Flashback review: partial recall

A 2D puzzle platformer, Flashback is also full of guns and heaps of cybernetic enemies. Conrad runs, dodges and ducks obstacles adroitly, but his jump is pathetic, and a climb/jump hybrid move is necessary for the platform heavy lifting. You have offensive abilities in the form of a gun, grenades and other throwable objects, good for destroying the drones, cyborgs and occasional bosses littered throughout Flashback's stages.

Level design is a highlight, with excellent layouts that blend combat, stealth and platforming sections. Puzzles are mixed in everywhere, requiring you to blast the right switches, time your jumps to avoid insta-death lasers, or toss your gear past tight corridors. When Flashback relies most on puzzle-solving and quieter environmental exploration it succeeds best, recalling the classic game's strengths and making good on the work VectorCell has put into updating the environments. The revamped locales are nicely realized, with gobs of neon and an impressive level of detail that paints a lived-in dystopia.

But Flashback collapses under fuzzy objectives and an infuriating lack of focus. I died countless times without understanding why, and the game never gave me a clear indication of what was happening. There were times I didn't know if I passed an area because I did what I was supposed to do, or if the game had let me progress due to a bug.