The setup to Foreclosed’s story is intriguing enough. In a dystopian cyberpunk futuristic world, you are Evan Kapnos, a man whose identity has been foreclosed by the megacorporation that controls them, allowing for his identity and his brain implants to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Upon receiving this information, Evan sets out to figure out the reasons behind his foreclosure and how he can stop it, and over the course of the 3-4 hour campaign, there are a handful of twists and turns that shake up the narrative, including two major choices that branch the story.

"Take out its interesting style and it’s an underbaked and unbalanced cyberpunk shooter whose best ideas drown underneath a generic story and uninspired gameplay."

Once you get beyond the setup, though, Foreclosed becomes a highly generic cyberpunk story that doesn’t really present any interesting or fresh ideas. There are only a couple moments that truly play into the idea of the identity foreclosure, moments that the game will not let you forget, but otherwise it seems to strip ideas from every other dystopian cyberpunk future without much of what makes them interesting. The villains, especially the megacorporation at the center of the conspiracy, are cartoonishly evil. It feels almost like the game assumes that you know the corporation is evil just because it tells you that it’s a megacorporation without actually giving a reason behind it or any real motivation. There are other factors at play, including explanations behind your brain implants, but even with someone from the company at your side for most of the way, it feels very underbaked, like there are so many things going on that none of them have a chance to breathe over the course of just a few hours.

When explanations are given, Foreclosed defaults to a highly tell-over-show approach that can get old quickly. I never really felt like I had figured anything out or, more importantly, had really engaged in the story. Instead, conclusions, if not explicitly told to you or said aloud by the main character, are explained in such broad daylight that it doesn’t feel like there’s much of a build-up. It doesn’t help that the writing and voice acting are woefully average, if not downright painful at points. Evan’s voicing is pulled straight from the generic cyberpunk playbook, and some lines, even when put into the comic book format, are eye-rollingly cheesy.

The comic book aesthetic really is the saving grace of the entire package. Alongside the art style that mimics the color palette and shading comics are known for, story beats are often told in authentic comic panels, and some of the weaker elements of the story can be forgiven knowing the inspiration and homages it’s making. In gameplay, too, the comic book elements are some of the most interesting. The screen splits into panels often seamlessly and gives you an interesting change of perspective in sections that are usually story-heavy and combat-free. Even if they’re just a small part of the package, these segments are easily the most memorable pieces of the puzzle, at least on the positive side.

"It doesn’t help that the writing and voice acting are woefully average, if not downright painful at points. Evan’s voicing is pulled straight from the generic cyberpunk playbook, and some lines, even when put into the comic book format, are eye-rollingly cheesy."

It’s when Foreclosed turns from its panel aesthetic to its third-person perspective that it loses me, and unfortunately, it’s in third-person for about 95% of the game. For the most part, Foreclosed is a third-person shooter with the most surface-level RPG elements at play. As you gain experience points, you can unlock abilities that enhance either your brain implants, allowing you to do things like shield yourself or lift an enemy off the ground, or your gun, making your bullets explosive or shield-piercing. There are also a few automatically-unlocked abilities, like stealth killing and telekinesis, that are required in certain areas of the campaign.

Just the act of playing the game as a third-person shooter is frustrating in a lot of ways. Aiming is stiff and imprecise and made exponentially worse by the near-requirement for headshots to kill enemies. Most enemies are killed with just a single headshot, but some dudes can take upwards of a dozen shots to the body, especially frustrating when someone is standing right in front of you or there’s an enemy swarm approaching. This makes it less of an activity in becoming better at the mechanics and more of a game of finding exploits.

But the ultimate problem with Foreclosed’s gameplay is its utter lack of balance across the board. Its difficulty doesn’t spike as much as it becomes a brick wall. More than a couple times in just a few hours was I stuck on a combat encounter because of either the sheer number of enemies or their deadeye aim across the map, almost to the point of being literally spawn-killed on a couple occasions. The pendulum swings the other way, though, when you start to unlock your abilities, specifically the two instant kill abilities. Combat flips from being frustratingly difficult to laughably easy in almost literally the blink of an eye. This isn’t the case of learning how to play the game and mastering its abilities; these abilities feel like cheat codes that make the game not only much easier, but considerably less engaging. Sure, they’re fun to see for the first few times, but it’s the gameplay version of telling over showing: I gained the ability to barrel through a herd of enemies, but I never actually felt like I needed to improve at the game’s basic mechanics. There are a couple moments near the end that feel like they pull everything together, if only briefly, but I can only wonder where that combination of mechanics is during the rest of the game.

"Just the act of playing the game as a third-person shooter is frustrating in a lot of ways. Aiming is stiff and imprecise and made exponentially worse by the near-requirement for headshots to kill enemies. Most enemies are killed with just a single headshot, but some dudes can take upwards of a dozen shots to the body, especially frustrating when someone is standing right in front of you or there’s an enemy swarm approaching."

The balance issues extend into gameplay styles, too. You’re introduced early to a stealth kill option, implying that you’ll have some stealth sections later on or maybe some stealth skills to improve. Neither of these is true. From then on, I used stealth a total of maybe 4-5 times, and I was even inexplicably restricted from using it on a few occasions. The only sections that embody stealth remove any enemy takedowns and kill you if you’re spotted at all, which isn’t helped by some unintuitive level design. You’re also given the ability to hack certain items, which is usually a cool or at least thought-provoking mechanic in most games, but hacking in Foreclosed is done by pressing four buttons in a row that pop up from a distance and have no consequences if you mess up. It’s not hacking so much as it’s a glorified quick-time event and is about as unsatisfying as it gets.

Foreclosed feels like it started with a couple good ideas, like its comic book aesthetic and identity foreclosure, but once those are introduced, it tries to coast off of them instead of building on them. The gameplay moments presented in comic panels are cool but underutilized, and the story’s themes are not only incredibly foreseeable but also don’t play up the best parts of the concept. What comes together is a highly underwhelming setting and story and unbalanced gameplay that never finds its footing, making Foreclosed feel like a case study in untapped potential that’s more frustrating to get through than it’s worth.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Twelve Minutes

A husband and wife quietly celebrate in their apartment when suddenly, a police officer barges in, proclaiming the latter to have killed her father. After both are restrained and his wife dies, the husband finds himself at an earlier part of the day. Sadly, it wasn’t all a bad dream as the same 12 minutes unfolds again. What can he do to save his wife? Why is time repeating? These are some of the core mysteries in Twelve Minutes.

As the story unfolds, the player can try different things, whether it’s picking up a knife to attack the officer, or hiding in the bathroom. Each new loop provides additional information and dialogue choices, prompting new actions that will hopefully break the cycle. Twelve Minutes is out on August 19^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC along with Xbox Game Pass.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut

A little over one year later and with 6.5 million copies sold, Ghost of Tsushima is getting a Director’s Cut with some quality of life improvements and new content. These include support for the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, 3D audio support, options for 4K and 60 FPS, faster load times and full lip-syncing for the Japanese VO on PS5. The new Iki Island expansion becomes available from Act 2 onwards and sees Jin traveling to a new region to battle a new Mongol threat.

New story missions, armor, weapons and of course, more animals, await along with other side content and activities. Releasing on August 20^th for PS4 and PS5, the Director’s Cut will cost $19.99 as an upgrade for PS4 owners and $69.99 for PS5 players. You can also upgrade from the Director’s Cut on PS4 to PS5 for $9.99 or go from the base PS4 version to the Director’s Cut on PS5 for $29.99.

Madden NFL 22

Another year, another iteration in the Madden franchise. Madden NFL 22 is in a weird spot, seeing as the past few titles have received blow-back from fans for various reasons. This year’s title is even more geared towards Xbox Series X/S and PS5 players with exclusive new Dynamic Gameday that looks to keep things exciting. This is in addition to changes with the movement, blocking, catching and tackling, updated Playbooks, the return of The Yard with solo and co-op options, a new story in Face of the Franchise mode and much more. Between new classes, abilities and changes to the Madden Ultimate Team Auction, it seems like a lot to look forward to on paper but time will ultimately tell. Madden NFL 22 releases on August 20^th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Google Stadia.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Ember Lab’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been quite the standout since its announcement last year thanks to its animated art-style and interesting premise. Players control Kena, a spirit guide who ventures to an abandoned village and tries to help the deceased move on into the spirit world. Along with a staff that can be used as a bow to fire arrows, she can also call upon the Rot, little spirit creatures that will help in battles and when solving puzzles. With its mix of exploration, platforming and combat, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is looking like a solid action-adventure title with an emotional story. It’s out on August 24^th for PS4, PS5 and PC.

Psychonauts 2

It’s been a long, long, long wait but the sequel to the cult-classic Psychonauts is almost here. Taking place immediately after Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the story sees Raz venturing to Psychonauts HQ. Not everything is well though – second in command Hollis Forsythe is investing in some shady dealings, like necromancy, and there may be double agents sneaking about.

Raz will once again venture into different Mindscapes, learning new abilities and powers, as he attempts to make sense of everything around him (including the curse that’s plagued his family). With epic new levels and the trademark Double Fine humor, Psychonauts 2 is looking to be a worthy successor. It releases on August 25th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PC while launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.

No More Heroes 3

With all of the returns in gaming, it only makes sense for Travis Touchdown to re-enter the scene, this time squaring off against invading aliens to decide the fate of the world. No More Heroes 3 offers much of the same combat that fans have loved about the series, from the random benefits of the Slash Reel to Death Blows and wrestling moves. It does have a lot of new options though from Travis’s Fully Armored form to the Death Glove from Travis Strikes Again.

But make no mistake – this is No More Heroes through and through. You’ll take on volunteer work to earn money and enter ranked battles, engage in crazy death battles and encounter more crazy characters as the story progresses. No More Heroes 3 is out on August 27^th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

New World

Despite Amazon Games having less than stellar success (which is a nice way of saying “no success whatsoever”), there is a decent amount of hype for New World. It’s a brand new MMO, one that’s set in the mid-1600s as players arrive in a new region to colonize it. There are three factions – Marauders, Syndicate and Covenant – and along with questing, players can control settlements and battle each other. PvE combat is fairly extensive – enemies have several attacks and there’s a bigger emphasis on blocking, dodging and timing as opposed to auto-attacking for players. While the real journey begins after its launch on August 31^st for PC, New World is still worth keeping an eye on.

Foreclosed

A narrative shooter with a cyberpunk twist, Foreclosed is set in a future where brain implants are foreclosed and auctioned off. Protagonist Eric Kapnos has suffered this fate and must now escape the city before it’s too late. With a sleek graphic novel style presentation, Foreclosed offers an intriguing premise and story while combat relies on a myriad of weapons (thanks to a shifting Symbiotic Pistol) and abilities like telekinesis, hacking and more. It releases on August 12^th for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Hades

As one of the best games last year for Nintendo Switch and PC, Supergiant Games’ Hades comes to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/, PS4 and PS5 on August 13^th (with a day one release on Xbox Game Pass). The isometric rogue-lite sees Zagreus, the son of Hades, looking to escape from the Underworld. Naturally, the Lord of the Dead doesn’t take kindly to this so you’ll have to battle the Furies in Tartarus, survive the lava-filled rivers of Asphodel and much more in order to survive.

There are a handful of weapons to select from the beginning of each escape attempt, complete with their own unique abilities and upgrades but Zagreus also receives help from the Greek Pantheon. Zeus bestows the power of Thunder which can Jolt foes; Ares offers delayed secondary damage with Doom; and Hermes is all about speed among other options.

But it’s the story-telling and writing of Hades that will draw you in. There are hundreds of thousands of unique voiced dialogue and the story evolves with each escape attempt as you learn more about Zagreus’s upbringing, the world and its history. Whether you’re into rogue-lites, solid hack and slash titles, or simply love a good story, Hades is well worth playing.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite

Between Back 4 Blood, Redfall, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and Rainbow Six Extraction, the next year or so is looking pretty good for co-op shooter fans. Aliens: Fireteam Elite releases the earliest and may be worth checking out on the basis of its premise. Taking place several years after the original trilogy, it focuses on a Marine fireteam that battles Xenomorphs across four campaigns, each with three story missions. Five classes are available – Gunner, Technician, Recon, Doc and Demolisher – each with their own unique abilities and load-outs while there’s an extensive amount of weapons and customization to be had.

Up to three players can embark on a mission, though you can also play solo with two AI teammates, and numerous difficulty levels really allow for ramping up the game’s survival horror aspects. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is out on August 24^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Cross-gen play is supported at launch for PlayStation and Xbox platforms but there won’t be cross-platform play (for now).

Announced several months ago for current-gen platforms, Antab Studio’s Foreclosed has been confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. All of these versions still seem set to release in 2021 though. In the meantime, a new “deep dive” video has been released with commentary from the developer over gameplay footage. Check it out below.

Foreclosed takes place in a future where identities are governed by brain chips and once “foreclosed”, a person’s life is effectively over. Protagonist Evan Kapnos is once such individual but despite losing his identity, he’s still intent on doing some damage. Kapnos is armed with a symbiotic pistol which can change its functions as the player upgrades it.

However, he can also use various powers thanks to implants and overcome foes in this manner. Foreclosed is an intriguing title that leverages a graphic novel-esque aesthetic to tell its story. This includes the use of panels, speech balloons and whatnot. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months especially with next-gen consoles around the corner.

Update: An interview with Antab Studio has been released where it talks about Foreclosed’s setting, story, the various powers that can be wielded and the symbiotic gun. Check it out below.

Original Story:

The wait for CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 is palpable but there are other cyberpunk titles worth watching out for. Like Antab Studio’s recently announced Foreclosed, which is set in a future where corporations can purchase a person’s identity. Check it out below.

Sporting a comic book aesthetic, the story sees the protagonist being foreclosed. However, even with his identity lost, there’s still plenty of damage he can do against the corrupt system. Along with utilizing a symbiotic pistol, which can be modified, players can also use a unique implant for various super abilities.

With the story’s focus on identity loss taking inspiration from developers at Antab Studio, Foreclosed is certainly unique in its own way. The action looks solid enough as well, especially as the player can gun down foes or manipulate environmental objects to crush them. Foreclosed is currently slated to release in Q2 2021 for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.