Every now and then, you watch a gaming showcase, and a trailer pops up that looks too good, so good that your first instinct is, “There’s no way this is real.” That’s exactly what I thought back in 2017 when I saw the reveal for a cyberpunk game called The Last Night. And apparently, that reaction wasn’t unique, because it feels like Sad Cat Studios looked at that same trailer and said, “We can do that too”, a hyper-detailed, cinematic throwback to Another World, but set in a grimy, neon-soaked cyberpunk world. Nearly a decade later, the results couldn’t be more different. One project is still stuck in development limbo, weighed down by controversy and endless online discourse, while the other, Replaced, actually made it out. So, after years of hype, comparisons, and cautious optimism, the real question is simple: was it worth the wait? The answer is mostly yes, but not without some pretty familiar caveats.
The first thing that hits you when you start Replaced is just how absurdly good it looks. This is one of those games where you can tell, almost immediately, that the art team was operating at a level far beyond what most indie projects even attempt. The pixel art is incredibly dense, but never messy. Characters move with a weight and fluidity that sells every punch, every step, every subtle animation. The lighting, in particular, does a lot of heavy lifting. Neon signs flicker against wet pavement, interiors glow with soft gradients, and distant cityscapes feel alive in a way that makes the world seem much larger than the levels you’re actually navigating. It’s not just that it looks good; it looks intentional. There’s a clear understanding of composition, of how to guide the player’s eye, of when to let a moment breathe. You’ll find yourself stopping, not because the game tells you to, but because you want to take in the environment. And playing it on Xbox Series X only reinforces that impression. The game runs at a clean 4K resolution with a locked 60 frames per second, and it feels like it. There are no noticeable dips, no stuttering during combat, and load times are basically nonexistent. For a game so visually dense, that level of performance is honestly impressive. It gives everything a smooth, cinematic quality that matches the game’s overall presentation.
That accessibility is also greatly helped by the fact that Replaced launched day one on Xbox Game Pass. And honestly, this is exactly the kind of game that benefits from that model. It’s visually striking enough to pull you in immediately, but maybe not mechanically deep enough to justify a full-price gamble for everyone. Game Pass removes that barrier entirely; you can just download it and see for yourself, which feels like the ideal way to experience something like this. But as the opening hours give way to the middle of the game, a familiar pattern starts to emerge. For all its visual complexity, Replaced is structurally very simple. You move from left to right, engage in combat encounters, solve light environmental puzzles, and continue forward. It’s a formula that traces its lineage back to cinematic platformers like Another World and Flashback. The problem is that while those games used simplicity as a foundation for tension and pacing, Replaced sometimes feels like it’s relying on its presentation to carry the experience. The combat is where this becomes most noticeable. At first, it feels satisfying; there’s a weight to the hits, a deliberate rhythm to each encounter. Animations are smooth, and the choreography of fights can look genuinely cinematic. But mechanically, it doesn’t evolve as much as you might hope. Encounters begin to blur together, and while new enemy types are introduced, they don’t fundamentally change how you approach combat. The same goes for the platforming and puzzle elements. They’re functional, occasionally clever, but rarely surprising. There’s a sense that the game is more interested in maintaining its aesthetic consistency than in pushing its mechanics further. And while that’s not inherently a bad thing, it does mean that the moment-to-moment gameplay can start to feel repetitive, especially in longer sessions.
That said, it would be unfair to dismiss Replaced as style over substance, because there is substance here, it’s just quieter, more atmospheric. The narrative unfolds in fragments, leaning into ambiguity rather than exposition. You piece together the world through environments, brief interactions, and the general tone of the experience. It’s a very “show, don’t tell” approach, and when it works, it works well. There’s a melancholic undercurrent to the game, a sense of disconnection that fits perfectly within its cyberpunk setting. However, this storytelling style also contributes to the game’s pacing issues. Because the narrative is so understated, it doesn’t always provide enough momentum to carry you through the more repetitive gameplay sections. You’re not necessarily driven by a strong desire to see what happens next as much as you are by a general curiosity about the world.
In many ways, Replaced feels like a game caught between two identities. On the one hand, it’s a visually driven experience that wants you to soak in its atmosphere and move through its world at a deliberate pace, almost like an interactive art piece. On the other hand, it’s still a game that asks you to engage with its systems, combat, platforming, progression, and those systems aren’t always strong enough to stand on their own. And yet, despite all of this, it’s hard not to come away impressed. There’s a level of craftsmanship here that’s undeniable. Even when the gameplay starts to feel repetitive, the presentation rarely loses its impact.
So, was Replaced worth the wait? I’d say yes, but with the understanding that what it excels at and what it struggles with are very much two sides of the same coin. It’s a game that prioritizes atmosphere and aesthetics above all else, and while that results in some truly memorable moments, it also exposes the limitations of its underlying design. In the end, Replaced is less about what you do and more about what you see and feel while doing it. And if you’re willing to meet it on those terms, to accept that sometimes you’re just moving right, taking in the scenery, it’s an experience that’s easy to admire, especially when it runs this smoothly and is as easy to access as it is here.
Score: 7 out of 10
Reviewed on Xbox Series X