Somehow, in 2023, someone is releasing a new Sega Genesis game. For the past few years, it’s become a trend to release games for the now-defunct console. Demons of Asteborg, Xeno Crisis, and Ultracore all came out within the past five years, despite the last licensed game for the Sega Genesis having come out around 1998 in North America.
There is something very novel about watching indie developers make a game for a console that hasn’t really received any support since the late 1990s, especially in an era where AAA developers are somehow struggling to make games for modern consoles.
Kai Magazine Software, a small group of Spanish indie developers, is the latest to try their hand at making a retro game in modern times with their upcoming title Life on Earth: Reimagined. Life on Earth is a side-scroller run-and-gun in the vein of Contra and Gunstar Heroes.
The game is set to come out in the fall of 2023, but Kai Magazine Software did publish a demo for us to try out. The game takes place in a cyberpunk future where a virus from Mars made its way to Earth and breached containment, giving people superhuman strength but also driving them insane.
Dr. Zhira Kenthara, our protagonist, is one of the scientists who initially found the virus and has been framed for the whole ordeal. The army and police are now hunting our protagonist due to the news portraying her as a terrorist and mass murderer.
We aren’t exactly sure why Dr. Zhira Kenthara is rocking a crop-top jacket, a thong, and thigh-high socks, but it’s really fitting with the eye candy character designs from the PC-98 era of games, where designers just mostly designed characters like that because they wanted to.
The demo for Life on Earth: Reimagined is pretty short since it only serves as a taste of the final game, but it helps to showcase the impressive aspects of the game. The game’s controls are flawless, and everything has some good visual responses.
Enemies are sent flying when killed, and the sound effects are really meaty. Rushing enemies with your melee weapon also never gets old, despite being a risky strategy.
The pixel art has been done masterfully, from the bulky robocop-like cybernetic police officers to the small aliens that rush you. The backgrounds are also in a league of their own; the neon cyberpunk city looks fantastic; you can see these clunky 90’s cyberpunk ships flying all over the town, as well as these massive corporate buildings that completely take over the night sky.
The demo only gives us two levels and a boss fight against a massive bipedal robot, totaling around 15–20 minutes on your first playthrough. The fight at the end reminds me a lot of Contra‘s bosses, where you have to pick a safe spot to stand in and dodge for your life.
Life on Earth: Reimagined is looking fantastic, both when it comes to eye candy and gorgeous pixel art. The gameplay is tight, and the soundtrack is wonderful, making for a spectacular demo to a hopefully spectacular final release.
You can pre-order Life on Earth: Reimagined for €55,00 here, and Kai Magazine Software gives multiple choices on box art region, just in case you want the game’s box to match your collection perfectly.
