Foothold

Foothold is a game that sheds a light differently on what we all consider to be the good guys. In this one, you’re an alien lifeform that’s lightyears more advanced than the human race, and yet somehow, you end up being pulled from your world and held captive in a human research facility.

Now, aware of how frail humans are, you begin to plot your escape. The people of Earth have no idea what you are entirely capable of.

The gameplay in Foothold revolves around you finding solutions to simple or more complex puzzles. You have two forms in which you can explore and interact with the world around.

One has you in your floating squid-like creature form that has the ability to release great bursts of energy and take control of human minds. The latter gives away your other form, that of a human that gains no special powers because, well, it’s a puppet. However, can possess human soldiers and have them shoot each other, and at some point in the game, you will be able to create mutants.

Although the gameplay is quite linear, doesn’t feel all that present. You can possess multiple victims and manipulate them to shield you from soldiers or simply watch them fall to their deaths as you issue them orders to move to various places. There are a few ways you can play the game.

The Outlier, that’s what they’re calling you, is wonderfully voiced. In certain sections of the game, he, or rather it, has short but excellently written pieces of monologue that add up considerably to the weight of the atmosphere.

At one point, when exiting the body of a soldier that was set to self-destruct, I had the feeling I got when playing Legacy of Kain: Defiance. That when Raziel entered the spectral world. And with that I mean to say that the atmosphere in Foothold is well-created.

Foothold is fairly simple in visual design, but it makes up for it gameplay that’s both relaxing and challenging. Moreover, as you progress, the game gets better and better.