The fusion of intrigue, gameplay, exploration, and downright gorgeous art that has been showcased for side-scrolling title Replaced has raised quite a few questions among us. Thankfully, Sad Cat Studios director Yura Zhdanovich and composer Igor Gritsay were kind enough to entertain our questions about a variety of subjects, from the art style to gameplay and even the overall length of the main campaign.
Replaced has a striking art style. What were the biggest inspirations behind this look, and how did you translate those influences into the final visual direction?
While the artstyle of Replaced is not particularly new, we have been hard at work combining different approaches and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to 2.5D pixel-art. With notable, recent inspirations being games like Octopath Traveler and The Last Night, we have obviously been inspired by classics like Flashback and Another World as examples of more grounded approaches to making a sidescroller.
“We have been hard at work combining different approaches and experimenting with what works and what doesn’t when it comes to 2.5D pixel-art”
Going beyond the pixel art aesthetic, we have also gathered quite a lot of knowledge from games that do completely different visuals, while driving for a more cinematic feel. The likes of Limbo, Inside, Deadlight and other games that have been praised for their general atmosphere, lighting or camerawork.
And how can we forget Disney’s Hercules for PSX? Total next gen 2.5D!
What are the core themes you are exploring in Replaced, and how important is the presence of AI to the story given the current state of the world?
The main topic of our story is “what does it mean to be a human?”. AI is always present in some shape or form in the context of the cyberpunk/retrofuturistic genre, so it was just a means to explore this topic within a setting that we adore. For us, being relevant in terms of news agenda was never the point, since we started the development of Replaced much earlier than the current AI boom has happened. Our own reality is much more bleak and mundane in terms of actual problems that have arisen due to AI overuse. Meanwhile in Replaced, we wanted to explore AI usage gone wrong when applied to a much more complex task – that of biotransplantology – and the societal consequences this may have.
How do you approach the balance between combat and exploration across the full experience?
Even though our game is heavily focused on a cinematic and atmospheric component, we still have quite a bit of combat encounters, which tend to get progressively harder towards the end of the game. It’s not our goal to be hardcore, so at one point we had to lessen the difficulty of late combat encounters.
It’s important to have an internal sense of rhythm so that one part of the game ends at the right time, leaving room for the next one.
“The main topic of our story is “what does it mean to be a human?”.”
As players progress, what kinds of new moves or abilities will they unlock, and how do these additions change the flow of combat?
We have several gadgets that players will obtain during their playthrough. Most of them have dual purposes for both combat and platforming. For example: the mechanized pickaxe destroys enemy’s armor, but it also allows you to climb walls. Or, let’s say, one particular pistol upgrade allows you to deflect enemy’s bullets while in combat, but during platforming it grants you a double jump ability.
Replaced has been described as a cinematic action platformer. What does that mean in practical terms, and what sets it apart from more traditional platformers?
It mostly comes down to the amount of pain in the butt that we have to overcome while developing it! The main difference is the way the story is connected with the gameplay. All the camera work, VFX, overall cinematography – this is something that is usually not present in traditional arcade platformers.
The second main difference is level design: level structure and design can be absolutely abstract and random in classic platformers. In a cinematic platformer we have to make level design believable: we have to incorporate all platforming elements in a 2D manner, while keeping the surroundings grounded, as if this is something that could happen in real life.
What is the intended balance between melee and ranged combat, and is there a preferred style you expect most players to lean on?
We’re locked within a 2D framework, so our main focus is melee combat. Ranged combat is a part of core combat, but it’s mostly a method of getting rid of the most annoying enemies. Our game rewards aggressive playstyle. Your gun charges when you hit enemies. If the player is being passive and rolls a lot, they will lose gun charge. And since the Huxley (the name of the gun) is your most powerful option in combat, you really want to keep it charged. The protagonist – R.E.A.C.H. – also gets progressively faster in his attacks if you chain a combo without being hit or without being passive for too long.
“Ranged combat is a part of core combat, but it’s mostly a method of getting rid of the most annoying enemies.”
The lighting in the trailers and screenshots stands out a lot. How did the team achieve that look, both artistically and technically?
Lighting is the core component of any cinematic scene, and with Replaced the goal has always been to make the game look and feel as cinematic as possible throughout the whole experience. To make it look like it does in the videos and screenshots, while running decently on the lower-end hardware, we have spent a lot of time developing our own Scriptable Rendering Pipeline for Unity, combining some of the great visual features and post processing effects found in Unity’s HDRP with the tailored performance optimizations specific to our game.
After that it’s all about carefully planning out the scenes to not only support the game design needs, but also have space for dramatic lighting opportunities, all while navigating the peculiarities of this particular style.
Roughly how long is the game expected to be, and how much optional content is there for completion focused players?
We’re not forcing any side-content on players, so it really depends on your playstyle. I would say that the average might be around 8 hours, and 11-12 if you’re really searching for optional stuff.
Is there a specific reason Replaced is not coming to PS5?
When we first started developing Replaced and speaking to the various platform partners, we decided to launch it as an Xbox-first and Game Pass title as we felt this was the right fit for us.
“We’re not forcing any side-content on players, so [the game’s length] really depends on your playstyle.”
What resolutions and frame rates are you targeting on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X?
We’re still in the process of final polishing (the game is rather heavy graphics-wise), but we hope that we can lock it at 4K/60 for Series X and 1440p/60 for Series S.
Do you have plans to bring Replaced to Nintendo Switch 2?
We can’t confirm any additional platforms at this time.
