Forced Review - A ton of style, but lacking substan

FORCLOS REVIEW

Many characters have come from the comic to video games, but only a few titles tried to merge the two mediums. Foreclosed seeks to create an authentic interactive graphic novel with a gameplay based on panels, but this bold version can it find the perfect balance between gameplay and narrative?

Located in a futuristic world where human rights are under bureaucratic control, we follow Evan Kapnos, an ordinary man who falls by chance in an extraordinary circumstance. After learning that his employer went bankrupt and decided to sell all his assets, including his personal information, Evan takes things in hand. Dropped from his identity and his means of life, he must now learn the dark secrets that convent in the Cyberpunk world to recover his status in society.

Instantly, you are immersed in a world that could have been printed on the pages of an image comics book. The contrasting neon colors, the synthwave score and the shaded artistic style capture perfectly the feeling and atmosphere of the game. Although the environments are a little sparse, the coloring of the blocks and the words onomatopoeia that accompany the action help to imitate the comic illustrations. A culmination of Foreclosed is the use of the framing. As if you traveled pages, cinematics and some game sequences have dynamic panels, truly merging both mediums. The static camera angles that are linked via several boxes follow the flow of action, increasing the engagement of narrative sequences, even with lower dubbing than normal.

Not only does the style escape from the presentation of the story, but it also applies to the gameplay itself. Sometimes the camera goes into aerial, isometric and lateral perspective. Although they are implemented in a transparent way, Antab Studio can not capitalize on these segments. Rather than placing action sequences from different angles, they use these sections as gateways to the most typical shoulder shooting sequences. At one point, the camera maintains a CCTV type angle because the player must sneak in front of the police drones. Although there are problems to identify the field of vision of the drones, it is a culminating point of the game because it differs from the gameplay of Instant.

The majority of Foreclosed plays as a standard shooting game based on the blanket. Although you can not cover you, the Evan movement is reactive, which allows you to easily switch from one barrier to another. The enemies differ slightly, some wearing armor and others holding a shield. To delete them, you will need to modify the weapon with multiple facets. Starting with a pistol, you will get improvements that can be changed at any time to change the properties of your weapon. The addition of perforating balls, a guidance device or even explosive cartridges helps keep fresh combat. Unfortunately, during the battle, the enemies stick to a cover point or walk slowly towards you. For this reason, shootings become a static affair, losing any sense of urgency.

Ammunition is unlimited, however, you can overheat you motionless for a short time. This adds another layer to combat, forcing you to monitor your temperature throughout. The detection of blows is a bit inconsistent because some enemies will absorb the bullets while others may perish in a few shots. Counter the shooting game, the characters can be slaughtered with a stealth attack. Although effective, these segments can quickly turn into standard battles without any means of descal and return to stealthy combat.

Throughout the levels you will find collectibles that will give you XP allowing you to upgrade objects. New capacities can be unlocked, modifying your skills. With increases, you can use telekinesia to send objects to your enemies, cause explosions and crush the enemies on the ground, stun for a few seconds. Although this adds variety, the low number of interactive objects means that you can not take full advantage of environmental attacks.

The linear experience has an element of choice with dialog options. Although they do not necessarily change the story, it gives you the property to help shape the character. Some may be disappointed by the restricted nature of the game because the design recalls the old titles of the PS2 / 3 era, however, it helps keep the feeling of a graphic novel.

Foreclosed is an elegant title that integrates comics and video games. The use of panels is exemplary and helps to communicate the story. With the symbiotic revolver and intuitive piracy, the game has implemented many features successfully. Unfortunately, the repetitive gameplay and sparse environments affect the overall experience. That being said, coming out at an affordable price, comics fans may want to take a look at this intriguing title.