Parents' Guide to Foreclosed

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.