Foreman Frenzy Review (PC)

Lunch atop a Skyscraper, an image captured in 1932, once depicted eleven construction workers perched over a girder eating their lunches at disgustingly high altitudes. Presumably, that very black-and-white photograph would’ve had a completely different effect if just five of those workers had mistakenly dropped their sandwiches and let their lackey do the fetching. That was the first thing that came to mind when I brought up Foreman Frenzy for the first time: five construction workers flailing around in a desperate attempt to claim the crumbs of their half-eaten New York bagels. I wasn’t far off from the truth either, funnily enough. I also wasn’t a far cry from being on the nose with my opening impression of the game, thinking that it was a star-crossed version of two cult classics, Super Mario and Donkey Kong. But then, I hardly needed to be Poirot to connect those dots.

Foreman Frenzy makes it laughably clear in its first chapter that, color palette cast aside, the primary source for its inspiration idles deep within the eighties and nineties arcade classics of old. It’s so on the nose, in fact, that if you were to replace the titular hero’s lapels with a stroke of cherry red, then you probably wouldn’t be able to spot the difference between this and the ancestral roots of Nintendo’s formidable and universally beloved poster child. But I’m not about to dock points for its infatuation with a former cult staple; if anything, I’m more inclined to give it extra credit just for being able to exhume a specific memory from my adolescent years.

If you’re all for the idea of sticking with us a while longer as we unpack ZOOPGAMES’ two-dimensional meal deal, then pull up a seat atop the skyscraper and feast your eyes on the following…

Girders & Grease

There’s a fair amount I can say about Foreman Frenzy. I could tell you that it’s a love letter to Donkey Kong, or that it’s shamelessly reliant on a beloved blueprint that’s been digested and regurgitated more times than I’d like to believe. But, for the sake of covering all bases, and for the sake of not being overly judgmental, I will launch this review with the intent of providing a thorough overview of its original aspects. Is it a copy-and-paste of another game? Undoubtedly. But there’s more to it than that, and it’s only right that I should descend a little deeper into its lunch box of crisp textures and retro-like mechanisms to talk more about it.

Foreman Frenzy has a “story” somewhere in its two-dimensional tapestry of giddy sprites and oh-so familiar girders, though I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s the obvious candidate for this year’s Best Narrative category at The Game Awards. Without divulging too many spoilers, I’ll just whet the appetite with this: five construction workers have lost their lunches, and one foreman wishes to find and return them to their respective owners. That’s it. There are no hidden meanings behind this plot, nor are there any secret truths that yearn to be discovered behind cascading bonus levels or scattered endings. I would say that it’s a shame, but then, given that it fixates upon a time period that was famous for spouting games that lacked context or intricate plot elements, I suppose it does hit the nail on the head in that regard.

Bouncing & Bopping

Lack of storyline aside, Foreman Frenzy plays out like  a traditional two-dimensional platforming game, with the bulk of its gameplay being heavily reliant on areas where you either need to jump, dodge, or effectively bop your way across various stages and platforms. On that note, you don’t necessarily need to be the artful dodger of video games to crack this cookie, for it is, in all honesty, a somewhat digestible campaign that doesn’t stretch much beyond the basic mechanics of a textbook arcade side scroller. You jump, dash, and pretty much just climb up various ladders whilst simultaneously interacting with certain objects of minor interest to thrust your body into special situations. Perhaps there’s a little more to it than that, though, to be fair, I can’t bring myself to say that it’s in receipt of any more than the bare necessities.

To further illustrate the level of commitment to its target fan base, Foreman Frenzy implements an array of signature features—timed events, vengeful foes, and even a points system, to boot. And while it’s not the best ode to Donkey Kong you’ll ever get your hands on, its attention to detail and ability to recreate the iconic layout of a timeless blueprint is something that we ought to celebrate here. Moreover, there’s a great deal of fun to be found here, too, with plenty of the quick-fire levels offering their own unique twists, turns, and obstacles for you to overcome. It’s just a shame that it’s a little too short. Oh, and that it makes various stages a little too difficult to solve. Eh — that’s another thing we ought to touch base on.

Do Not Pass Go

I’d be lying if I said Foreman Frenzy was built purely on sunshine and rainbows. Sadly, the fact that it has several technical hitches, and that it makes traversing certain obstacles awfully difficult, proves that there are still one or two kinks that could do with some extra attention here. Is it a difficult game? Yes, and no. Annoyingly, you only get sixty seconds to beat each level, and with just three attempts to work with, there isn’t a whole lot of leeway to see what should be relatively easy tasks through to the bitter end. But this mostly boils down to the level design; it isn’t quite as well-packaged as it probably should be. And that’s a shame, as there’s clearly a lot of potential for it to emerge as a genuine contender in its chosen field.

Here’s hoping that, with a little extra elbow grease and a handful of well-needed patches, Foreman Frenzy will eventually break free from its own shoddy work and become a little more, shall we say, digestible.

Verdict

Foreman Frenzy adds its own kindling to the molten core of an undying furnace that, although evidently teeming with the countless (and I mean countless) spits and sparks of alternate two-dimensional side-scrolling realities, continues to produce surprisingly entertaining love letters to the gaming world. There isn’t a huge amount to celebrate here, I’ll admit, and it’s highly unlikely that an old foreman who chooses to chase lunch boxes for a pastime will change your idea of what makes a perfect game, either. That said, with some oddly engaging levels, punchable enemies, and a scoring system that delivers a little extra depth to an otherwise lackluster campaign, it’s fair to say that there’s something worth writing home about here.

So long as you’re not planning on plunging deep into the iron root of a spectacular RPG that hosts stunning capture-worthy panoramas and thought-provoking character arcs, you should be able to get your fill in this pocket-sized 2D platformer. And if you are hell-bent on soaking up something with a little more pizzazz, then you might be in for a rude awakening here, folks.