Review: FORECLOSED

• Platforms: Xbox Series X (Reviewed), Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam
• Developer:  Antab Studio
• Publisher: Merge Games
• Release Date: August 12th, 2021

Over the past year there has been a steady influx of titles with cyberpunk aesthetic, spanning many different genres. On August 12th, Antab Studio and Merge Game’s FORECLOSED enters that mix, but does it have what it takes to stand out in the recently saturated market? While it does the main thing it sets out to do extremely well, which is creating the feeling of playing a dynamic comic book, it falters in several other key areas, leaving FORECLOSED to feel like an archaic experience that doesn’t live up to its full potential.

FORECLOSED is a narrative-driven adventure in a futuristic cyberpunk world. You take on the role of Evan Kapnos, an individual whose identity has been foreclosed and is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Using his cybernetic implants, Evan must escape the city and unravel the mystery of what exactly makes him so special, and who are these people that will stop at nothing to take everything away from him. FORECLOSED’s story gives off the same vibes of futuristic Thriller films like Minority Report, making it easily one of the highlights of the entire game.

Several elements of FORECLOSED had me feeling like I had been transported back in time to the Sixth console generation, and unfortunately not in the good, nostalgic kind of way. The biggest letdown of FORECLOSED has to be the gunplay. The first thing you’ll want to know upon booting up the game for the first time is to crank the aim sensitivity as low as it will go, but even then, it still feels incredibly loose. During most combat sections it feels like the game is forcing you to play it as a Third-Person Cover Shooter, however it has none of the essential mechanics to successfully play it in such a matter. Evan is incapable of shooting while crouching, and each time you aim with the left trigger he springs back up to standing position, right into the line of fire. The strategy for cover simply boils down to crouching or standing behind a wall and praying the waves of enemies don’t get the angle on you as you get pinned like a sitting duck.

Enemy placement can be extremely frustrating, especially in scenarios where you’ll be exiting a cutscene. On many occasions a comic panel will pop up during a cutscene showing enemies zoning in on your position from a nearby doorway, only to be standing five feet in front of your face and at the ready to attack while you’re still getting your bearings. You pretty much just have to haul ass to the closest point of cover and hope that you make it without dying, or else you’ll need to repeat the same cutscene and the same situation over again. The enemies are also incredibly spongey, and have no indication if they’re close to dying as you’re pumping them full of lead. It could be the first bullet or the tenth bullet, but the enemy will always perform the same staggered animation. After a while my strategy became fire non-stop until they’re on the ground, then fire some more for good measure. All of these issues compound into an archaic experience that feels all too reminiscent of the PlayStation 2/Xbox era.

One bright spot in the combat and gunplay is the unlockable weapon augments and implant skills you unlock as you play the game. After a few hours of collecting skill points and upgrading Evan’s arsenal the combat began to feel almost Control-esque, mixing in telekinetic throws to ragdoll the opposition around while ripping them to shreds with the machine gun modifier on the trusty pistol.

Another highlight is the visuals and overall comic book presentation that sets this game apart from many games of this genre. For the most part the cel shaded visuals look great, with some exceptions where characters’ faces are shaded in certain scenes in a way that almost makes them unrecognizable. The use of comic book panels make the simplest moments such as walking down a hallway look stylish, with jump cuts to panels that change the point of view and sound effects that literally pop off the screen.

While there are several issues that suck the fun out of the experience, you can definitely see the groundwork for something unique in FORECLOSED. Some of these issues could possibly be ironed out with future updates and patches, however some of the problems seem to be baked into the core gameplay of the experience and may be hard to course correct. If you’re a big comic book enthusiast who doesn’t mind some roughness to their gameplay, FORECLOSED may be worth looking into, but for most players this may be one to stay away from until the kinks are ironed out in future updates.

An Xbox review code for FORECLOSED was provided by Merge Games. An Xbox Series X was used during the review process