Replaced, the 2.5D platformer from Thunderful that’s been eight years in the making, is finally out today. On PC and Xbox, the alt-’80s dystopian side-scroller combines action and environmental puzzles in a retro-cyberpunk world, and we’re installing it as we type. Except, not on Xbox Series S, where the game has launched in pretty busted condition.
Speaking to IGN, developers Sad Cat Studio told the site that “on Series S, the game may suffer a memory-related hang in the transition between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 if the game has been played in a single session up to this point.” And perhaps even more damningly, the game’s ending cinematics aren’t working properly in the Series S version of the game.
Apparently, the way to get around the Chapter 4/5 transition bug is to quit and restart the game, which should prevent it from running out of RAM which appears to be what causes the crash. You still won’t be able to properly enjoy the ending, though. That should all get fixed with a patch that’s due to go through Microsoft’s cert process tomorrow, April 15, and ideally be rolled out immediately after.
The PC and Xbox Series X versions of the game are apparently fine, making this all the more peculiar. Studios are increasingly struggling to release games with parity between the two hugely different versions of the Xbox tech, but given this is a 2.5D pixel game, albeit a very beautiful one, you wouldn’t imagine that would be an issue here. (We’ve reached out to publishers Thunderful to ask for any more intriguing details.)
It’s a shame that this is how the launch of Replaced is being covered, given the game’s early reviews (primarily played on PC) are extremely positive, garnering it an 81 on Metacritic already, the result of a wealth of 8s and 9s held back by a couple of rogue 6s. We’ll have our thoughts on the game pretty soon.
