Foregone

Developed by indie studio Big Blue Bubble, Foregone is a fast-paced game that combines some of the best parts of 2D exploration and looter shooters. This Metroidvania platformer delivers thrilling action and an engaging storyline, coupled with its excellent presentation and solid movement controls.

If all that might sound like Foregone is a perfect game, that’s because it very nearly is. There are but a few negative aspects in this game, none of them enough to completely sour the experience. Let’s take a closer look at what Foregone has to offer and why it might just be one of the best indie Metroidvanias available.

Moves to kill

Before we delve into Foregone’s rich gameplay, let’s take a quick look at its plot. You play as an arbiter: a super-soldier of sorts tasked with defending the city of Calagan. The city has been besieged by the dreadful Harrow, an all-corrupting force of fearsome undead warriors.

The game’s story isn’t told linearly, as we’d expect from most games. Much like Dark Souls, the plot must be pieced together by collecting hidden tomes. While this might be a clever way to reward the player for exploring the game’s world, it might leave some others scratching their heads as they try to comprehend the already convoluted plot.

Where this game shines most is in its intuitive controls. As a Metroidvania game, some degree of backtracking is to be expected. However, the movement in Foregone feels so fast and fluid that backtracking hardly becomes a chore. While we are on the subject of backtracking, players will be glad to hear that such instances are minimal, as the game is pretty good at keeping things moving forward at all times.

Melee or ranged

As an arbiter, you’ll have a wide selection of deadly weapons at your disposal. These are classified in either melee or ranged ones, with the close-quarter arms being your best bet for survival. Sure, in a 2D game like Foregone, keeping your distance from your enemies might sound like a good plan, but the game’s auto-aim is all over the place.

Being so unreliable, you’ll soon find that using melee weapons is the only way to go. Luckily, melee feels powerful and satisfactory, making each blow feel like an achievement.

However, don’t discard ranged weapons entirely just yet. The developers managed to find a nice balance between melee and ranged, with the gun weapons having to be reloaded by attacking with your melee ones. So, while the auto-aim might be a bit wonky, Foregone compensates that with the guns having excellent firepower.

Stylish presentation

The beautiful 2.5D sprites of Foregone are one of the nicest we’ve seen in a 2D platformer of this style. The colors and character designs all blend extremely well, delivering a truly outstanding artistic experience that matches that of its gameplay.

Foregone also has some seriously fluid animations that help the game feel even more fluid. The animated backgrounds are also a nice visual treat, reminding us of those seen in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

All in all, the visual aspect of Foregone is exceptionally well-done, and it can run on even the older computers, which is always a nice plus.

Pros:

• Rich visuals and fluid animations
• Fun gameplay loop
• Satisfying combat mechanics
• Outstanding boss fights

Cons:

• Scarce narrative
• Enemies could have some more variety