Replaced hands-on preview: the action-platformer isn't cyberpunk enough

Sad Cat Studios has been developing Replaced since 2018, initially targeting a 2022 release. The project faced multiple delays — the Russo-Ukrainian war pushed the team to move from Belarus to a remote-first approach, and the studio reworked the art style twice before settling on the pixel art 2.5D that stood out at E3 2021.

The game is due out on March 12, but a recent two-hour hands-on left the writer unsure it lived up to the long wait. Replaced is set in an alternate 1980s after a nuclear weapon detonated on U.S. soil, and a private company called Phoenix Corporation helps rebuild in Phoenix City.

The demo begins with Reach, an AI trapped in the body of company leader Warren after an accident; pursued by cops, he flees corporate headquarters and spends the early hours in a nearby refugee community fighting a gang called The Ticks and being rescued by Tempest, a stereotypical rebel figure.

Belarus, Phoenix City

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