DERELIKT CGI Cutscenes: How the Retro FPS Rebuilds Its PS1-Era Look

What Are DERELIKT CGI Cutscenes?

DERELIKT CGI cutscenes aren't a modern cinematic layer bolted onto a retro shooter — they're part of the sales pitch. The game describes itself as a narrative retro FPS built for fans of claustrophobic PS1-era sci-fi horror, and "full motion CGI cutscenes" appear in the same feature list as affine texture warping, dynamic subdivision, and hand-painted vertex color. In other words, DERELIKT CGI cutscenes are treated as one ingredient in a single, coherent visual identity rather than an exception to it.

That matters because most retro-styled shooters pick a side: either clean modern cinematics with a filter over the gameplay, or a fully crusty presentation with rough edges everywhere. DERELIKT is aiming for the second option on purpose — and the cutscenes are part of that promise.

How DERELIKT CGI Cutscenes Fit the PS1 Aesthetic

In a Steam post titled "INCOMING TRANSMISSION - The look of DERELIKT," dated November 6 and captured on 2026-11-10, creator and art director Phil walks through the technical reasoning behind the presentation. His points, paraphrased:

• Affine texture mapping is reproduced, not fixed. The PS1 lacked floating-point math and warped textures across large polygons. DERELIKT intentionally recreates that swim and stretch instead of eliminating it.
• Geometry is already blocky by design. The art director notes that PS1 worlds were effectively built from 1×1-meter tiles, because the console pushed a high triangle count that way.
• Dynamic subdivision is the "secret sauce." High-end PS1 games split faces into smaller triangles based on camera distance, letting players crawl through vents without extreme warping. DERELIKT recreates the classic one-triangle-becomes-four-becomes-16 method rather than using modern tessellation, which the post describes as too optimized to look authentic.
• The distance "pop" is deliberate. That visible moment where triangles subdivide is, per the post, the real reason PS1 games felt wobbly on screen.
• All static lighting is hand-painted. The team used Blender's vertex painting tools to light scenes by hand — described in the post as the most enjoyable part of the process and the main ingredient for a high-end PS1 look.

That context is why DERELIKT CGI cutscenes read differently from the usual "retro mode" gimmick. The developer's own site lists full-motion CGI cutscenes in the same breath as affine texture warping and hand-painted vertex color, and the Xbox Store description does the same. The implication is that the cinematics belong to the same aesthetic argument as the corridors you walk through — not a separate, glossier track.

The Reveal Trailer, the Launch Date, and Where Cinematics Fit

The clearest statement about cutscenes came in the Steam announcement "DERELIKT Launches Date Reveal." Dated October 21 and captured on 2026-11-10, the post confirmed the PC release date and leaned on DERELIKT CGI cutscenes as the marketing hook: the team prepared a special trailer featuring previously unseen retro CGI cutscenes.

That announcement also set the schedule. Per the same Steam post:

• PC launch: November 13, 2026, across Steam, GOG, and Epic.
• Console launch: confirmed to be happening, but with no date revealed at the time of that post.
• Next Fest: DERELIKT joined the October Next Fest, with a feedback form left open for players.

An important nuance for anyone planning a purchase: the official DERELIKT Steam store page is the place to confirm live availability and pricing, since the details above are a snapshot of announcements captured on 2026-11-10, not a guarantee of current storefront status. The Xbox Store listing for DERELIKT, also captured on 2026-11-10, shows the game as a buyable product with Xbox Series X|S, PC, and handheld play, single-player support, Xbox Play Anywhere, achievements, and cloud saves — a storefront presence that sits alongside the "no console date yet" note in the Steam post.

Presentation Toggles: Choosing Your Version of the Look

One of the more user-friendly details in the art director's post is that nobody is locked into the crunchiest version of the game. DERELIKT ships with display options that let you dial the presentation toward period-correct or toward clean.

All three rows come from the same Steam post (observation cutoff: 2026-11-10, source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3810510).

What the post does not spell out is whether DERELIKT CGI cutscenes are governed by those toggles separately. The safest read is that the options shape the overall rendering presentation, and anyone who cares specifically about how the cinematics look should verify closer to release rather than assume.

Worth noting too: the look is divisive by design. In the Steam discussions captured on 2026-11-10, one player argued the textures look too rough and that the game should be delayed and polished — a useful reminder that "faithful" and "ugly" are the same conversation depending on your taste.

Setting, Structure, and the Rest of the Package

Cutscenes need somewhere to happen. According to the developer's site, DERELIKT takes place in Von Neuman Outpost, a remote research station grafted onto an anomalous derelict asteroid in orbit around Saturn. The supporting feature list gives a good sense of scope:

• 12 levels across the outpost and stranger places inside the rock, with what the site calls subtle "Metroidvania" progression.
• Over a dozen NPCs with their own problems, agendas, and conflicting versions of what happened aboard the station.
• Old-school puzzles in the style of Silent Hill or Resident Evil, plus inventory management.
• A wide arsenal of classic and outlandish weapons, with tense, ammo-scarce combat.
• A glyph upgrade system layered on top of exploration.

A first public demo went live on October 8, offering three chapters of the full story in non-sequential order, as described in the Steam announcement captured on 2026-11-10. That announcement doesn't specify whether the demo includes DERELIKT CGI cutscenes, so treat the demo as a way to test the game's feel and look rather than a guaranteed preview of the cinematics. The Xbox listing adds the housekeeping details: single-player only, a TEEN rating citing violence, blood, and use of tobacco, published by Hyperstrange and developed by Visuwyg with Hyperstrange.

FAQ

Does DERELIKT actually have CGI cutscenes?

Yes. Both the developer's site and the Xbox Store description list "full motion CGI cutscenes" among the game's PS1-aesthetic features, alongside affine texture warping, dynamic subdivision, and hand-painted vertex color (as of 2026-11-10).

Can I turn the DERELIKT CGI cutscenes off?

That isn't clear from the available material. The Steam post documents toggles for low-res versus high-res rendering, texture warping, and dithering, but it does not say whether the cinematics are controlled separately. Check the official store page closer to launch.

When can I see these cinematics?

A Steam announcement dated October 21, captured on 2026-11-10, said a trailer had been prepared featuring previously unseen retro CGI cutscenes, and that DERELIKT launches on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic on November 13, 2026.

Which platforms will run DERELIKT and its cutscenes?

PC is confirmed for the November 13, 2026 launch. The Xbox Store listing captured on 2026-11-10 shows Xbox Series X|S, PC, and handheld play, while the October 21 Steam post said the console date had not yet been revealed.