[Review] Foregone – Nintendo Switch

 

A Foregone conclusion?

Developer and publisher Big Blue Bubble presents, Foregone. This action-packed 2.5D platformer was revealed in June of 2019 but was not on my radar until I had the chance to review it. Releasing today October 13th for all major platforms and PC for $29.99/£26.99, the price sounds a bit steep but read on to find out what makes Foregone worth the price of admission, and a game you won’t want to miss out on.

The main menu is a fantastic photo of our protagonist with a comic book look. Now, the game doesn’t look like this at all but I still love the look of it and wanted to mention it. Sound options are natively set to 100% but overall I think the game is more on the quiet side. When my Switch volume is cranked playing Foregone and I switch to the dashboard, moving from one game to the next is LOUD. In the next patch, I would hope for an increase in the overall sound. I would suggest changing “hide tooltips in combat” to NO as we are all beginners here. Any controller adjustments can be made here as well then we can begin the game.

 

Our story begins in Calagan where science is at the top of the list of importance.

So much in fact, that it caused a war with those that wanted to steal the technology for their own. In response to the chaos scientists created a line of soldiers called Arbiters, equipped with insane strength and abilities to combat rival forces. Our protagonist is one of these Arbiters and quite the badass. We are tasked with annihilating every last creation of the enemy to bring peace back to Calagan.

Books will be found throughout the areas explored that give insight to the story as well as who, or what will be encountered in regards to enemies. Subtle hints to the size, strength, and look of bosses written by those in charge are fun to read and guess what is going to be fought. The first boss was a colourful and large looking Griffin-type flying enemy called Project Hera. That boss was shown in the preview shots for the game so no spoilers there. Following the Griffin was a boss that was added in August, I won’t give away the look of Tecton BUT the game gives the player a smaller version of it prior to the fight. I loved that little sneak peek and it gave me the “aha!” moment once I entered the fighting area. Diary pages, military reports, lab notes and commander’s logs will bring the player deeper into the story of Foregone. 

During my first impressions video, I counted at least eight layers of background and numerous layers in the foreground. Billowing smoke and waves of dust move between these areas. Dark and dreary is the early feeling of the game but then it opens up to this lively green forest, bright blue sky over a bridge, and the name FOREGONE appears. What a fantastic introduction. The game starts in the low, sad state of destruction and leads us through enemies to teach how to fight and then this beautiful scene. This is a stunner in the looks department, that’s for sure. I thought the game looked best played docked, as handheld mode didn’t look as smooth as it could be.

 

I would recommend playing with headphones to experience full immersion.

That introductory scene with the waterfalls was wonderful, hearing the water move from one side to the other. Music pairs well in this scene giving it a light-hearted and motivating feel. Moving on to the outpost, the tunes here are slow, comforting and relaxing. Fitting as this place will be our home essentially to upgrade weapons and abilities. Slicing and dicing enemies is satisfying in the way it looks, feels and sounds. Each time the player’s weapon makes contact with an enemy or objects it’s done with a purpose and sounds great. Critical hits will trigger the powerful vibration effect which can be turned off in the + menu if you’re playing in bed and it annoys your Wife. Auto collecting gold and diamonds, the currency in Foregone, is the sound of money in your pocket. That drives me to return to areas without making a deal with death to retrieve half of your loot. Each shot from an enemy blunderbuss has a deep THUD, others hacking away at you with their electric melee weapon rips through the air with that WHISH sound. It’s all sounding good to me.

Big Blue Bubble boasts of “fast and fluid” gameplay and I am here to confirm that statement to be true. It feels good to pull off multiple manoeuvres successfully. I posted a clip to Twitter which engaged many folks, all impressed by the look and movement of my character. Sliding under enemy bullets to attack three times in a row to their defeat feels good. I’m a big fan of dual-wielding daggers and stuck with them for a long time. The final attack causes the Arbiter to spin backwards with arms stretched, which absolutely destroys bad guys. Other primary weapons include the short sword, falchion, and gunchucks. Yeah, with a G. Fling these bad boys around and it also sounds like a gun! Secondary or distance weapons include a bow, shotgun, and pistol. I tend to keep a pistol on me but I did enjoy the burst gun. There are more than what I mentioned but this review has gone on for a long time so play the game and tell me your build. Armour, rings, and emblems can be equipped to add health, ability durations, different damages, and are worth picking and choosing. Some have sockets to purchase upgrades to increase their strengths.

 

Varied enemies with crazy designs.

Work out their pattern and best plan of attack to take them down. Certain small enemies spin around like a bladed top and using a ranged weapon is best. For LARGER baddies and controlling enemies, I opt for the hack and slash method. They are robust and round and produce an aura over their minions. BOSS BATTLES are big and the fights are some of my favourite parts of the game. I mentioned some earlier but the fights usually took me a few turns to defeat them. Each loss gave me more motivation to better control the Arbiter and learn the move set better.

Sliding (or dash) is good in combat to avoid fire but can be used to find secrets as well. The classic double jump feels natural in and out of fights. Air dash is one of my favourites and when used with the slide, makes the player look like a pro when navigating areas of play. I love that the game is linear and I don’t have to memorise maps or areas at all. A map is available to refer to in the pause menu but it’s not always needed. This game will not cause you to go back and forth to areas previously explored unless to look for secrets with newfound abilities. I LOVE THAT! On top of that, the player can teleport back to base in each area. When travelling from the base, the game automatically starts the cursor on the furthest point. Down on the menu is the furthest point to go, on the map it simply goes to the right. Straight forward action-packed fun with no messing around on navigation. Activate some switches, fight folks, teleport to the base and unload your goods to upgrade. A satisfying loop indeed.

 

 

Final Words

It feels like I haven’t scratched the surface of Foregone but here we are 1200+ words later. I had a tough time shortening and summarising this one. I could go on but I would much rather simply recommend this game to all. Initially it may look and feel similar to Dead Cells but I promise you, Foregone stands on its own and does not need a comparison. Each time I put the game down I could not wait to get back into it. I played it before work, on my lunch, and after work. This game is great and Two Beard Gaming recommends it. Big thanks to Big Blue Bubble for the opportunity to review!

 

Review code provided

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Platform: PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo
Release Date: 13/10/2020
No. of Players: 1
Category: Action, Platformer
Developer: Big Blue Bubble
Publisher: Big Blue Bubble
Website: www.bigbluebubble.com
Twitter: @ForegoneGame
Download link: US eShop / UK eShop