Foregone

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,043 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Foregone Game Cover
Foregone is a good 2D action platformer, and worth a play-through. I’ve played many games that are easy to put down when the review is done, but Foregone is staying in my rotation for a while.
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"Foregone is a single-player platformer game with an interesting plot involving a war against a corrupting force called the Harrow. The game boasts spectacular mechanics, masterful graphics, and a sensational soundtrack. Players can collect legendary loot and upgradeable skills to shoot and slash their way through hordes of enemies in fast-paced action."

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Play​station 4
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Mobile Platform
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,043 reviews
story68 positive mentions
grinding67 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful pixel art and fluid animations that enhance the overall experience.
  • Combat is fast-paced and engaging, allowing for a variety of playstyles with different weapons and abilities.
  • The game offers a decent amount of loot and customization options, making it enjoyable for players who like to experiment with builds.
  • The level design is linear and repetitive, lacking the depth and exploration found in other metroidvania titles.
  • The story is underwhelming and predictable, with minimal character development and lore.
  • The game can feel too easy, especially after acquiring powerful gear, which may lead to a lack of challenge and engagement.
  • story358 mentions

    The story in the game is generally perceived as basic and forgettable, often relying on familiar tropes and lacking depth. While some players appreciate the intriguing lore and emotional elements, many find the narrative disjointed and poorly integrated with gameplay, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a missed opportunity, with calls for more robust character development and plot progression.

    • “The positive: the story is surprisingly intricate, and the lore surrounding everything that's going on is actually quite interesting.”
    • “Learning the story made the last boss fight exciting and sad.”
    • “The art style is pretty clean and visually satisfying, not much to complain about this one, and the story is serviceable for the progression of the game, it's not incredibly memorable but it does the job pretty well.”
    • “The story is basically non-existent unless it was in a bunch of collectible tomes I didn't bother to read.”
    • “The story and plot are so generic and shallow I guarantee you won't care at all.”
    • “The story feels like a draft that was turned in as an essay, but struggled to meet the word count.”
  • gameplay272 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is generally described as smooth and enjoyable, with tight controls and a variety of mechanics that allow for fluid combat and movement. However, many players criticize the level design as clunky and counter-intuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay, particularly with the lack of fast travel and repetitive backtracking. While the game draws comparisons to titles like "Dead Cells," it is noted for its lack of depth and innovation, leaving some players feeling that it doesn't fully capitalize on its potential.

    • “Great game, chill but challenging gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is very smooth, combat is intuitive and fun, and the variety of ways different weapons interact with enemies is great.”
    • “Tight controls, crispy movement and various abilities make for great metroidvania gameplay.”
    • “The main flaw of this game is that while it's mechanically polished, the content is shallow.”
    • “But gameplay-wise it's a boring version of Dead Cells without rogue-like elements.”
    • “The gameplay is fast, but it lacks impact; your character has no reaction or invincibility frames after getting hit, so if you are not paying attention to your heal, you can die without even noticing.”
  • graphics177 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their vibrant pixel art style and fluid animations, often compared favorably to titles like "Dead Cells." While many players appreciate the aesthetic and detailed environments, some critiques mention issues with clarity and originality, suggesting that the visuals, though beautiful, may lack depth and distinctiveness. Overall, the graphics are a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “Some of the best and most vibrant pixel graphics I've ever seen, makes the levels really fun to explore.”
    • “The artwork is beautiful.”
    • “The art style is gorgeous and draws obvious parallels to Dead Cells.”
    • “The art style is made from 3D models being pushed through a pixel art filter, where this worked in Dead Cells due to meticulous care and an eye for detail; in Foregone, it looks like a cheap Photoshop plugin that wasn't calibrated properly.”
    • “The graphics are pretty but they are very flat, and this leads to them being less appealing than they should be, as well as numerous issues of enemies sometimes being hidden behind other enemies or corpses.”
    • “Even the art style is very much begging comparisons which pains me because I do very much enjoy Dead Cells, and while some of the borrowed aspects do add some much-needed fleshing out to this otherwise almost painful unchanging slog of the first couple hours, this game just isn't compatible with what inspires it and why those ideas worked.”
  • music72 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its quality and fit within the gameplay, though some find it unmemorable or generic. While standout tracks exist, particularly after boss battles, the overall soundtrack is described as decent but lacking innovation, often drawing comparisons to other titles like Dead Cells. Despite mixed opinions, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere and aesthetic.

    • “Backed by haunting music and enchanting backdrops, it follows the story of an arbiter who faces the lessons of the past.”
    • “Music: 8/10 - while nothing mind-blowing, everything fits well with what's going on in the game.”
    • “The best part of this game is the music.”
    • “It did not particularly strike me, as it didn't really feel especially connected to what was going on in the game, mostly being generic sounding orchestral music in my mind.”
    • “My only complaint would be the bland music and the lackluster progression system (abilities & looting overall).”
    • “Soundtrack is disappointing.”
  • grinding67 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely regarded as tedious and time-consuming, often detracting from the overall experience. Players report spending significant hours on repetitive tasks to level up skills and acquire upgrades, with some feeling that the rewards do not justify the effort. While some enjoy the addictive loop of improving gear and facing tougher opponents, many express frustration with the linearity of the map and the questionable loot system, which can make grinding feel unnecessarily burdensome.

    • “The whole grinding process (doing side missions at the outpost repeatedly) detracted from focusing on the game--basically you can pick game progression, or spend an hour grinding for coin and XP to experiment with one or two items/spells.”
    • “This is just a typical grinding skinner box only without satisfying rewards.”
    • “The map is incredibly linear with very limited exploration which only lends itself to basic stat upgrades for abilities or a loot drop; the loot is a cool idea but it's hard to utilize it to its full extent without mindlessly grinding areas.”
  • replayability23 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag. While some players appreciate the weapon and skill variety that offers unique experiences, others find the New Game+ mode lacking and the story linear, leading to a disappointing replay value. Despite its engaging combat and visuals, many reviewers suggest that the game could benefit from more depth and exploration options to enhance replayability.

    • “Compelling story that plucks the heartstrings and decent replayability.”
    • “I highly suggest playing through Foregone and picking it up at full price because the weapon and skill variety offers a lot of replay value alongside unique experiences that I've yet to experience elsewhere.”
    • “Foregone is a brilliantly written rogue-lite meets metroidvania loot-based platformer with amazing controls, solid story, attractive art style, brilliant soundtrack, and a load of replayability.”
    • “The twist or reveal at the end is so cliche it hurts, and the potential different endings bait you to do another playthrough, but the replayability is non-existent.”
    • “I find the lack of replay value with NG+ content being strictly the same a bit disappointing, but nonetheless I had fun on my second playthrough even though it was way easier and maybe twice as fast as my first.”
    • “The developers just need to connect each zone and rearrange some parts of the world to make the linear story experience wider, more rewarding for exploration, and enhance replayability.”
  • stability15 mentions

    The game's stability is mixed, with some players reporting a generally smooth experience free of major glitches, while others encounter frustrating control issues, buggy mechanics, and minor glitches that disrupt gameplay. While the game runs well for many, issues like erratic wall jumps and character movement delays can detract from the overall experience, particularly in platforming sections. Overall, it appears to be a fun distraction, but stability concerns may affect deeper engagement for some players.

    • “As a first game from this studio, it's actually good; it's not buggy, and the controls are responsive, which is important for 2D games with some platforming.”
    • “Runs great.”
    • “I found no glitches and found the game to be a fun distraction to play while watching TV.”
    • “Traversal is regularly frustrating. The level design is filled with barely-out-of-reach ledges that require circuitous horizontal routes to reach. Ledge/platform grabbing gets totally messed up if you do anything in mid-air, many hazards are excessively narrow, and the wall jump is buggy as hell, often causing a double jump instead.”
    • “My intent was to 100% this game in order to review it as fairly and accurately as possible, but after eight hours of non-engaging gameplay, bullet sponge bosses, seemingly random enemy placements, incomprehensible systems and menus, asinine dialogue, buggy AI, leap of faith trap placements, and an ugly art style; it was enough to break me.”
    • “Often there seem to be small control glitches that make your character get stuck for half a second instead of dodging or moving.”
  • optimization9 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players praise its design and report no bugs, others experience significant performance issues like constant stuttering. The limited performance options, such as toggling the bloom effect, provide some relief but are not sufficient to address the underlying problems.

    • “The design is amazing, I didn't find any bugs yet, and it's well optimized.”
    • “There remains an artful satisfaction to cutting through hordes of exquisitely fashioned monsters across splendid vistas, but without a thought to call its own, Foregone's performance will be consigned to oblivion the moment its player puts down their controller.”
    • “Constant stuttering that hurt my eyes.”
    • “There remains an artful satisfaction to cutting through hordes of exquisitely fashioned monsters across splendid vistas but, without a thought to call its own, Foregone's performance will be consigned to oblivion the moment its player puts down their controller.”
    • “Good game with a retro style, but it has very few performance options like disabling or enabling the bloom effect, and with that option, I can increase my game performance.”
  • emotional8 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by strong voice acting and impressive animations, which enhance the overall experience despite a lackluster story. Players appreciate the game's accessibility for younger audiences, allowing for enjoyable family play, though some feel that the lack of skill variety in gameplay may diminish emotional engagement over longer sessions.

    • “The voice acting and the emotional animation were really good.”
    • “My 9-year-old daughter Ariadne has played and just finished Forgone today, while I have finished the game several times, and my 7-year-old son Calchas has given it a wholesome try.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    Reviewers emphasize that in a "metroidvania" style game, timed elements should enhance the atmosphere and narrative tension rather than serve as a primary gameplay mechanic. This approach helps to create a more immersive and engaging experience for players.

    • “In a 'metroidvania' style game, the occasional timed element should be a tool used to heighten tension and add to the story and atmosphere of the game, not a core mechanic.”
    • “In a 'metroidvania' style game, the occasional timed element should be a tool used to heighten tension and add to the story and atmosphere of a game, not a core mechanic.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is criticized for featuring an unsympathetic protagonist and poor writing, which detracts from the overall experience. The character design is also noted as unappealing, further diminishing player engagement.

    • “A really unsympathetic protagonist with cringe character design and bad writing.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and unengaging, making it hard to connect with anyone in the story.”
    • “The lack of meaningful growth for the characters left me feeling disappointed and disconnected from the narrative.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is noted for its unexpected elements, with players finding amusement in the inclusion of certain characters or features, even if they don't directly contribute to the comedic aspect of the gameplay.

    • “I think it's hilarious that they're in the game.”
    • “It's funny how they incorporate humor into the gameplay.”
    • “The jokes and witty dialogue really add to the overall experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
5-12hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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