Forspoken is the new title from Square Enix and Luminous Productions, creators of Final Fantasy XV. It will be released on January 24th on Playstation 5 and PC.
What’s the matter? Do you know that? You wake up one day in a foreign (fantasy) country, look a dangerous dragon in the mouth and would like to go straight back to the ghetto, where at least you will only be beaten up on the street? Oh no? Well, that’s the manageable creative framework of Forspoken’s story. The sometimes bitchy, sometimes emotional Frey (played by Ella) is drawn through a portal into the troubled world of Athia.
This is after she puts on the cheeky and moody circlet. Yes, cheeky, because the hoop talks to Frey. And that’s a good thing, because otherwise you’d quickly feel lonely in the fantasy world depopulated by the rift. The dialogue between the two is high school movie level. This means that if you have a penchant for slightly trashy conversations with slang, you will get your money’s worth here. Others will quickly turn away in annoyance. We actually had quite a good time playing around 30 hours. As players, we help Frey try to get back to the real world – and experience a lot of action along the way.
Who is the game for? For players who love fighting action. Because the magic, along with the parkour system, is what makes “Forspoken” so special. With various magical powers, which we unlock over time through experience and boss fights, we fight magically against mysterious and fearsome opponents.
Transformed humans, toothed beasts, and the overpowered tantas are just a small sample of the flying, crawling, and charging enemy types. We look at the protagonist Frey from the third-person perspective. Thanks to the fast movement system, it whirls around its enemies at the touch of a button, while we use different magic styles to target the opponent’s weak points. This works very smoothly and quickly triggers a very special kind of fun. This makes the fight the absolute highlight of “Forspoken”.
However, if you are looking for an emotional, well-told story or deeper relationships between the characters, you will be disappointed with the game. There would be good starting points, because from the many objects that we find throughout the game, we notice that the background story is actually very well worked out. The creators just don’t succeed in transferring this to those parts of the game that we experience.
How good is the game? The story is badly told, the game world is very lonely and desolate and the protagonist at least takes some getting used to. With this handicap, Square Enix presents the new brand “Forspoken” and makes it difficult for the players to discover the clear qualities: the magic combat system paired with the creative movement logic, the beautiful graphics and the great, new fantasy world.
As we write these lines, we can’t help but notice that “Forspoken” doesn’t seem quite mature yet. Therefore, we cannot make an unreserved purchase recommendation. However, anyone who is addressed by the positive aspects should give Frey, Reif and thus “Forspoken” a chance. Rating: 3 out of 5 tantas.
