On April 3, 2006, millions of digital horses were put in armor. People who have experienced this phenomenon have called purchasing this downloadable content a “microtransaction.” They lived only to face recent nightmares: season passes, live service models, always-online single-player, loot boxes, pay-to-win, ship-now-fix-later patches, and more. Make no mistake, the team at Bitmap Bureau, creators of Terminator 2D: No Fate, have seen this future and clearly don’t like it. As such, Terminator 2D is an unapologetically nostalgic sidescroller, specifically designed to transport players directly to the 16-bit era of the 1990s to experience the best T2 game we’ve ever played. Remarkably low by state-of-the-art standards, but brimming with love for James Cameron’s undisputed sci-fi classic, Terminator 2D is a part-time, part-time machine that’s an incredibly wonderful addition to the film. In a crazy world, this is the most sensible choice.
Terminator 2D’s main story mode, which follows the events of T2 with some extended diversions, takes about an hour to complete. However, it took me a few runs to get there. Admittedly, it’s incredibly low by state-of-the-art standards, but it nonetheless feels original in an era where the perceived girth of a game was greatly inflated by the number of repeats it took to get through almost the entire game to reach the end.
This philosophy seems deeply ingrained in Terminator 2D, and while I no longer have the time, patience, or edged reflexes of an out-of-work 12-year-old, I respect the format. Sure, it was frustrating having to navigate through the sequel to an encounter I didn’t fully understand, and having to start all over again is never fun. However, pushing through the punishing sections that made me cringe in previous playthroughs is undeniably satisfying. I just wish you wouldn’t limit yourself to collecting a maximum of nine sequels. Every time you have nine in the bank, any more you collect will be converted into bonus points. Failing on the last level hurts a little more knowing that I could have easily managed it a few more times.
Are we already learning?
Due to the low length of Terminator 2D, I’m hesitant to go into detail about how and when its various mechanics change, as learning and learning these things for yourself is actually part of the process. I will say, however, that Terminator 2D doesn’t stagnate as a single-speed sidescroller, and it has made some tweaks that usually require a little tweaking of the approach. This means that one moment you can be cutting a plasma-powered path through a Skynet-ravaged future in a Contra-inspired run-and-gun section, and the next you’re sneaking through Pescadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, gently sneaking and hiding from the T-1000. This level loses tension on subsequent visits due to its scripted nature, but the tension was palpable the first time through thanks to the excellent apply of T2’s original music and the penchant for the deadly T-1000 appearing out of nowhere.
T2’s music is used appropriately throughout and to amazing effect. It basically does all the massive lifting of atmosphere in the absence of voice acting, with dialogue delivered via on-screen text. The highlight of T2 is a power metal version of the main theme, and the biker bar has a fantastically curated piece of licensed music that made me smile like a cybernetic organism in a well-stocked weapons bunker – just remember to turn on that jukebox.
Fortunately, watching Terminator 2D is as great as listening to it. Its pixel art is not only brilliantly attractive; it’s also silkily animated. It exudes character at every opportunity, from the way the T-800 contemptuously throws an unlucky rider into a burning grill, to Sara’s desperate retreat in the shadow of her worst nightmare, to the final flailing of the T-1000 during its final shifts in a pool of molten metal.
Now I know why you’re crying
Overall, my biggest disappointment is the surprising lack of T-800 sequences, resulting in a Terminator game where you unfortunately spend narrow time as the Terminator himself. When playing the main story – that is, the one that is faithful to the movie – you will only play as the T-800 during the motorcycle bar beat-up and the canal chase. It is true that in the spirit of the movie, the Bitmap Bureau cannot simply turn the T-800 into a weapon of mass destruction. After all, as we all know, John is under strict orders not to kill anyone. As regularly as it makes references to ’90s films abroad – including the current company – it would be quite incongruent for the Terminator to arbitrarily massacre its way through several levels.
Nevertheless, there seem to be some missed opportunities here. For example, a motorcycle bar fighting game could very logically have re-emerged in, say, the mall level, where the T-800 had to breach security on its way to meet John for the first time. This may have increased when the T-800 began firing a shotgun at the T-1000. As it stands, this iconic encounter takes place on a low, still screen before a motorcycle chase, with no associated gameplay. This seems overwhelming considering how mega crucial this moment is in the context of the film.
It is also strange that the T-800 blowing up police cars mounted in front of Cyberdyne Systems is only a playable part of the series intended for one of the alternative endings of Terminator 2D. Actually, no get it in the regular canon edition. What’s even weirder is that the T-800 is a passenger throughout the final clash in the steel foundry with the T-1000. As you walk around the area as Sarah, you’ll have the opportunity to see a fight between these two, as well as some of the slugfest you can watch yes they feature great fan service – but I feel like it would be nice to be able to participate in them including. I’m not sure if the slight sidelining of the T-800 has to do with the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness does not appear in Terminator 2D, while Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong and Michael Edwards do.
The T-800 actually has some minigun action if you take care of the decision-making options that are unlocked after completing the main story for the first time. These decisions set the story on a forked path towards recent endings that are tailor-made for Terminator 2D. They’re an compelling novelty, and these paths result in different riffs on previously completed levels, but I wouldn’t say they provide a huge boost to the gameplay.
Completing these other paths is key to unlocking several bonus modes, such as Boss Rush and the one called Future Mother (which focuses solely on Sarah). However, these are really just slightly different ways of playing the same game over again – which I’ve done many times while working my way through the story mode. There’s also an “arcade mode” which appears to just be a story mode without continues. This one doesn’t interest me at all and I don’t really know what it’s supposed to imitate. Are you going to the arcade with a hole in your pocket?
In any case, T2 is already an excellent movie with an excellent ending, so any distortion of it in comparison will naturally be quite unsatisfying (a lesson I think we all learned from watching the first five minutes of Terminator: Dark Fate).
