A sequel to cinematic platformer classic Flashback is in the works
Although Fade To Black has been seemingly forgotten
Flashback 2, the sequel to 1992 rotoscoped platformer Flashback, has been announced and has original creator Paul Cuisset at the helm. In a press release, Cuisset notes that, "Developing a sequel to Flashback is an idea I’ve had for a very long time."
There is, oddly, no mention in the press release of the last time he developed a sequel to Flashback, 1995's Fade To Black.
The announcement was made by French publisher Microids, best known for adventure games like the Syberia series and, huh, a bunch of Fort Boyard games I didn't know it existed. There's very little detail about the new game bar the logo above and that it'll be an action platformer like the original.
Flashback was a cinematic platformer with rotoscoped animation. As protagonist Conrad B. Hart, you explored a futuristic world with realistic jumping, climbing and - relative to the time - shooting. Fade To Black continued after that events of that game, but was a third-person 3D action game rather than a 2D platformer. I never played it, but I used to pick up the box every weekend in Woolworths and look at the screenshots on the back. They looked great for the time, but I'm glad Flashback 2 is returning to being an action platformer.
Flashback seemed wonderfully grown-up and cool to me as a kid playing it on the Amiga 500, and formed a pair with Another World, an earlier, similar platformer from the same studio (but not Cuisset). I'm not sure it would hold up today: the animation is no longer impressive, but remove it and the feel, weight and challenge of the game largely disappear. It's worth noting that Flashback got a fairly terrible remake, with Cuisset at the helm and published by Ubisoft, back in 2013.
"I can’t wait for players to discover the new adventures of Conrad B. Hart, a character created almost 30 years ago," says Cuisset in the press release. "With Microids, we are really aiming to please the fans of the original title while being appealing to any players with a weak spot for futuristic games." Flashback 2 is aiming for a 2022 release.