Replaced Preview: Cyberpunk 2077 Meets Batman Arkham

Replaced feels like a side story in Cyberpunk 2077 at first but quickly sets itself apart through strong visuals and good storytelling.

After playing a demo of the latest build at Gamescom I was thoroughly impressed with what was on display here. In short it’s a side-scroller starring a pixelated protagonist called R.E.A.C.H, an AI who’s been forcibly uploaded to a human body.

As an AI he has no idea what it means to be human, as he’s essentially experiencing life for the very first time. He feels the cold, pain from wounds, and later on what it feels like to end a life, and it’s total confusion. That’s already an interesting premise for a game and when I was told the game was heavily inspired by Bladerunner it made a lot of sense.

While R.E.A.C.H and other characters are 2D sprites, much of the world around him is 3D, which comes into play later on as you walk into the foreground and background to advance and do some light puzzle solving. There wasn’t much in terms of puzzles in my demo but what there was in abundance was combat.

Combat works like the Batman Arkham games, with quick-paced strikes occasionally broken up by a counter, executed by tapping the button at the right time. Enough melee strikes will charge up your primary weapon, a standard-issue police firearm that can be shifted into a baton. The gun can only be fired when it has enough charge, and can be done so either at range or up-close for a flashy takedown, that wouldn’t be out of place in a John Wick film.

Coatsink/Thunderful

Admittedly the combat wasn’t the most exciting, but I was told the difficulty of the enemies had been scaled down for the Gamescom demo, with the final release allowing them to be much more aggressive and dynamic. I was also told the gun wouldn’t usually be usable at the start of the game, and would come into play later once it had been repaired.

Further into the demo a stealth section was introduced where you must stick to the shadows so an overlooking train doesn’t gut you with a harpoon. Not the most difficult task in the world but one that felt tense with little margin for error.

While the gameplay felt good it’s the story and visuals that I think are really going to carry this game come launch day, which has unfortunately been pushed back to 2026.

I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait though, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of R.E.A.C.H’s story as he learns what it means to be human in a troubling and dangerous world.