This game was sought after I had an itch for a cyberpunk sort of experience. I liked the music, the animation, and the prospect of combat from the game, I certainly got exactly what I wanted out of this game, and that's why I give it a thumbs up. But, I will say that this game, while it is good, has fostered a fair amount of grievances during my playthrough
For starters, there is a LOT of reading that this game wants you to do. Now that isn't an issue for me personally, reading about lore is never a bad thing, but, it is a bit of an issue when you're specifically wanting to learn more about the world building through what's shown. Everything you encounter is specific to where you are, and where you want to be. You could talk to the extra people, and do their quest. But none of that actually expands on the kind of world you live it. This is separate from the main events, that do give you some sort of exposition about the world you live in and what it entails. But the details that usually immerse you, like finding out how the miners in the beginning areas and what their fate was, all of that is gated behind some collectible that is hidden out of the way, and this trend goes on for a very long time. Eventually, it becomes a bit demotivating after a while, even though there is a rich amount of world building in there.
This is compounded by the level design, too. Now, granted, it did serve its purpose. It provided verticality and challenges to boot. I will not say that I didn't have some fun figuring out to move across the terrain. But that kind of fun only really occurred at the beginning of me acquiring a new component to traversal. After that, the game kind of just remixes what's been there, and it's done in a way that can feel like a chore lot of the time. Which, with the physics of the game being somewhat heavier than you would expect, can be very annoying when you're doing the same kind of jump several hours later that you did before, and you're still undershotting it because you didn't time the double jump at the RIGHT time. By the end of the game, traversal was no longer something I actively looked forward to, and just treated as a tool that didn't provide any joy with successful completion
Speaking of successful completion, the combat in this game was really good! It has parries, it has dodges, it has aoe attacks! I initially played in hard mode, and found it frustrating how easy it was. But the game did adjust later on, and got me killed with the blend of enemies. It was very fun! I could mention some mundane things like how it gets predictable and stale towards the end for me, but that's an unfair thing for me to say, for I'm used to combat variety in games like devil may cry and final fantasy xvi and even hollow knight, and this is clearly the kind of game that's meant to have a lower skill ceiling in general. So I won't count it against that. That being said, the final boss fight is very underwhelming. The actual boss that feels like the best in the game is about halfway. I wouldn't come to this game if challenge is the main thing you're seeking.
The atmosphere is done really well! When you explore it, you really feel the weight of being hunted, and the stakes in ensuring that you time that next jump to survive. I think that parkour should be massively improved for the next game if there is one. I think that's this game's strength, and it could be incredibly fun to have a 2d cyberpunk game that has you flying around the map.
Ultimately, Replaced is very fun game. I think this is worth the buy on a sale, and playing this with a good meal, lights off, and some friends in the background to chat with. If you let this game immerse you, it will. And that's why I will give it a thumbs up.
Cheers devs!
