Flashback

This is a game that was pretty cool back in the day, but it hasn't aged well at all. It's a shoot-em-up and platformer from a time when neither of those things were anywhere near as slick as they are now. I could waste a whole lot of words explaining why it is the way that it is, and how it was a "classic" release that was quite advanced some thirty or so years ago, but none of that matters. Compared to modern titles the controls are clunky and sluggish, and some of the supposedly helpful context-sensitive actions your character performs actually make things worse. There really isn't all that much of a unique game behind these failings to make it worth slogging through. The shooting and movement is clumsy, and the platforming is limited in scope, yet also quite fussy when paired with the awkward controls. At the time this was viewed as the "thinking mans / womans / non-gender specific persons shooter" but there isn't all that much actual thought required. It simply got that tag because the levels aren't linear and you have to back-track and press a switch somewhere to progress....not exactly the deepest game-play. It's just very stunted shooty-shooty-bang-bang from an era when that was rare, but in 2025 you have metroidvanias with all sorts of emphasis on melee and ranged combat, along with far more exciting action titles. Other than the theme (which isn't all that unique) there's not much to recommend here from a modern perspective, and I say that as someone who loved this back on my Super Nintendo. Beyond some neat cut-scenes it has poor story-telling and is quite basic when it comes to the world-building. You can see what it was trying to do (there are good ideas here and there), and for the time it was the best it could be, but unfortunately it's bum-droppings now. For every moment where I did enjoy it, there was just as many moments where it was frustrating and unsatisfying. The action ramps up as the game goes on, but much of the difficulty comes from the stiff controls and game-play mechanics that don't work well together, rather than it being challenging.

They should have fixed all the softlocks or made a better save system. Otherwise, there's absolutely no point to this remaster. Play the OG in DosBox and save yourself the money, if you want, but IMO this game doesn't really hold up well and there are much better options from that time. Be sure to manually back up your saved games (%userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Microids\Flashback) unless you want to get softlocked after saving in the last level and need to start over entirely, lmao

The original game was one of my favourites in the mid-1990s. As both it and [b]Another World[/b] were originally published by Delphine Software, it could lead to confusion about a connection between the two; in truth, they were developed by different people, and the use of rotoscoping is pretty much the only thing they have in common. [b]Flashback[/b] can be effectively classified as "action-adventure", a mix of slow-paced platforming, action (sometimes it feels like [b]Prince of Persia[/b] with a gun), and inventory puzzles. With today's perspective, it can be argued that it stretches its content a bit thin (the quests in New Washington are the least fondly remembered for a reason), and the controls can be stiff by modern standards, but I can't forget the excellent animation, the mini-cutscenes for small actions along with the main story scenes, the atmosphere, and how generally great it felt to play once I got used to the timing of its controls. Sadly, a curse has seemingly been placed on the [b]Flashback[/b] IP since then. The 1995 sequel (an early example of a bad transition to 3D), the 2013 remake, the 2023 other sequel... not even Paul Cuisset himself has managed to bring back the old magic. One would think that at least this remaster of the original would be exempt - not the case, sadly. The modern filters are unnecessary and frankly ugly; on the other hand, the rewind function is welcome and applied smartly depending on the difficulty level, but there are two glaring issues: * No control configuration. While I can understand keeping most of the controls similar to the original ones for familiarity, there is no reason not to allow alternatives. * No in-game language selection; it depends on the system language. I would not have had a big issue with that if the translation, at least the Italian one I dealt with, were not [b]ATROCIOUS[/b] (I've heard players of some other languages are not much luckier). The moment I saw the vomit of incomprehensible machine-translated words that is Conrad's holocube message, I couldn't go on. How can the version from 25 years earlier have had easy language selection and a decent localization? While I could easily change the system language to English, I don't see why I should be forced to, especially after being offered a translation whose quality is nothing short of insulting. On top of that, I've found out that the GOG version at least gives the option to choose a language different from the system one when using the installer, making the issue here even more baffling. At the ridiculous prices you can find it for when discounted, I'd say it's better than nothing since it's still a piece of gaming history, but what a shame that I have to recommend NOT getting this on Steam...

Just kept rolling and smacking myself into a tree until I closed the game.

Wow this experience was COMPLETE POOP!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I CANNOT USE MY XBOX GAMEPAD TO PLAY THIS GAME!!! I played it and loved it using a gamepad when I was a kid, WAY ~ back in the day when it first came out on my Genesis. And now I am forced to play it with a keyboard??? That is one sick joke. No, just no. I am infuriated that I cannot play this game with my X Box gamepad. A spectacular waste of my time and money. I do want a refund. I thought it would just work. But no, I did not even start the damn game because for me, there is not even an option to play it using a controller game pad! ONLY KEYBOARD AND MOUSE UNLIKE THE ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE! I'm not playing this on keyboard and mouse. This was one of my favorite games growing up. It ruins everything if I cannot play with a gamepad. To say the least - I AM WAY TOO UPSET ABOUT THIS ONLY BEING A KEYBOARD AND MOUSE GAME. At least for me anyway. Thanks for no controller support and for ruining what I thought was going to be a great nostalgic experience!

Флэшбэк — это как если бы "Бегущий по лезвию" сняли на VHS-кассету, а потом забыли, что такое бюджет. Ты — Конрад, парень с амнезией, который просыпается в джунглях и думает: "О, круто, я теперь инди-шпион". Графика — 1992-й: пиксели размером с мою голову, но каждый кадр как будто нарисован вручную. Геймплей? Прыгай, стреляй, прячься — и всё это с управлением, которое кричит: "Я из эпохи, когда мыши не было". Минус: если ты не помнишь, как жать "вверх+прыжок" одновременно — ты труп. Плюс: сюжет такой, что через час ты уже веришь, что инопланетяне реально похищают людей, а ты — их главный герой.Вердикт: 8/10. Классика, от которой у меня до сих пор спина в мурашках. Если хочешь почувствовать себя 12-летним гением — запускай.

[h1][b]「2013年のリメイク版より、こっちの『元祖』の方が面白いという皮肉。記憶と伝説を取り戻せ」[/b][/h1] [h1]ストーリー[/h1] 西暦2142年。銀河連邦捜査官コンラッド・B・ハートは、ある重大な秘密を知ってしまったために記憶を消され、土星の衛星タイタンのジャングルで目を覚ます。 手元にあるのは一丁の銃と、自分のホログラムが記録されたキューブだけ。 「俺を探して、地球へ帰れ」。過去の自分からのメッセージを頼りに、コンラッドは異星人の陰謀が渦巻く世界へと身を投じる。 [h1]概要[/h1] 1992年に発売され、「世界で最も売れたフランス産ゲーム」としてギネスにも認定された伝説的シネマティック・プラットフォーマーの25周年記念リマスター版。 実写を取り込んだ「ロトスコープ」技術による滑らかなキャラクターアニメーションと、映画的な演出が特徴。 本作はオリジナル版のソースコードを元に、高解像度化、フィルター機能、そして現代的な便利機能を追加した「決定版」である。 [h1]感想[/h1] 余計なアレンジはいらなかった。ただ、この「元祖」を磨くだけでよかったのだ。 本作を語る上で避けて通れないのが、2013年に発売された3Dリメイク版の存在だ。 あちらが現代的なアレンジを加えすぎて「コレジャナイ」評価を受けたのに対し、ただオリジナルを綺麗にしただけの本作の方が圧倒的に完成度が高く、面白いというのはなんとも皮肉な話である。当時の衝撃だったロトスコープのヌルヌル動くアニメーションは、現代の高解像度モニターで見ても色褪せない。 さらに、本作には「リワインド（巻き戻し）」機能が追加されている。これが偉大すぎる。一歩踏み外せば即死、撃つタイミングが遅れれば即死という、当時の容赦ない「死にゲー」バランスに対し、失敗した瞬間に時間を巻き戻せる機能は、まさに現代のプレイヤーへの救済措置だ。日本語字幕も丁寧に実装されており、ストーリーを完全に理解しながら遊べる点も素晴らしい。 [h1]評価[/h1] 【GOOD】 ・伝説的傑作の名に恥じない、ロトスコープによる滑らかなアニメーションと緻密なSF世界観。 ・2013年の微妙なリメイク版と比較して、オリジナルを尊重した本作の方が、結果としてゲームとしての完成度が高いという事実。 ・「リワインド（巻き戻し）」機能の追加により、理不尽な即死やトライ＆エラーのストレスが劇的に軽減され、誰でもエンディングまで到達できるようになった。 ・日本語ローカライズがしっかりと実装されており、没入感を損なわない。 【BAD】 ・良くも悪くも「グラフィックを綺麗にして便利機能をつけただけ」のリマスターであり、かつてプレイしたファンにとっては、懐かしさ以上の新しい感動や驚きは得られない。 ・操作性（慣性が働く独特の挙動）は当時のままであるため、現代のキビキビ動くアクションゲームに慣れたプレイヤーには、その「重さ」がストレスに感じる場合がある。

Almost as good as on Amiga 30 years ago.

Definitely a nice cyberpunk game from the old game era with nice puzzles and elements, now updated. Got it on sale, like very cheap. I would recommend. [h2] 8/10 [/h2]

A classic with the needed enhancements to play these days. It's a short game with the difficulty set to make it artificially longer as it used to be on the original time of release. Controls are not so great in modern days context, it is noticeable that it is a game from DOS era ported to 16-bit consoles. Definitely a great story that resembles Total Recall.