paced platforming throughout the neon-lit buildings of Phoenix City. You can check out the trailer here:
With this being their debut title, the Belarus-based indie development team Sad Cat Studios are sure to be one to keep an eye out for in the future. Replaced is planned to launch on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2022, and along with the majority of the games revealed at the Xbox/Bethesda showcase it will be available for download with the Xbox Game Pass from the day of release.