Foreclosed Review

Foreclosed is a short and fun game exploring the story of Evan Kapnos in a visually stunning comic book art style. The game plays as a cybernetic future cyberpunk dystopia where humans are augmented with technological implants to improve themselves, but then suffer lifelong debts. It just so happens that our main character was experimented on with rare firmware, and the player becomes an overpowered dissident to save his own life against the powers that want him dead. This third person shooter is well worth your attention if you’re a fan of comic books or enjoy a fun shooter. Foreclosed is developed by Antab Studio and published by Merge Games.

Foreclosed starts with the main character waking up to some horrible news regarding his life debt and employer. Learning that his employer, Securtech Inc., has declared bankruptcy and is going to be sold at auction leaving his life debt to him, Evan must appear in court before 4pm or he will become a fugitive. This is the plot that helps bring in a few main characters that help Evan along with coping with some new powers, such as CEO of Securtech, Dalia Kahri, in desperate need of aid from Evan and is the one that activated his experimental implants. The game is broken up into 16 chapters which explore different areas, learning of all the reasons behind the bankruptcy. There are many enemies along this bizarre story that can be killed stealthily before combat initiates, or can be killed via cybernetic powers, or our trusty pistol which acts as an extension to Evan’s hand. He’s deadly accurate and headshots are one hit kills until armored enemies emerge, some wielding a blue energy shield. The combat does scale in difficulty the more you progress, but the beginning can be truly difficult on the standard difficulty “Hard Boiled.” There is a “Story” difficulty which makes combat easier which can be changed only at the main menu.

The combat is third person and is a mix of stealth and shooting. There is only one weapon, but it has two firing modes. The first mode just being ballistic fire, and the second fires energy shots that have special effects. While playing through the story, the player will receive XP for upgrades just by advancing through sections of the chapters. Each level will provide a skill point and the player can customize their combat playstyle. Telekinetic powers were the most helpful to me as well as the “telekinesys” bullets which fly directly towards an enemy. This power alone makes Evan overpowered and can allow the player just to spam the trigger to kill enemies from behind cover. Using these powers overheats Evan’s cybernetic implants, but cools off just by waiting. There are two types of powers: weapon powers and character powers. The weapon powers are attachments which can include up to three out of the available six. The character powers can be assigned to A,B,Y,& X which can be used when aiming with LT, with roughly eight to select from.

The visuals for Foreclosed are the true selling point for this delightful Indie title. The art style is similar to reading a comic book. There are transitional scenes in the game where Evan must walk a linear path and the screen transitions using comic book strip panels. Small pathways will be a section of the screen and more will appear as you take turns around corners or ride elevators. The cutscenes will also be in a frame around the circumference of the screen and switch back to full screen once control is given to the player. These features along with the text box pop ups and action phrases appearing with the audio, makes this game feel like a true comic book. The combat breaks up the flow partly, but can be fixed by adjusting the difficulty.

 The audio for the game is sub-par in my opinion, specifically the voice narration at times feels lacking in energy or direction. The music for the game is quite enjoyable and reminds me of futuristic sounds with a heavy synth beat during conversations. There are multiple songs throughout the game but a couple play more than others. Combat does have its own music and they did a great job using sound to pace gameplay. While walking around during transitional scenes the comic book strip boxes take over the screen. These moments are the coolest visually but also for the audio as well since there are action pop ups all throughout the game. When shooting the gun, both modes sound different, but also have action statements pop up next to the gun that are unique. These pop ups are scattered through the game for various objects and help with the immersion.  Once you understand the pace of the game, the player can really move fast through the story. As long as the player is not playing on the harder difficulty which may take a few attempts per sections.

 The longevity for Foreclosed is moderate, it’s acceptable for the quality of the game alongside the pricing. The game does allow chapter select after beating the game to clean up any achievements the player might want for using different skills. When selecting a new chapter, the game will ask if the player prefers a preset skill select or to select their own. Levelling in the game isn’t as standard as earning a level number. Hacking certain Wi-Fi nodes will reward the player with some XP along with advancing through levels. The Wi-Fi nodes appear during normal progression and you must be near them in order to track them down, but appear in the top left to make it obvious. The closer you are, the stronger the signal until it prompts to hack by holding A while looking where it is positioned. There are two different types of these hacks, the first being just XP which are green, and then there are the blue main story hacks which open new doors. Once close enough to either, the option to hack will appear with use of the D-pad. The game can be completed earning all achievements in easily one and a half playthroughs which makes this a short game. One playthrough alone will take around 5 hours enjoying the game’s story. There are more powers that don’t have achievements related to them, but are fun to use. Evan’s powers are slowly doled out and some won’t be available replaying older chapters, but a new playthrough would encourage a different playstyle. Stealth gamers won’t be too pleased knowing that the entire game can’t be finished without the use of the pistol. When sneaking around, if an enemy sees a dead body they’ll know where to find Evan and will slowly move in. The stealth moments were far and few in-between, but the combat happens more frequently. The game is a shooter at heart and not full stealth title but makes up by telling an intriguing story.

Final thoughts on Foreclosed: after finishing on the hardest difficulty, I really enjoyed this game. I will praise the feel for the game and how well the developers accomplished their goal of making a comic book video game. The transitional scenes and action prompts alone make it feel like a comic book, but adding Evan’s overpowered infinite pistol to the mix with telekinetic powers make this indie title a delight to play. The checkpoints could have been placed better, if I died (which happened often on Hard boiled) I would have to sit through certain dialogue repeatedly which became a nuisance. The combat though was rewarding, clearing an area and being able to move on with a new power was a great feeling. The game is rather linear and never really hard to navigate through with the added benefit of knowing there’s only extra XP rewarded for exploring. I enjoyed the story, it felt cartoonish enough to work and didn’t overwhelm the player with too many characters. It was simple enough to help build the strange world Evan was living in, but never lost focus on his needs. The story is also cyclical depending on the ending the player chooses, meaning it just syncs up with the beginning scenes well. The stealth hacking could have been expanded on, but I understand the difficulties with making an action-oriented game and needing to keep the story flowing. It is a comic story after all.

Conclusion

Foreclosed excels with the visuals making this a unique experience I haven’t seen elsewhere, but could have used more work with voice recording and mixing with game audio. Fans of third person shooters or people searching for an interactive fun comic book game will enjoy this artistic title. It’s also a great selection for those who like Max Payne or Deus Ex as described by the developers.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox Series X/S. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.