Lunark review – flashback to the 90s

There was a disastrous attempt at a remake in 2013 and an actual Flashback 2 is supposedly coming out this year, by the original creator, but for now Flashback remains a largely forgotten milestone in cinematic gaming. The makers of Lunark clearly remember it though and while this indie homage is a welcome reminder of how great Flashback is, it’s also a timely reminder of why you can’t remain stuck in the past.

Although the angular, simple polygons of the cut scenes are immediately reminiscent of Flashback the game’s graphical style is not exactly the same. Because this is 2023, not 1992, it often surprises you with sudden camera changes or complex animations that would never have been possible in the 16-bit era. This not only looks great but keeps you on your toes, as you know the game can suddenly pull the carpet from under you at any moment.

The actual gameplay plays out in a strange, low-fi style that looks like the original Flashback but with the resolution turned down by about a quarter. We’ve seen a similar style in other indie games recently and we’re not sure whether it’s purely an artistic choice or if it’s some kind of cost-saving exercise, but we can’t say we’re fans. The animation is still great, rotoscoped like the original, but it looks more like a (non-existent) C64 version of Flashback than the actual original.

We’d advise playing the Switch version not because it’s inherently superior but simply because the graphics look better squeezed into handheld mode than they do on the big screen. Which we imagine also holds true for the Steam Deck.

Strange visual choices aside the game’s plot plays out very similarly to its idol, as you play the role of a rebel trying to fight back against a totalitarian government. There’s a lot of Total Recall in there too, as well as Space: 1999 – since the awkward sounding name refers to the fact that humanity now lives on the Moon, which they’ve turned into a space-faring colony ship. The storytelling is more nuanced than you’d expect of a retro platformer and while you’ll guess what’s happening if you know the inspirations, the game does set up its mysteries surprisingly well.

Lunark is, like Flashback and the relatively similar Prince Of Persia, a 2D platformer but one with much more realistic physics than Mario or Sonic. Your character, Leo, can’t double jump or leap impossible gaps, but instead needs a decent run-up and takes a moment to change direction. This, together with the intentional pause between pressing jump and actually launching yourself into the air, can be put down to pseudo-realism but most of the time it just comes across as frustratingly unresponsive.

The game is also very finickity about where and when you can climb up to overhead platforms, while falling down more than one level will kill you instantly. Even now we’re still not sure whether the controls are slightly off or if it’s just meant to be like this, but while the game gives the clear impression that your supposed to be chaining moves together into lengthy sequences that’s impossible to do with any degree of consistency.

There are similar problems with the gunplay and stealth, which, unsurprisingly, work just like Flashback, including the iconic roll. Although the real problem is the awkward shield that doesn’t work unless you stand still and the ammo system for your gun that works on energy that constantly needs recharging.

The final frustration is the checkpoint system, which slowly increases the distance between each one the further you get into the game. Naturally, the game gets progressively harder anyway, so why Canadian developer Canari Games thought to add this extra, artificial barrier we’re not sure, but by the end of the game it almost begins to feel like Dark Souls as you resign yourself to several minutes of replaying what you just did, merely to get to the point where you died.

Like many a faux retro game Lunark doesn’t always gets the balance between modernity and old school aesthetics right, but the problems here will seem more or less severe depending on how familiar you are with the games it’s riffing on. For old school fans this can still be a fun trip down memory lane, that makes you wish other indie developers would create platformers like this and not just the usual mascot inspired titles.

However, the problem for any game trying to be like Flashback is that one of the main appeals of the original is that it was cutting edge in terms of both graphics and gameplay, so purposefully keeping things stuck in the early 90s does seem a little perverse. As a homage to a great game, and a largely forgotten sub-genre, Lunark is fun, if frustrating, but it doesn’t really help move anything forward.

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £17.99
Publisher: WayForward
Developer: Canari Games
Release Date: 30th March 2023
Age Rating: 3