Foretales Review – An Adventure Is On The Cards
The last few years have proven that cards can be used in far more ways than just the strategy of games like Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokemon. Slay The Spire and Inscryption used them for compelling yet radically different takes on roguelikes, while I Was A Teenage Exocolonist and Voice of Cards weaved them into narrative-based RPGs. Even my more card-averse friends have been enjoying these without a single tap-for-mana or scry-one in sight.
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To add to this new, card-based renaissance is Foretales, which takes the deck-based shenanigans and turns it into a compelling adventure game that channels Monkey Island more than Magic: The Gathering.
Set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, Foretales follows the adventures of a young, roguish Hornbill called Volpain. Plagued by dark visions of the future, it’s up to him and his ragtag group of ne’er-do-wells to try and stop the oncoming apocalypse. To pull this off, you must work your way through various location cards hunting for clues, resources, and objectives, while fighting off the zombies, bandits, and guards that look to get in your way.
For as much emphasis as Foretales puts into these confrontations, it isn’t particularly compelling. Combat usually falls down to who can heal the fastest, or whether or not Karst the hulking gorilla can deal enough damage to get you to safety. Although the game does make a big deal of being able to work around these conflicts nonlethally, it just feels like combat with more steps. If the enemy is out of my way, does it really matter if I stabbed them or bunged them a bribe? While the rewards you get for sparing people are different, they’re used in identical ways –
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