Terminator 2D: No Fate was recently unveiled as a new, retro-styled adaptation of James Cameron's 1991 sci-fi classic. The first trailer combines absolutely gorgeous pixel art with classic game mechanics drawing from the likes of Contra, Metal Gear, and Battletoads, and developer Bitmap Bureau's retro gaming pedigree has cemented this side-scrolling action game as one to watch.
Due to launch across PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on September 5, Terminator 2D adapts the big scenes of Terminator 2 into a side-scrolling action game. As the T-800, you move back and forth between shooting and brawling sequences - including, of course, a barroom brawl sequence with a fully nude playable Arnold. There are also driving stages that draw from the infamous speed bike sequences in Battletoads, challenging you to dodge incoming obstacles while enemies try to chase you down.
When you're playing as Sarah Connor, the game appears to become something of a stealth/shooter hybrid, like a sort of side-scrolling Metal Gear, and you'll occasionally find yourself stalked by the T-1000. Perhaps most interesting of all are the stages set in the future, where you'll play as John Connor in a Contra-style run-and-gun resistance against the robots. Over on Twitter, Bitmap Bureau specifically cites Contra 3 alongside "elements of Elevator Action Returns, Rolling Thunder, Shinobi, Midnight Resistance, and many others" as inspirations.
"It's a love letter, I guess, to '80s/'90s arcade games," design director and programmer Mike Tucker explains in a making-of video. "We feel like it's the T2 game we should've had back in our youth."
Bitmap Bureau has specialized in retro-style action games for years. They're probably best known for Xeno Crisis, an Aliens-meets-Smash-TV shooter that released not just for modern platforms, but a wide array of retro consoles from the Mega Drive/Genesis to the Dreamcast, N64, and GBA. Terminator 2D is apparently built with the same tools used to make Xeno Crisis relatively easy to port to retro consoles, and the devs say on Twitter that they'll "be making a further announcement about the retro platforms very soon!" For me, there's not much more exciting than the prospect of slapping a game that looks this good into a genuine Sega Genesis.
If you're in the mood for 16-bit classics, check out the best SNES games of all time.
