Foreclosed

Comic book-styled cyberpunk shooter is often frustrating.
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Foreclosed
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Foreclosed is a third-person cyberpunk shooter for Windows PCs, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Set in a technology-driven future, it's about a man whose digital identity has been "foreclosed," meaning that he can't really do anything, from shopping to shooting most weapons. Legally, he's not even considered a person. Players may take this as a timely cautionary tale exploring how technology has potential to be misused by governments and corporations. The protagonist is eventually able to go on the offensive thanks to his unique cybernetic implants, which allow players to attack and kill human enemies with a special pistol that causes small splashes of blood. He can also use telekinesis to hurl objects at foes and overload opponents' implants, causing pain and death. Note that while the controls are fairly straightforward for the genre they can be pretty finicky during action scenes. This, combined with long distances between certain checkpoints, may end up causing frustration for some players. Strong profanity is occasionally heard in the dialogue, and while players see alcoholic bottles, no one's seen drinking. Similarly, a hologram of a woman dances in a suggestive manner in a club.
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What’s It About?
FORECLOSED presents players with a comic book-inspired, near-future world in which human-enhancing technologies are an inescapable part of people's lives. Cybernetic implants act as a digital identity, permitting or denying activities such as shopping and banking while also providing or limiting access to various locations. The game begins with our hero, Evan Kapnos, being "foreclosed" -- stripped of his digital identity -- which essentially renders him a non-person. As he attempts to get his identity back, he's quickly drawn into a series of events that lead him to learn he has a special kind of implant that gives him the power to do things such as overload other people's cybernetics, handle a special gun with infinite ammunition, and even use telekinesis to move objects around him. He uses these abilities to fight his way through a variety of missions while being helped by a mysterious woman, gradually unravelling the conspiracy that led to his present predicament.
Is It Any Good?
Beautiful graphic novel-style presentation and compelling narrative concepts are hamstrung by fussy controls. Foreclosed has visual chutzpah to spare thanks to its hand drawn environments and characters, which are frequently and seamlessly broken into discrete panels. The player retains control of Evan throughout, making it feel like an interactive comic book. And there are plenty of intriguing cyberpunk ideas embedded within the world, such as the way in which Evan's foreclosed implants keep him from walking down certain paths even though there's no physical barrier to stop him. Sadly, though, there's a barrier to fun in the form of awkward gun combat. Even with aim assist set to maximum, it can be very difficult to control the camera for precision shooting. Plus, enemy AI is a weird mix of dumb movement and accurate aiming. They're stupid enough to walk straight into gunfire, but smart enough to land almost every shot they take. The end result is that, as each encounter begins, your best bet is to just hunker down and pop out to take pot shots at enemies as they slowly and carelessly enter your field of vision. As shooters go, there are plenty of better ones.
Thankfully, there's more to Foreclosed's action than just guns. The telekinesis ability comes later in the game than it should, but when it finally arrives, it provides plenty of fun new options for clobbering unsuspecting foes, solving contextual puzzles, and revealing hidden pathways. Hacking is a bit dull, involving little more than tapping directional buttons in a specific order, but the occasional stealth section helps spice things up and sometimes gives us an alternative to getting into frustrating gun battles. Still, the real appeal of Foreclosed for those who manage to get past its lackluster gunplay will be its comic book graphics and thought-provoking transhumanist themes. It understands the cyberpunk vibe, even if it isn't always a truly fun game to play, and for some players that will be enough.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about screen time. Foreclosed is a relatively short game broken into levels and missions that last under an hour each, so would you be satisfied to restrict your play sessions to just one level per day?
Do you think technologies meant to enhance humans technologies would make the world and society a better place, or is their potential for misuse too great a risk?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Merge Games
- Release date: August 12, 2021
- Genre: Third-Person Shooter
- Topics: Adventures
- ESRB rating: M for Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Last updated: August 17, 2021
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