Liminal Border Part I
Liminal Border Part I
Game
Game2023
Flashback 2
Developer Microids Studio Paris, Paul Cuisset
Flashback 2 is a 2023 science fiction action-adventure game developed and published by Microids. It is a sequel to 1992's Flashback. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
114 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 24, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
39
Rotten
34 positive · 54 negative
95% range 29–49%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 34 | 54 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 1 | 8 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Negative
34 of 90 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
38% recommend · 33 yes, 54 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 87 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (78 of 169 positive).
Several fans of the original are deeply disappointed, calling it a poor sequel. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
After looking up thing on youtube and all the bad stuff they give it i thought id give it a go and i loved the original and must say they relay done a good job patching this up and i don't see any of the complaints all are making of it so its probably the best time to pick it up and give it a go i am not regretting it i am truly loving it.
- [8]
I have to say I really enjoying playing the sequel to Flashback. I did a full play-through after the June 2024 update, the entire game took me about 8hrs to complete. When comparing it to the original game, which I have loaded up recently, I remember the original as a masterpiece, the movement playing the 32 year old classic is atrocious to modern standards. While Flashback 2 offers more of a 2.5D experience, the …
- [12]
DO NOT BUY IT - Pause menu mapped to Select and Inventory to Start - Menu navigation doesn't respond to D-Pad, only stick - DLSS doesn't have any presets. Well, graphics don't have any settings at all apart from resolution and DLSS for some reason - Reload doesn't work if you are not aiming - In 2D sections you need to slowly rotate your character 180 to shoot the opposite side instead of instantly switching - Open …
- [2]
I am a huge fan of the original Flashback. It's one of my all time favorite games. I was looking forward to this sequel for a year. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I never request refunds for games but I just did for this. Pros: - Cool environments, ambiance and music. The title screen brought me right back to the original Flashback. The graphical style is great and exactly what I wanted from a modern …
- [3]
What a mess. OK idea, terrible execution. Doesn't live up to expectations or the name and memories we have playing the original Flashback in 1992. and the price... 40 euros for this boring, bug fiesta, 5 hour piece of crap - please save your money! Try the original from 30 years ago. It has better graphics, better cut scenes, better animations, better enemies, better story, better everything.
Summarised from 34 of the 119 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
38% of the 87 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Flashback 2. The complaint that keeps coming up: poor performance and stuttering on various hardware. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Flashback 2 received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. Metacritic listed it the second worst game of 2023.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 114 · most liked firstAs someone who played the 1993 original on Mega Drive, I ask: Is this a joke?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY IT - Pause menu mapped to Select and Inventory to Start - Menu navigation doesn't respond to D-Pad, only stick - DLSS doesn't have any presets. Well, graphics don't have any settings at all apart from resolution and DLSS for some reason - Reload doesn't work if you are not aiming - In 2D sections you need to slowly rotate your character 180 to shoot the opposite side instead of instantly switching - Open Chests and Vaulting use the same button and can be placed close to each other -…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has several problems at release date: - Constant frame dips, dropping from 120fps to low 40fps on AMD RX 7800 XT (and 60 fps to 30fps on a Steam Deck). - Aiming is terrible, very hard to hit targets properly. - Game has side scrolling sections, but we still need to move back/towards the screen to interact with buttons (and aiming is really difficult in these sections). - Voice acting sometimes mixes Conrad's voice when NPC's speak. - Character animations don't look great. - Conrad…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved the first Flashback, I liked the Remake but this game is some sort of mistake. It has to be. First things first. Gameplay: It wants to be something but it is nothing. No adventure, no action, no puzzle game. There are nearly no riddles, no jumping or running sequences like in the first game. Okay, it is Flashback 2 and not 1. But most of the time, you are just fighting one of 5 enemy types. Boring Arcade like you just shoot blind and kill everything with hell of hits. The special…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a huge fan of the original Flashback. It's one of my all time favorite games. I was looking forward to this sequel for a year. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I never request refunds for games but I just did for this. Pros: - Cool environments, ambiance and music. The title screen brought me right back to the original Flashback. The graphical style is great and exactly what I wanted from a modern sequel. - Campy dialogue and story. Yes, the writing is bad. But I like that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is extremely poorly optimized. I have an i9 9900k, NVME, 4070ti, and 32 GB, yet I experience only 30 to 60fps. There are many stutters and glitches. The game itself is good, but its technical state is a 0/10. Please do not buy it; wait for patches instead. Also, DLSS doesn’t work
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a poor excuse for a Flashback sequel. I guess they nixed Fade to Black. This is also just a bad game in general. You can't remap the controls. It's mostly side scrolling in a 3d plane which leads to awkward movement and environment interactions. You can't remap the controls, I'm playing with a controller and I keep accidentally ducking in combat because I click the joystick when aiming. You CAN'T jump. That's right, a sequel to Flashback where jumping is simply an interaction rather…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After looking up thing on youtube and all the bad stuff they give it i thought id give it a go and i loved the original and must say they relay done a good job patching this up and i don't see any of the complaints all are making of it so its probably the best time to pick it up and give it a go i am not regretting it i am truly loving it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Issued a refund after a half an hour. Never expected much judging by the trailers but this... I can't even say what's bad about it. There's just nothing good. It's generic in every way, like the whole game was just AI generated. If you have a nostalgia for the original - just play it one more time, it's still a very much enjoyable game :)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Is it bad ? Nope. Is it good ? Nope. The original Flashback was a marvel of his time, pushing the media in a new direction with astonishing art direction carried by some crazy tech for the period. This game was and is still a piece of art. Flashback 2 isn't. The gameplay feels like it's an xbox live arcade game from the 360 era. The story is passable and I totally lost interest for the the second half of the game. Useless minigames ( bike & Mech ). Finally, they probably used computer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a mess. OK idea, terrible execution. Doesn't live up to expectations or the name and memories we have playing the original Flashback in 1992. and the price... 40 euros for this boring, bug fiesta, 5 hour piece of crap - please save your money! Try the original from 30 years ago. It has better graphics, better cut scenes, better animations, better enemies, better story, better everything.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was really enjoying the game during the first few hours of playing it, until I came here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like Flashback 2. As someone who played the original game back when it released on Amiga computers in 1992 the wait for a worthy follow up has been long awaited. Unfortunately for fans of the first entry they are going to have to carry on waiting for that day. Now by all means Flashback 2 isn't a terrible game (providing you played the patched version). It's competent enough. However it's not exactly a game that can hold much interest beyond the moment it's being played and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As someone that loved 'Another World' and 'Flashback', I was hoping for good things. Unfortunately, even taking off my rose tinted glasses of nostalgia...this is nowhere near those games in terms of Story and Atmospheric adventure. The controls are clunky at best and the game-play seems extremely generic. As someone that really wanted to love this game, unfortunately I would not recommend to even die hard fans of the originals. :-(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very glitchy, very disappointing to be honest, I've played Flashback on my Amiga so many times, it was amazing, smooth through out. This one had so many coding glitches where I can walk through walls, fall through the ground. It could have been so much better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Constant stuttering, making the game unplayable. Will change review if it is patched. At the moment I cannot recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quick shout-out for Lunark! Disappointed in the disappointing Flashback remake and awful Flashback 2? This game is basically what should have gotten the time in the spotlight.
negative · AI labelView post →Kinda in awe of how bad this game is, they like actually made a game worse than Flashback 2013. Nothing about it functions properly. Movement feels awful, shooting feels awful, everything feels awful, the choice of camera is a baffling decision. You snag on objects and fall through things constantly. Visually it's somehow more generic than Flashback 2013 and better yet it's full of presumably ai generated art for the character portraits that has little to no consistency at all. Narrative is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is molten hot garbage. 0 Stars. The worst controls and most imprecise collision meshes I have ever experienced. Dozens of game breaking bugs. I wanted to love this game but it literally makes me want to throw my controller through my display. Items vanish from the quick keys like the spectrum analyzer. How about getting stuck on a ledge you just jumped to in broken animation loops that are instantly game breaking? How about a jump key that's a quick time event essentially as…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played 8h, enjoyed my time. There are a couple issues here and there, but the game is beautiful, the ambiance is right and the references to the original hits me especially. That won’t be the case for new players though. It’s not as hard as the first opus but it’s getting tense at the end. Not a bad game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SECOND EDIT : Finished the game, and I am 90% sure the entire thing was written by AI. Devs should be ashamed. EDIT : Upon playing even more, the lazy AI art used for "cutscenes" completely removes any impact of the story. It's annoyingly abrupt and in no way conveys what it's supposed to, especially when coupled with the voice acting. There is one particular moment that you'll notice this specifically. Also, after playing the Jungle level (which looks great), I finally realized how…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good, not as good as original Flashback but still quite decent. Story is intriguing with some twists. Graphics are very good. Aiming is much easier with laser added in the last patch. Performance is OK on 3080ti no crashes during the playthrough. I definitely recommend if you are Flashback fan.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I let nostalgia get the better of me and brought it on release. It looks cool and although making it 2.5D is a little confusing at first it makes larger areas look and feel great. I like the hacking minigame. But. -The aiming/shooting lock on is horrible, especially on flying enemies. -Select is pause menu and Start is Inventory (seems a small thing, but it's very jarring). You also can't use d-pad for menu navigation. -There's virtually no options so you can't disable any of the HUD, which…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Big fan of the original Flashback, Out of this World, Fade To Black. Loved these games as a kid. So it is with some reluctance that I have to give this a 'not recommended' unless you are a major fan of the series... and honestly probably not worth it even then. Whats good; The levels are beautiful, not the layout (thats kinda 'meh') but the artstyle is very good at setting an atmosphere. The missions are a grab bag of seeminly random ideas, pulled from a hat then blended together.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nothing more than a cash grab, pimping out the Flashback name. This garbage has ZERO resemblance to the original. An utter disappointment on every level.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a good game overall. I just hope devs fix bad perfomance. I did play with game 4 different machines. With 4090 ryzen 7800x3d 32GB ddr5 it runs great only couple stutters. with 3080ti ryzen 5900x 32GB ddr4 lots of stuttering and fps drops. Steamdeck 20-40 fps. Ps5 very poor perfomance most of time stuttering even freezed couple seconds 3 times in the end of the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gotta be the worst game of 2023 (and yes i played gollum and rise of Kong) they should pay me 40 bucks for playing this ♥♥♥♥, not the opposite
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool cyberpunk vibes.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a HUGE fan of the original game, I wish I could give this a so-so rating but there is too much wrong with it currently so I cannot recommend it. + Nice graphics and music + Engaging story + Nice Cyberpunk world +/- A zoom feature would have been nice to have in some areas just to bring the characters a little closer to the screen - The controls are clunky and nowhere near as fluid as the original - Graphics need to be optimized to be smoother - English voice acting sucks in most places -…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loving the game so far. At the time of writing only 22% of players have got the gun, which is literally 2mins into the game. I feel a lot of the negative reviews havent given this game a chance. Yes its different to the first game with the 2.5D environment but the gameplay takes me back to the original in some ways. I also have had no issues with the controls via a controller. Performance wise it stutters a little bit but no worse than any other recent game. Id say give this one a chance.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to love this out of love for the original. I feel that its still possible to salvage that feeling with optimization and fine tuning controls a bit. If this is V1 of the release, I'd hope a future patch would help course correct this into a better place. One of the best parts of the original flashback was the linear side scrolling and interactions across the gameplay. The addition of the 2.5 space being able to move forward and back in side scrolling introduces a new level of frustration…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have to say I really enjoying playing the sequel to Flashback. I did a full play-through after the June 2024 update, the entire game took me about 8hrs to complete. When comparing it to the original game, which I have loaded up recently, I remember the original as a masterpiece, the movement playing the 32 year old classic is atrocious to modern standards. While Flashback 2 offers more of a 2.5D experience, the movement is a lot better, but still not perfect. Those who remember the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Should've listened to the reviews. The game just feels - stale. Like no heart really put into it at all. Sure it looks nice, but the controls are sluggish and a little non-intuitive, world feels empty and just like a stage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played less than an hour so far, and while there's a lot of great history with this title, this iteration feels very rushed out the door, and a lack of updates since Jan 2024. The game is pretty badly optimised, and needs more tunable gfx features. I tried this game out on a Legion GO, as I felt that it was at the same visual quality to games I've played on it, but frame rates were hovering around 25fps most of the time, with peaks to the low 40s. This really should be worked on asap, as…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't think the game is as bad as the negative reviews say, but it sure has too many bugs atm. Hopefully the devs will fix them soon!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a mess, full of bugs frame dips etc... 2 min in the game and the character fell through the floor. Really didn't like the whole 3d concept makes the movement and aiming super annoying. All in all terrible experience and nothing like the original. It has only one plus there is full support of ultra wide monitor.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I gave it chance and I got to address some comments: -- Is the game story wise good? It's ok, could be better.....It's decent. -- Optimization etc? From time to time I've noticed some frame drops, but it doesn't make the game unplayable. This can be fixed. -- "OMG young Conrad, bla bla bla......" If actually played the game, you'll know what's up.... -- Voice acting: Not my cup of tea... I don't like it, BUT it doesn't make the game unplayable for me. -- 2.5D and the aiming.. The 2.5D…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tragically disappointing. As someone who grew up adoring the first one, this is a mess. The 2.5D only adds confusion. The 3D shooting parts are absolutely horrendous. The gameplay is already clunky in one player - it becomes appalling when it goes to a more 3D Section; aiming is absolutely HORRIBLE. Voice acting is terrible. Just awful overall.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even if put aside the simple graphic options that would be found in indie games under $5, it’s a problem that the frame rate is low.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I gave this game a chance after getting it in a bundle... But oh god... Poor colision, bad performances, etc... It feels like a bunch of students made an unfinished project that needed to be aptched later one but never got corrected because there was no wya to fix it properly. If you like flashback, get the classic one, also... Technically this game is flash back 3 cause the second game is called fade to black... ANIWAY. Avoid this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Controls i think are the worst. How your character interacts/fights and moves throughout the world. Storytelling is bad and in no way is this game a successor of the original game. The developers shoot themselves in their foot with a quadruple ships canon. Everything about this game is wrong, yes also visually. Developers don't understand what a good game is. Funny in a sad way, because the original developer of the first game is also involved. Well my dear Paul, let this be a lesson in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had hopes... but they we´re squashed... Utter trash! The game is probably a legitimate torturemethod in certain countries ... my gawd!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved the first Flashback. This one has so many flaws. The biggest are gameplay and story/dialog. Quite core parts of the game. There are a number of bugs, so far nothing game breaking. And so many logical issues. Why is there a medkit inside a prisson cell? Why are explosive mortar rounds spawning next to walls I need to break?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome Sci-Fi adventure! Very nice! For anyone having stuttering in this game, adding this line: -window-mode exclusive in the game´s Launch Options fixed it for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're someone who values mood and atmosphere over pure gameplay mechanics, Flashback 2 might just hit the sweet spot. Like its predecessor, it leans heavily into its sci-fi noir aesthetic, crafting a world that feels immersive, mysterious, and distinctly retro-futuristic. The environments are drenched in atmosphere, with neon-lit cityscapes and shadowy corridors that evoke the same sense of isolation and intrigue that made the original Flashback a cult classic. Released in 1992, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think for fans of the original there's something cool here that adds to the lore a bit. When I first heard of this game I was wondering whether it was retconning Fade to Black. It isn't. Nor is it a remake. Nor is it really a sequel. For the real answer you just have to play or go to YouTube for the run down. I enjoyed it, but it's not w/out it's many many many faults. It's buggy as hell even after the patch and one "bug" if you can call it that was the only reason I was able to complete…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is essentially broken, expect many (and diverse) bugs to happen frequently to annoy you. Just to mention a few of what I found: Conrad falls through the floor in certain situatios (especially when elevators are involved). Objects/interactions are hard to pick up/trigger, even if Conrad is adjacent to them. Conrad keeps collisioning with practically every object on the screen, including when going up (or down) stairs. NPCs often stay behind and Conrad needs to go back to make…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An unexpected nugget of nostalgia. Thank you to the creators!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It runs even worse than Cyberjunk did at launch. Im talking about the lowest settings too. Truly shameful.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simply put: no. Flashback 2 is a completely unnecessary sequel that brings absolutely nothing new and borders dangerously on cash grab. Buy the remastered version of the original '92 game on Steam or play one of the many indie games inspired by the classic. Good: Scenery - The rich 3D backgrounds are probably the best element of the game. Lots of detail, perhaps a bit too colorful, but definitely pleasing to the eye. It's no wonder the trailers look very inviting - they're shot from a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Below average for me, while looking very good visually the game has a almost constant subtle jaggedness to it when moving, it could have been optimised a lot better, not a smooth experience and you can't, well in my case I could not read the in game text from Conrad sometimes when moving it becomes all fuzzy, not that it's a major issue when you can hear it but I also like to read along when presented on screen. Voice cast was alright but lack depth when needed just plod along emotions, albeit…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I haven't played this game in its initial release (resulting in so many bad reviews) but after the latest patches. As of December 2024, the game is definitely playable, not overly challenging and does no longer deserve a poor rating. The story is a bit complicated and confused: it's trying to link with the original game and Fade to Black. It has also a few references to old games like Operation Stealth and Future Wars. But overall the story is fairly cliche. If you come to this game by…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolutely terrible game. How can produce it after genius first part?! .Don't spend your money and time for this piece of misunderstanding. Want my 40$ back.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been waiting for this sequel... for 28 years! Ever since I purchased Flashback CD from the bargain bin at KB Toys with my paper route money I've loved this game. When They announced the sequel I watched the teaser repeatedly. Then one day the day FINALLY came... it was available! Bought it last week and Just started playing it! I've played a few hours but the art-style is right on with the distopic-utopic total-recall-ish feel of the original. I have experienced some bugs; save…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remember the game Flashback? The game known for amazing hand drawn rotoscoped art, and fluid animations... This is what you experience 5 minutes into Flashback 2. I audibly laughed. And on top of that. Its performance is unforgivably bad too.
negative · AI labelView post →TL;DR: This game doesn't know how to handle itself. It starts like a 2D platformer with gorgeous 3D graphics and then introduces another axis. This is so unnecessary and makes gameplay awkward and tedious. NOTE: Played on Linux Mint 22.3 with RTX 3070. Game seems to load a lot in the background when player starts a session so initially, player have these weird stutters as game loads something from SSD. Other than that, works flawlessly. I have played original Flashback on my Amiga and I loved…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A STUTTERING MESS even on a 5090 as of September 25. Bought in the sale and I'm refunding. If its still a stuttering mess at 180fps on a 5090 I dread to think what it's like on lower end graphics cards.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are so many things I want to say based on only 2 hours of game-play but I'll just keep it short and put pros/cons. PROS: -graphics, art, and background is nice -some good throwbacks to the original, like the subway travel -i like the motorcycle travel too CONS: -voice acting is bad -little buggy, but it hasn't been game-breaking -aiming is weird but you get used to it -can't remap controls -music/sound isn't memorable at all like the original Flashback for console. I just finished two…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Flashback 2 finished. It tries real hard to tug at your nostalgia for the first game with its locations, but it is absolute trash. Combat is shit. Story is shit. Dialogue is shit. There's no redeeming qualities. Even the "art" is AI generated shit... Don't play it.
negative · AI labelView post →Flashback 2 arrives with the weight of a legacy behind it, aiming to revive one of the most influential cinematic platformers of the 1990s. The original Flashback was remembered for its fluid animation, clever design, and gripping sci-fi intrigue. Flashback 2 seeks to rekindle that spark by bringing Conrad B. Hart back into the spotlight, wrapped in a modern presentation and expanded 2.5D gameplay. On paper, this continuation of the Morph invasion storyline sounds like a fitting resurrection of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
