Summer Games Fest has officially kicked off, and a whole slew of upcoming releases were announced in Geoff Keighley's two-hour opening event. While big names and indies were showcased, there were a few Summer Game Fest reveals that slipped through the cracks, such as a sequel to a 1992 classic platformer: Flashback 2.
This sequel marks the first game in the franchise since 2013, and is the first real sequel to the mainline series since 1995. With three decades of history behind it, Flashback 2 is an exciting announcement, though non-fans may be confused as to why its presence at the showcase was such a big deal.
Flashback (1992)
Releasing in 1992 for the Amiga, and then a year later for the Sega Genesis and SNES, Flashback is 2D sci-fi platformer with a heavy emphasis on cinematic gameplay and storytelling. For the time, Flashback was revolutionary. While 2D platformers were nothing new, ones with a narrative focus were, and Flashback proved that the 2D sidescrolling genre was missing a cinematic niche.
The original Flashback managed to capture a cinematic feel by using rotoscoping technology, similar to the original Prince of Persia game. This technology gave character models more life-like animations, which can be seen in the main protagonist Conrad's running, jumping, and shooting animations.
Along with action-platforming gameplay, Flashback presented players with an array of challenging puzzles, most of which require good spatial awareness. At the time, Flashback received near-unanimous praise for just about every technical aspect. Its high level of polish and varied gameplay lead to Flashback being heralded as one of the best platformers on the Genesis and SNES, and lead to the game earning a Guinness World Record for the best-selling French game of all time.
Fade To Black (1995)
Developed by the same studio, Delphine Software International, Fade to Black was a 1995 sequel to Flashback. While its narrative follows the same sci-fi plot of its predecessor, with Conrad Hart again being the main protagonist, Fade to Black's gameplay follows a completely different archetype as a 3D third-person shooter.
With a focus on gun combat, Fade to Black hardly resembled its predecessor in terms of gameplay. However, being designed for the new PlayStation and Dreamcast hardware, the developers decided to innovate as the original had several years ago. Despite the departure, Fade to Black received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the game's backgrounds and motion-captured animations but criticizing its stiff, polygonal character models and harsh difficulty spike.
Flashback (2013)
After Fade to Black was met with critical success, Delphine Software International turned its sights on a sequel. Intended for a release in 2003, Flashback Legend was going to return the franchise to its 2D side-scrolling roots, but with more open environments. In an interesting move, Flashback Legend was being developed solely for the Game Boy Advance, but Delphine Software went bankrupt before it could be finished, and the game was scrapped.
It would take almost a decade before a new Flashback game released. Dropping onto the Xbox Live Arcade in 2013, Flashback is a remake of the original 1992 platformer. Built from the ground up, 2013's Flashback was developed by VectorCell, and missed the mark in a number of ways. With washed-out graphics typical of an early 2010s release and a lack of improvements for the original's gameplay, Flashback was met with a fairly negative critical reception. Hopefully the newly announced Flashback 2 can do what the 2013 remake couldn't, and improve upon the formula in a substantial way.
Flashback 2 releases winter 2022 to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version will follow in 2023.
