Flashback Review

ONE FLASH FORWARD, TWO FLASHES BACK

An intriguing sci-fi setting with an amnesiac hero. Distinctively rotoscoped visuals. Innovative gameplay mechanics and a difficulty level that rewarded patience and pinpoint accuracy. These are just a few of the reasons why Delphine Software’s original 1992 Flashback was lauded by many as one of the great action games of the 16-bit generation. Unfortunately this HD remake doesn’t come close to earning such accolades.

Helmed by original director Paul Cuisset, the plot, settings and characters in Flashback remain mostly unchanged, but those other descriptors no longer apply. The hand-traced art has been ditched in favour of a more generic 2.5D, Unreal Engine-powered aesthetic, the gameplay is straightforward and lacking in surprises, and any sense of challenge has been neutered thanks to the addition of a generous healthbar and frequent checkpointing. Flashback 2013 is a respectable platform shooter in an affordable package, but it fails to reach the same heights as when it first arrived amidst the era of gulf wars and grunge music.

The remake opens in the exact same fashion as the original, with protagonist Conrad B. Hart fleeing an alien base on the planet Titan only to have his jetbike cop a targeted laser blast and crash-land into a mutant-infested jungle region. From there Flashback follows the same narrative trajectory as before, taking you from amnesiac agent to spaceport errandboy, life-or-death game show contestant, wanted man on the run and eventual holder of the fate of the human race. It’s an enjoyable story that draws inspiration from the likes of Total Recall and The Running Man, and although it mostly follows the same beats as the original there’s a couple of new plot twists along the way that may surprise Flashback veterans, even if the ultimate outcome is the same.
The exposition is better realised this time around thanks to extended cutscenes with full voice acting, as opposed to the text-based character interactions and silent cinematics from before. This is
somewhat of a double-edged sword - it enables more detailed characterization as well as some funny additional lines (when threatened at gunpoint one character states, “Don’t hurt me. I’ve got two virtual kids!”), but unfortunately it also paints the previously mysterious Conrad as more of an insufferable douchebag with the habit of spouting catchphrases like “Time to party!” and “Awesome-sauce!” I very much prefered him as the strong, silent type to be honest. A more welcome change is Conrad’s ability to fire in a full 360-degree arc using the right thumbstick, as opposed to only being able to fire on a horizontal plane like before. This contemporary control tweak allows each level to throw more mobile enemies at you, such as the airborne drones that swarm overhead, as well as vary the method for unlocking certain doors by requiring you to shoot at otherwise out of reach switches.
Conrad is much easier to control in his general movement too, and you’re granted a lot more leniency if you slightly misstime a leap, since he’ll automatically grab onto the edge of ledges. So there’s no need to painstakingly measure out each jump like you had to before, and consequently level traversal is a much more fluid process than it once was.

"Wheee! This is sweeter than a jar of awesome-sauce, you guys!"

Conrad also has a handful of new tricks up his sleeve, namely a charged-up secondary fire for his pistol (for blasting through walls), the ability to shoot while running or dangling from ledges, and stealthy takedown moves for killing enemies quickly and quietly (which you’ll rarely ever need to use, to be fair). Curiously the then-innovative ability to throw stones in order to distract guards has been removed, as have the mouse-bombs, and it’s shame that the developers haven’t introduced any new gadgets in their place. But happily Conrad still gets his hands on the invaluable force field gadget as well as the excellent teleport device later on.
There is also the addition of frag grenades, but they’re seldom required since generally speaking - and despite Conrad’s added abilities - every enemy in Flashback can be overcome by dive-rolling from side to side and using the force field to block their shots while you return fire. This was largely the case in the original too, but that was 20 years ago, and at this point combat feels noticeably repetitive and overly simplistic. It never really requires you to modify your strategy, even in the later stages against supposedly tougher foes.
This strict adherence to the basic AI patterns of the original game contrasts with a far more precise targeting setup and Conrad’s more resilient physique, resulting in an experience that can be breezed through on all but the hardest difficulty level in a few hours of play. It would have been great if they’d included an enemy type that, say, forced you to use the teleporter in order to defeat them, or an environmental puzzle with a solution more complex than activating the new molecular glasses and shooting at the nearest glowing green thing. But for the most part that’s simply not the case.
On the handful of occasions that the designers attempt to shake things up and surprise fans of the original, Flashback 2013 falls flat. Take the playable jetbike sequence that hurtles you from Earth’s city streets to the Paradise strip club (replacing the simple taxi ride in the original). Aesthetically it resembles a sidescrolling WipEout race, complete with speed boosts, and it should be a lot of fun in principle. In practice, it feels more akin to a sloppy interpretation of Jetpack Joyride and comes across merely as filler intended to drag out Flashback’s fairly modest running time.

Sadly not even remotely as fun as it looks.

Later, the boss fight against a giant alien brain still manages to feel decidedly anti-climactic despite being far larger in scale than its counterpart in the original game, again due to the general lack of thought needed in order to overcome it. For a fight against an enormous brain, the encounter is disappointingly mindless.
There are a couple of substantial bonuses included with this remake, in the form of a suite of brand new VR challenges - accessed via designated stations found throughout the main game - as well as the full version of the original game which can be selected from the main menu. The former serves as both a tutorial hub for Conrad’s new moves as well as a way to earn extra XP to level up his weapon and health attributes (though sadly not in any meaningful ways), by taking on different waves of enemy types within closed off arenas. These VR rooms offer up a stiffer challenge than the encounters found in the main game if only because they’re done against the clock.
The second bonus - the original Flashback in all its rotoscoped glory - can be accessed from the main game menu. Even now it oozes a moody atmosphere, and it provides a much stiffer challenge than that of the remake. If you’re a newcomer (or your advancing age has eroded the patience you once had in 1992), the added option to save anywhere counterbalances the more unforgiving enemies and lack of checkpoints. Playing through the original game immediately after finishing the remake, it struck me how much more satisfying the simple act of firing Conrad’s gun was thanks to the superb rotoscoped recoil animation and muzzle flare. It’s honestly as impactful now as it was two decades ago. It’s just a shame that in all facets, the HD remake never hits with the same kind of force.