FORECLOSED Reviews
Foreclosed features a masterful comic book art style and pumping sci-fi soundtrack, but its average action and failure to capitalise on its cyberpunk themes make it a hard sell.
Foreclosed is a stylish title that integrates comics and video games. The use of panels is exemplary and helps to communicate the narrative. With the symbiote revolver and intuitive hacking, the game has implemented many features successfully. Unfortunately, the repetitive gameplay and sparse environments affect the overall experience. That being said, releasing at a budget price, comic book fans may want to check out this intriguing title.
Foreclosed excels in world-building and presentation. The graphics and stylistic choices of a comic book frame the narrative and its structure. Though the brightness of the neon lights are strewn throughout the city, this dystopian world is rather dark. It’s a shame the game is only a few hours long, making it more of a cinematic experience. Despite its shortcomings with control and narrative, I still had a lot of fun trying to get Evan’s life back from the authority above.
Foreclosed follows Evan Kapnos’ mission to unravel the mystery surrounding his identity foreclosure, and attempts to inject the style of a graphic novel into a third-person shooter. Does it deliver on its promise of a sleek Cyberpunk adventure?
Finishing the game was difficult, not because it had punishing encounters, but because the experience it provides is far from enjoyable. If I didn’t have to review the game, I would have put it down during the first hour. It brought me no enjoyment despite the interesting premise it stands on. As a comic book fan, even its visuals, which is the best part of the game, ultimately failed to engage me because of its terrible gameplay loop. Games are enjoyed for their stimulating gameplay, or their enticing tales, or in the best cases, for both. Foreclosed has neither of those things.
While it has a strong premise and some neat ideas, Foreclosed it let down by rote, subpar third-person shooter action and unimpressive stealth sections during its short runtime.
Once at the end credits the feeling that leaves Foreclosed is that of a missed opportunity, of a good basic idea rendered only half, of the bitter taste in the mouth for what could have been a small, big surprise on the part of the Italian independent scene. Let's be clear, the title signed Antab Studio has arrows to its bow. Using the different cybernetic powers of Evan Kapnos is a pleasure and offer enough variety to the fights, and the cyberpunk atmospheres that you breathe are engaging enough to push you to want to get to the bottom without stopping.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Based on its premise, Foreclosed should be a lot more interesting, but it doesn’t have the balanced gameplay or nuanced story to even crack that conversation.
Unfortunately for Foreclosed, the glitches, confusing systems, and undercooked game mechanics overwhelmed my experience with the game. On the surface, Antab Studio present an exciting and engaging future-noir thriller, but look much further and you will see a cyberpunk-by-the-numbers experience that falls flat. Even taking into consideration the well-realised cyberpunk world, and the clever use of comic book aesthetics to present the game’s narrative, Foreclosed fails to impress on most fronts. Gameplay is key, and unfortunately Foreclosed presents and feels like a middling shooter from decades past.
Antab Studio’s ambition has to be applauded. Blending multiple game types with such a bold aesthetic style and an intriguing story premise – and getting so close to pulling it all off – is a remarkable achievement in its own right. As it is, it’s a qualified recommendation from me – the combat could be a little tighter and you should be prepared for some frustration with the instant-fail stealth sections. However, at the price point Foreclosed sits at, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck, and that’s a difficult value proposition to ignore.
A beautiful comic book aesthetic can't save Foreclosed from its mindlessly repetitive combat, poor story and characters, and overly linear levels.
While perhaps the results aren’t always as great as developers may hope for, I do have a great appreciation for games that take some risks in their design...
Foreclosed is a good third person action shooter with cool gameplay features, campaign and an unique look. Accompanying Kapnos through the streets of a futuristic city is an interesting task that is not perfect because of the absence of more frenetic and exciting combat. However, the exploration elements and a cybernetic theme collaborate so that the game is consistent and has an identity that will please various types of players.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There are glimmers of an interesting, entertaining game here; the comic stylings and panels are reminiscent of Comix Zone and Framed, and the characters and world are decently interesting. That’s a double-edged sword, however. When I spent another 4 hours replaying the game from the beginning to get the secret ending only for it to end up being a couple of lines that have little to do with anything, the only reaction I could muster was frustrated fury. In a way, though, this is representative of the way Foreclosed consistently refuses to offer commensurate payoff for your troubles.
Foreclosed has many great ideas such as the comic book aesthetic, the film noir mood, and the great use of cyberpunk thematic elements. Yet, when put into practice, it’s a mess. The broken gunplay mechanics, unfriendly checkpoints, and yet another developer jumping on the Dualsense hype train without making it actually work ruins the intriguing premise.
A small range of unlockable augments do make things a touch more bearable, but Evan can barely activate a single skill before his implants start overheating and you're forced to stop what you're doing. We think Foreclosed is meant to be played like a run-and-gun, ability-popping shooter — but the execution misses the mark almost completely.
It's a bit rough around the edges, but Foreclosed's story and style are worth a look, especially for the PS+ launch price of $15.99 ($19.99 normally). When I think of my time spent in Foreclosed, I think it made for a good, short adventure that had me impressed by its presentation, but ultimately left me wanting more. More story, more combat, more world building, more consequences from my actions. Just about the only thing I didn't want more of would be the stealth sections. So, with any luck, the open-ended nature of Foreclosed's endings, combined with enough sales of this game, may result in us seeing a sequel down the line.
Overall, Foreclosed is a good game with great moments and some awkward caveats. It's a visually compelling experience, with an interesting game world and some strong gameplay ideas, but its occasionally simplistic gameplay and middling story hold Foreclosed back. With an extremely abrupt ending, it's something that will be enjoyed but unlikely to live long in the memory.
Foreclosed is a classic case of style over substance, as the lacklustre gunplay and narrative leave much to be desired. The futuristic comic book presentation does look pretty decent, although it can’t mask the mediocre voice-acting, gameplay flaws and extraordinarily average story and characters.