Replaced: This upcoming indie game might be the next Hollow Knight

As indie games gain more recognition in the gaming world thanks to titles such as Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley, one upcoming game called Replaced is looking to take the indie market by storm. 

Set to release in 2026 after multiple delays, Replaced is a 2.5D pixel-art action-adventure platformer set in a cyberpunk-inspired world with stunning lighting, graphics, and interesting gameplay mechanics. While 2026 is gearing up to be a packed year for games, Replaced is a special title that deserves your time. Here’s why:

While Replaced will be the debut game for Sad Cat Studios, director Yura Zhdanovich recently shared a new development update trailer showcasing that the indie team has been working hard on improving the game’s graphical fidelity and immersion with the goal of creating something with “no shortcuts.”

Replaced: This upcoming indie game might be the next Hollow Knight

He claimed in the video that the developers have produced thousands of objects by drawing hand-crafted pixel art. Zhdanovich added in the video that Big Cat Studios has been working for years to bring in-game characters to life.

For example, he revealed that the main character “R.E.A.C.H.” has over 600 clips of animations that blend handcrafted pixel art with VFX. This is all brought together with other NPC animations and cinematic cutscenes.

According to Replaced’s Steam page, the upcoming platformer will be set in 1980s America and follow the story of “R.E.A.C.H.,” who is described as “an artificial intelligence trapped in a human body against its own will, striving to adjust to human life, in and around Phoenix-City.”

In a society filled with outlaws, greed, and corruption due to a catastrophic nuclear event, individuals in high power only see people as a means for trafficking.

While the game doesn’t have a specific release date, it’s set to hit Windows and Xbox Series X and Series S in Spring 2026.

We believe that Replaced could become one of the best indie games released recently, rivaling titles like Hollow Knight, Celeste, Dead Cells, Katana Zero, and many others. However, most attention is now on Hollow Knight: Silksong, which took the internet by storm after its official September 4 release date.

Find the development update trailer below: