During gamescom 2022, I was able to quickly test Foretales, but for this preview, I was lucky to have the final version which confirmed my impressions and allows me to tell you more about this game which worth a look. Let's start on a healthy basis, and start from the beginning... Once upon a time...
Story !
I'm not going to pitch you again on the atmosphere of the game, really nice and French cartoon style, but as far as the story of this game is concerned, we're going to be more expansive. During your journey, you will steal an object that will give you visions of the future, and there... total disruption of your life!
You will have to choose the branches that seem best to you to try to solve your problems. And as strange as it may seem, sometimes a bad situation hides a possibly better one, which will give you food for thought and really significant replayability depending on what you want. But aside from your choices, the deaths you leave behind may change one end for you and give you another. Pay attention !
The story, which is quite deep, first launches us into a social crisis (revolt of a miner, execution of your friend, etc.) to end with a threat that weighs on the world with an infection that is spreading and whose source seems to be mysterious and just as dangerous. Once transformed into an infected, there is no going back...
And the gameplay?
We will resume for those who do not follow. You will embody several characters who will join you throughout the adventure to try to solve a major crisis. For this, you will have to choose the actions via the cards in your deck to trigger a reaction. To simplify things: you use your thief's nimble hands card to get resources, but it can also spawn guards in the research deck, or use a firebomb in your consumables on a building, which will cause deaths and will give you infamy points. It's all about the decision...and this is where the game gets inventive, as you'll have multiple options for solving a mission, and sometimes it's hidden well enough that you won't see it at first glance.
And for the clashes, it's the same: you can use the strong way which will make deaths by using particular cards, or you can blackmail, corrupt, impress or frighten your enemies so as to encourage them to flee the fight. All of this will allow you to have a chance to do the adventure without fighting. But tricks like that, the game is full of on anything and everything, which will sometimes give you weird and really good solutions for the future. For example, I helped a lumberjack find an employee (one solution among others) and, two missions later, this decision impacted me favorably by giving me a quest item that saved me research and flights. It's quite an art to predict what may or may not benefit us, and it's more unpredictable than you might think, like a character I freed in a mission and gave me a boost in a other.
Each time you make a choice, there will be a later repercussion to remind you of it, even sometimes trivial things. And so you will get skills, or even temporary allies. Because the fights, if you decide to lead them, will require you to have a good strike force, and to add allies on your characters to increase your power and break through the opposing defenses, or their abilities.
Summary
In summary, Foretales is a good little breath of fresh air that reminds me that sometimes there are games that come out of the shackles a bit and offer us a good experience. It remains one of my favorites from gamescom and I think it should appeal to strategy fans. Because, strategy, you will need it to finish the game without too much damage. And the game can simply appeal to those who want a calm and nice game!
