Forgone is a 2D action-platformer with high paced combat, loot drops, and skill trees. The game was released in early access on the Epic Games Store, but is now coming to consoles on October 13th, just a few days after another much anticipated platformer, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, which will be available the 2nd. Forgone is about a main character, a super soldier of a city called Calagan, trying to stop a corrupting force known as Harrow. Along the way, they'll fight through many stages full of Harrow's reanimated minions, gaining strength from the items, weapons, and currencies they drop. The player will also have to defeat various powerful boss enemies to progress, somewhat similar to games like Dead Cells.
Dead Cells is a roguelike action platformer with a visual style very similar to Forgone. Being a roguelike, it takes players multiple playthroughs to progress through the game. With each playthrough, the player will unlock more powerful abilities and items to help them get even further than last time. To avoid any monotony in starting all the way over every time, levels are slightly randomized every playthrough. There also aren't any skill trees, though items and abilities are able to synergize in ways that more than make up for this. The only things that don't usually change in playthroughs of Dead Cells are the bosses, which are often just as challenging as the stages leading up to them.
Much of what makes Dead Cells the game that it is, is also what distinguishes Forgone from it. They still have some things in common, which only makes sense considering how beautiful Dead Cells' animation was, but Forgone definitely strays from the established formula. The main distinguishing factor is Forgone's gameplay loop, which is more of an action-adventure style than roguelike. When players die in this game, they are only sent back to their main base, rather than all the way to the beginning. This means that they can attempt the same level over and over again, improving their gear and skill trees with the drops from beaten enemies. This is another minor difference to consider, as weapons actually drop randomly from enemies in Forgone, whereas in Dead Cells they're typically found in places like shops, hidden areas, or as boss drops.
Where Dead Cells & Forgone Part Ways
There is a reason why Dead Cells is considered a great game and keeps getting updates, as its randomized dungeons and wide variety of enemies makes the game far from monotonous. Forgone may not make players start at the beginning of the game with each death, but it does force them to restart entire levels. This might not seem like much, but if someone happens to have a hard time with a level and dies enough, then things might become a bit boring, as players then have to rush through areas that are always the same in order to progress. Randomized loot drops from enemies might help this monotony a bit, but it's definitely a difference from Dead Cells' satisfying gameplay loop.
Forgone might not have a lot of coverage at the moment, but with it sharing the prestige of Epic early access with fantastic titles like Hades, it's certainly a game to look out for. Crash Bandicoot 4 might be an awesome game that can be played with friends, but don't let it overshadow this game that's sure to be a gem. Fans of Dead Cells and other 2D action games, like Chasm, should especially keep their eye on Forgone. It might have key differences from those titles, but the beautiful 2D art and difficult combat are certainly in the same vein, and it'll be even more interesting to see how those features are updated once the game leaves early access and comes to other consoles on October 13th, 2020.