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Foretales

Foretales

Written by Eric Hauter on 5/24/2022 for PC  
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There is no question that the artwork in the new narrative deck-builder Foretales is what first caught my eye. There's no getting around it, so I'm just going to say it outright - the characters in this game are drawn in a way that is downright Disney-esque, looking for all the world like creatures from a high-budget classic animated film. But after looking closer at Foretales, I found that I was just as intrigued by the mechanics of the game. I'm accustomed to using cards in a strategic way to outwit opponents, or maybe climb a spire or two, but I've rarely used them to build a narrative. 

My first run at Foretales was a bit bewildering. I recorded it for a possible video to post, but this game was so far out of my comfort zone that I found myself fumbling about far too much to ever post the gameplay. I figured it would be best to get more of a handle on the mechanics of the game, and then come back for a second try. So that's what I did - I played for about an hour to understand the flow of Foretales, and then started over again. The following video is the result of that (and no, I still didn't completely have my feet underneath me).

Learning Foretales is similar to learning the rules to a new board game. Once you have it, you have it, but you'll find yourself consulting the rules a bit along the way. Players have a few different deck pools they can play with - but it is easier to think of those two decks as "resources" and "powers". As you move into an area, you can hover over any card in either of your decks and see what impact it might have on the area cards. Maybe you will be able to rob someone and pick up a few gold pieces for your resource cards. Or maybe you can eavesdrop on a gathered crowd and pick up some useful gossip that can come into play later. The ways the card at your disposal can be used is pretty dynamic, which is why the game's flow took me a little while to figure out. But the story hooks are pretty strong, and once you get through the tutorial and the game stops holding your hand, figuring out what cards to play when takes on a puzzle-like feel, as you ferret your way through environments to get the desired results.

I've had a lot of fun with Foretales so far (I'm pretty sure I'm almost through the preview content at this point; I've continued on since recording this video). I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes when the full game releases on Steam later this summer. 

For more information, or to wishlist the game, check out Foretales' Steam page here.

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.

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About Author

Howdy.  My name is Eric Hauter, and I am a dad with a ton of kids.  During my non-existent spare time, I like to play a wide variety of games, including JRPGs, strategy and action games (with the occasional trip into the black hole of MMOs). I am intrigued by the prospect of cloud gaming, and am often found poking around the cloud various platforms looking for fun and interesting stories.  I was an early adopter of PSVR (I had one delivered on release day), and I’ve enjoyed trying out the variety of games that have released since day one. I've since added an Oculus Quest 2 and PS VR2 to my headset collection.  I’m intrigued by the possibilities presented by VR multi-player, and I try almost every multi-player game that gets released.

My first system was a Commodore 64, and I’ve owned countless systems since then.  I was a manager at a toy store for the release of PS1, PS2, N64 and Dreamcast, so my nostalgia that era of gaming runs pretty deep.  Currently, I play on Xbox Series X, Series S, PS5, PS VR2, Quest 3, Switch, Luna, GeForce Now, (RIP Stadia) and a super sweet gaming PC built by John Yan.  While I lean towards Sony products, I don’t have any brand loyalty, and am perfectly willing to play game on other systems.

When I’m not playing games or wrangling my gaggle of children, I enjoy watching horror movies and doing all the other geeky activities one might expect. I also co-host the Chronologically Podcast, where we review every film from various filmmakers in order, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow me on Twitter @eric_hauter, and check out my YouTube channel here

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