I've developed a strong aversion over the years to run-based games, or the Rogue-esques as I believe they're called, half because they're too inconsiderate of one's time due to the regular progression-wipes that is part and parcel of their genetic make-up, and half because any one person's proc-gen experience is far too subjective to be of much value in the context of a review. That isn't to say there aren't good run-based games coming out all the time: one such example that I was curious about is Motion Twin's Dead Cells, which took the run-based dynamic to a 2D action explormer with a strong loot RPG aspect. Back during E3 2019, I espied a game that seemed to offer the Dead Cells experience absent the unsatisfying proc-gen level design and constant restarts: that game being this week's Indie Game of the Week, Big Blue Bubble Inc.'s Foregone.

Foregone's similarities to Dead Cells are many in number, but most of them are superficial. That includes the usage of a graphical art style that utilizes pre-rendered 3D models reworked into sprites to produce a very smooth, almost rotoscoped animated look. It also retains the Diablo-style color-coded loot system, and a general high alacrity as you maneuver around and overpower opponents with a combination of jumps, rolls, and attacks with both melee and ranged weapons - a dextrous necessity to compensate for your relatively fragile health and defense stats. Weapon types also play a large role, considering the variance in not just their damage output and speed but in the way those weapons feel to use. Sometimes the difference between two weapon types is more nuanced than it seems: for instance, some weapons have combo chains where the last hit is considerably more deadly than the rest, so a player that opts for quick hits rather than full combos as they bounce around to keep out of harm's way might find them underwhelming.

Regrettably, though the developers have full reign over the level design without the proc-gen aspect inherent to the run-based format, Foregone's areas still end up feeling overly linear and basic: there's almost no deviation in the path except for secret areas - even the branches tend to lead to a series of switches, all of which need to be hit before you can proceed, so it's not like the order really matters - and every map is simply a gauntlet of enemies from Point A to Point B. The loot system can be a little strange also, as high rarity items not only carry more intrinsic buffs but also have higher upgrade caps at the blacksmith vendor: with that in mind, there's never any point hanging onto gear that is anything less than the highest rarity. Given that you still find plenty of high-rarity loot (rendering that term as erroneous as ever) and you barely earn anything from salvaging (the game's term for hocking vendor trash) I've taken to simply abandoning most item drops. The level design is slightly better in the game's "missions": self-contained smaller dungeon instances in which you're required to complete an objective in a brief amount of time, earning time bonuses as you proceed. This might include taking down every enemy while reaching the end, or jumping and dodging through a series of hazards like spikes, electrical barriers, and venom pools. Each successful mission gives you a reward of some decent gear and a chance to visit the "Warsmith": a vendor that can re-roll any bonus attached to a piece of equipment once for free, and subsequent re-rolls for a cost in upgrade points.

If the game fails to be a compelling explormer or a compelling loot RPG, it makes up a lot of that ground with its highly fluid combat and the modern Doom-like way that melee attacks fuel your ranged attacks and skills so you can keep a good flow going through alternation. Every melee hit replenishes one bullet, and ranged combat tends to be effective against enemies that are harder to hit - the guns all auto-aim at the nearest enemy, since you've little time to manually aim - so running up to a ground foe, getting in a few hits, dodge-rolling past him to avoid his retaliation, taking out an incoming bat enemy with a single shot, and then re-applying the pressure to your original target until they're down is one example of how you can use the variance of your skills to control groups of enemies. Most opponents are stun-locked by melee attacks, preventing them from pulling off their own attacks, so it's often a case of rushing in and keeping them occupied before they can strike back. Personally, I've really grown accustomed to my shotgun, which has allowed me to alternate highly-damaging close-range melee with equally damaging close-range gunplay. As for melee, right now I have a pair of gunchuks - that is to say, nunchuks with guns attached to them, which I'm 99% certain was a ProZD skit - with an innate chance to proc an explosive knockback effect. The base damage values of weapons increases throughout the game so it is worth replacing whatever you have with newer models just to maintain parity with enemy health, but it's the type of game - like a Souls - where it can be hard to let a preferred, well-practiced weapon go, especially when it has all the bonuses you want.

I'd say I'm past the halfway point of the game and still unsure how I feel about Foregone; hence my leaving this review to almost the last possible moment on a Friday evening. On a purely visceral level the combination of fast attack and evasion abilities along with the usual charms of a constant loot cycle is a compelling package, as you're quickly making up plans of action that will minimize incurring damage while taking down enemies at a pace of your own choosing. However, so much of the game is either super barren and uninteresting - moving through any area without enemies, excepting the few times where it makes some engaging obstacle courses out of hazards - or feels undercooked, like the limited upgrade paths, the smattering of mostly inconsequential traversal upgrades, or the incredibly brief and fractured snippets of plot. I've also had this strange feeling while I've been playing in longer stretches; like the screen is just a little jittery when it scrolls, so I get these odd headaches where it starts to become hard to focus. It might just mean that it's due time to get my eyes tested again, but it's as if there's something that's not quite as buttery smooth about the way the game moves as a whole unlike the very buttery smooth animations of its characters. Last, and worst, is that the PS4 version of the game suffers from some extremely long load times: these are particularly obnoxious during the game's timed challenges, as I'm so often distracted by Twitter or something while waiting for the area to load in that I find myself already a few seconds deep into the challenge by the time I've checked back. I can't really blame the game for my ADD, though it's still odd to see a 2D pixel game take so long to handle area transitions when it's almost instantaneous in many of the huge-budget 3D games I've played lately.

As it stands, I do have to praise Foregone for the one aspect it gets very right over the many less significant ones (I'm a big lore fan, but it's not always strictly necessary for an action game like this) it falters on. Your own ratios in that regard may differ of course, but if you're looking for a very arcade-y feeling action-RPG platformer that's all about the moment-to-moment gameplay with some really thrilling boss fights and time-trial horde battles I don't think it'll disappoint too much. Conversely, anyone looking for something deeper like the full Souls experience, or a game akin to an Igavania explormer with all its layers, will probably find many aspects of Foregone lacking.

Rating: 4 out of 5. (So far.)

P. S. Since a comprehensive review for a game like this should include seeing the gameplay in motion, I'll leave you with this boss fight footage (let me know in the comments if this kind of thing is something you'd like me to include in the future for certain games, specifically the Souls-y ones):

Good review, I could consider this if it goes on sale. 👍