10 Best Games Like Replaced

Still blown away at how cinematic Replaced looks for a 2.5D sidescroller. It’s like playing through a movie, with its dark, cyberpunk thriller vibe. Makes me think waiting for it for eight years wasn’t so bad when the final product is so damn stunning. 

And not just looks, though. The gameplay is just as intense for a sidescroller again. The combat is heavy and feels satisfying. The stakes feel high, even as you go through the corrupt post-apocalyptic city of Phoenix.

So what other games are as stylish, set in a retro-futuristic world, and featuring cinematic platforming? The following best games like Replaced to start.

10. Metroid Dread

The Metroid series set the pace for the Metroidvania genre of unlocking new abilities to gain access to previously inaccessible areas. An interconnected map that keeps unraveling the more you explore.

And the cult classics have their charm, but have you played 2021’s Metroid Dread? From the graphics to the movement and combat, every gameplay element has been tightened and refined. It looks stunning to be fighting the vicious aliens of Planet ZDR, discovering new powers and abilities that open up new areas.

9. The Last Night

Perhaps the closest in theme and ideas to Replaced is The Last Night. Both are sci-fi narrative-driven 2.5D sidescrollers in the age of AI. You enjoy cinematic depictions of a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world that still hasn’t run out of hope for a better future.

You’ll explore a new world order ruled by robots and AI, freely roaming about the vibrant neonpunk districts. But also engage in stealth gameplay, hiding from drones and sneaking around cops. And only when you have to do you fire your gun.

8. Detroit: Become Human

Another heavily story-driven adventure is Detroit: Become Human, where machines have taken over. You control three androids, in fact, navigating an uncertain future. But the branching narratives are what reel you in, giving you moral dilemmas, including choosing who lives and dies.

There are thousands of decisions ahead. So, brace yourself for a nerve-wracking adventure shaping the future of Detroit. It’s a gripping narrative adventure that poses the question of whether there’s a way to empathize with androids by seeing the world through their eyes.

7. Deadlight

Probably the worst thing is to be separated from your family during a zombie outbreak. A post-apocalyptic world set in 1980s Seattle, where you must traverse through to reunite with your family. 

Deadlight is a 2D zombie survival game, using 2D old-school sidescrolling for its action-platforming. You navigate 3D cinematic environments, destroyed in the aftermath, mindlessly shooting at whatever danger comes knocking, or more wisely, saving bullets for when you’ve run out of stealth options.

6. Shadow Complex Remastered

Shadow Complex Remastered eases things long, modernizing visuals and gameplay. Yet the core systems have always been the show-stealers: the melee take-downs and the dynamic feel of combat. 

You dive into fast-paced combat with robotic enemies, dodging obstacles and clearing a non-linear world. Thanks to so many unique power-ups and challenges, you’re often discovering something new as you galavant through the open-world design.

5. Hollow Knight: Silksong

With a combat system as fast and fluid as Hollow Knight: Silksong, you’ll absolutely want to try it out. Not only as a top-ranking title among the best games like Replaced, but also as a masterpiece in the 2D side-scrolling action-adventure Metroidvania genre.

The fallen kingdom of Pharloom is gloomy and in earnest need of saving. But first, you have to master swift acrobatic moves against 200+ bugs and 40+ bosses. Plus a Steel Soul mode for the strong-willed.

4. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

How about scaling the cinematic experience up a notch, marveling at the unique and expansive open world of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Weather, time, and nature change while you cover more ground, and yes, they include natural disasters like earthquakes and forest fires. 

The very environment keen to squeeze your last breath is the same place you’re looking to revive and rebuild. Even with otherworldly creatures roaming about, this fractured world remains home not just for you but also for your found family, too. 

3. Dex

Another 2D side-scrolling cyberpunk open-world among the best games like Replaced is Dex. It perfects its spritework and exploration of an authentic sci-fi future. You can freely choose roles, whether gunslinger, hacker, diplomat, assassin, etc.

And so, the combat can be as intense as you prefer. Meanwhile, platforming bends to your will, with nostalgic level design. And in the moments of pause, you enjoy interactive dialogues with NPCs, forming unexpected alliances and finding buddies to bring down the system with.

Note the Metroidvania feature of exploring the non-linear world, where new skills and augmentations open up new paths.

2. Little Nightmares 3

Prefer a purely oppressive atmospheric experience? Then step into the shoes of helpless kids trying to outrun a terrible nightmare. Low and Alone star in Little Nightmares 3, leaning on their friendship against the nightmarish creatures of Nowhere.

For an even better experience, bring your pal along for the two-player co-op mode. You’ll mostly sneak around and solve puzzles together. All you have is a bow and wrench to pull levels and push objects.

It requires a lot of attention to detail, even in the darkness. Where hidden passages are your escape routes from monsters, and thinking out of the box is the way out of tight spots.

1. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Perhaps the most impressive environments that spring to memory are the slides in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Thus, a definite addition to the best games like Replaced, taking you on an unforgettable fantasy adventure about discovering Ori’s destiny.

Ori is a white guardian spirit, and although he doesn’t say much, he has powerful skills. He can double jump and glide. Plus, bash into objects and enemies. There are also special powers you unlock, like summons and magic projectiles, as well as upgrades like triple jump.