The 38th Golden Joystick Awards (2020) happened recently, showcasing a plethora of quality video games, video gamers, and video game culture across a variety of categories. One of those video games that caught many people’s attention is Foreclosed, a cyberpunk graphic novel slash action shooted on the way from indie dev Antab Studio and publisher Merge Games. Foreclosed debuted a brand new gameplay trailer, as well as a press release with some groovy new screenshots.
Foreclosed was initially announced two years ago back in June 2020, and since has released an increasingly interesting flow of details. In September, the two people who make up the total of the Antab Studio team unloaded a Foreclosed Dev Deep Dive video over on Merge Games’ YouTube channel. That video had devs Andrea Tabacco and Lara Gianotti dishing out details on Foreclosed’s music, programming, narrative design, game mechanics, art design, and worldbuilding.
In the latest gameplay trailer, we see the main character, Evan Kapnos, walking and running through various parts of the comic book cyberpunk world, and blasting bad guys with his Symbiotic Pistol. Over the top of all the cool visuals are NPC voiced comments, and you get to hear some rather intriguing words and phrases, such as “identity debt” and “mental bollards”. An unnamed and unseen NPC states what may just be the game’s entire premise: “In a system where you’re in debt before you’re even born, life and money are just synonyms.”
The story of Foreclosed involves a dystopian near-future where various cybernetic implants have become the norm, and one in particular, Blockchain, is something that every citizen has an implant for, and is always connected to. And therein lies one of the game’s fully intended story elements, posing to you the questions of ‘what is identity’, and what happens when you lose it. As Kapnos, you’ll be faced with these conundrums when his identity is Foreclosed, and he loses his job, brain implants, and access to the Blockchain. It’s up to you to help him “escape the city before his identity and implants are auctioned off.”
Connect to the Antab Studio and Merge Games Twitter channels to stay tuned to live updates on this compelling game.
Source: Antab Studio