Ludography
Ultracore cover

2019 · Digital Illusions CE · Shooter · Platformer

Ultracore

Timed Sega exclusive

Hardcore finally awakes.

Released
25 March 2019
Platforms
Nintendo SwitchPlayStation 4PlayStation 5PlayStation VitaSega GenesisXbox OneXbox Series X/S
Genres
ShooterPlatformerArcade
Developers
Digital Illusions CE
Publishers
Strictly Limited GamesColumbus CircleININ Games
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionScience fiction

About

Ultracore (originally known as Hardcore) is a run and gun video game developed by DICE. Originally due to be released for Amiga, Genesis, and Sega CD platforms, the game was canceled by its publisher, Psygnosis, in 1994 after it had been almost finished.

The game was salvaged by publisher Strictly Limited Games and released together with the Mega Sg aftermarket console in March 2019. A version compatible with original Sega Genesis systems was released in Japan in October 2019. Ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita were released in 2020; ports for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S were released in December 2023.

Keywords

  • metroidvania

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Ultracore is a run and gun game. The player collects weapon power-ups while moving through levels.

Development

Digital Illusions initially developed Hardcore for Amiga, Genesis, and Sega CD platforms. Despite being "about 99 percent finished", the game's publisher, Psygnosis, ultimately canceled the game in 1994. With the then-upcoming release of the 32-bit PlayStation console, Psygnosis expected sales for 16-bit Sega Genesis games, including Hardcore, to wane. A few videos of its gameplay also leaked over the years. Andreas Axelsson and Olof Gustafsson, two of DICE's founders, presented a demo of the game at the 2010 Datastorm exposition for Commodore enthusiast.

In August 2018, German publisher Strictly Limited Games announced plans to finish and release the game. The company's team of nine people, including DICE co-founder Fredrik Liljegren and other former DICE employees, used an original Sega Genesis development kit to finish the game's production, porting the game to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, two modern systems, afterwards. At the time, Sony, the makers of the PlayStation, owned the Psygnosis back-catalog. Strictly Limited Games also attempted to add tank levels that were missing from the game with input from its original designers.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Sega Genesis25 March 2019Worldwide · Japan 17 October 2019 · Worldwide 25 November 2019
PlayStation Vita28 April 2020Worldwide
PlayStation 428 April 2020Worldwide
Nintendo Switch23 June 2020Worldwide
PlayStation 531 December 2022Europe
Xbox Series X/S7 December 2023North America
Xbox One7 December 2023North America

Games like this

Collections3 collections

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.