Square Enix was quite busy last year releasing a plethora of new RPGs
in the span of a few months.
We’re only weeks into 2023 and the company shows no signs of slowing down
with the release of Forspoken, the first major title from Luminous Productions.
The team behind the previously named Project Athia
consists of a large portion of Final Fantasy XV’s staff,
as well as several big industry names like Gary Whitta and Amy Hennig
contributing to the game’s narrative.
So naturally, expectations are high, perhaps none more
than CEO Yosuke Matsuda,
who’s stated his lofty belief that Forspoken should stand alongside
Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest in terms of sales,
quality, and global appeal.
Fair or not, Forspoken bears the weight of the Square Enix branding and legacy.
The game stars Frey, a young woman
struggling to make ends meet in New York City
when a twist of fate brings her to another world called Athia.
There, Frey is bound to a sentient vambrace she dubs Cuff,
and the duo form an uneasy alliance as they attempt to navigate a strange new world
as well as their newfound powers.
The banter between Frey and Cuff slightly misses the mark.
While it has its moments and grows on you after a few hours,
most of the time the dialogue between the two just comes off as awkward and unnatural.
There are a few options to tone down the level of interaction between them,
and it's highly recommended to change it to a lower setting to maintain your sanity.
Yet Forspoken’s broader narrative is more up to the task.
Its mysteries are certainly captivating,
as you learn about the toxic miasma that brought this world nearly to ruin
and why the four leaders responsible for protecting their citizens
either abandoned their charge or became violent dictators mad with power.
Not to mention, there are hard hitting emotional moments
and a handful of genuinely surprising twists along the way.
The story provides a different perspective for a hero than the usual fare,
and this refreshing new take is most welcome and will have you rooting for Frey by the end.
Much like the writing, Forspoken’s combat system has its ups and downs.
For the most part, it’s a wonderful new take on fantasy-based battles
that feels like an evolution of past efforts such as Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts.
Primarily relying on spells and magic,
the game slowly peels back the layers of this intricate system
by doling out only one type of magic every few hours.
While this allows you to easily grasp the basics of each new type,
the combat system really is at its best when it all comes together.
Unfortunately, Frey doesn’t tap into all of her core abilities
until fairly late in the story,
so for much of the game, her toolkit feels noticeably incomplete.
It’s most evident in the early hours when you’re restricted to ranged magic,
making battles feel like a third-person shooter.
After unlocking your melee kit, the flow of combat definitely improves,
but it just doesn’t feel as distinct and impressive
until you have all four types accessible.
The combat also opens up further once you obtain your various traversal skills,
especially the ability to quickly dash around or run up walls
to evade opponents and counter their attacks.
Also, as you level up and complete various tasks in the world,
you earn mana used to upgrade and unlock new spells
within each of the four types.
Experimenting with how to invest your mana comes at virtually no risk
since you can refund almost every spell upgrade
if you want to try out another.
This works very well because the game’s environments, enemies, and activities
really encourage you to try out different abilities,
and while it's initially daunting to have so many skills at your disposal,
when it all clicks, it feels incredibly satisfying.
Casting spells looks amazing in action,
especially when you’re unleashing countless abilities back-to-back in a struggle for your life.
Battles really draw out the impressive nature of the combat visuals
by occasionally throwing massive amounts of enemies at you at once.
The performance does take a hit every now and then,
but when you’ve got dozens of enemies in close proximity
or a massive boss appears,
it’s a type of chaos that leaves you in awe of what you’re witnessing on screen.
Just be warned that the camera work and targeting system do sometimes cause
the occasional speed bump.
Pairing well with her spellcasting in combat, Frey’s traversal techniques are equally as gratifying,
making getting around a breeze.
Obviously there’s the option to fast travel with lightning fast load times
as you uncover certain landmarks, but you still need to reach them in the first place.
First off is the flow ability that lets you dash forward and leap up walls with blinding speed.
It’s simple to use, offering so much freedom to explore,
and as you unlock new powers,
you can do unbelievable feats like grappling up cliffs
or swinging across large gaps.
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself constantly trying to see
if you can reach certain spots.
It’s this integral ingredient that marks some of the best open world games,
and Forspoken nails the sense of wonder
in freely exploring a haunting, yet riveting world.
Obviously there’s more to do than simple sightseeing.
Within each of the game’s massive zones are dozens of points of interest with various activities to accomplish.
These include simply scouting an area for a piece of lore that adds more background to a region;
defeating a group of enemies to unlock a treasure chest;
and using your traversal skills to work out a path to a hard-to-reach destination.
There are also more involved labyrinths that feel like simple dungeons
with boss encounters at the end,
but nothing nearly as complex as some of the main story objectives.
Rewards for each activity vary,
including gaining mana to upgrade spells,
increases to various attributes like health and defense,
raw materials needed for crafting items,
or new pieces of stylish gear with special properties
that can enhance Frey’s powers.
It definitely checks a lot of the boxes of your typical open world experience,
but there are a handful of activities that definitely stand out,
specifically uncovering hidden or secluded paths
or the few challenge trials that require you to reach a goal within a time limit
using your platforming prowess.
Oh, there are also a lot of side quests involving cats.
Early on you can follow them around town to earn a reward,
but later in the open world, they take on a more exotic form as familiars
where you have to approach them carefully and befriend them without scaring them off.
The more cats you adopt, the more that will show up at rest points
to provide you with adorable antics and plenty of petting,
purring, and belly rubbing.
Given Frey had to leave her own cat Homer behind in New York,
it feels only right to indulge her by spending lots of time with these feline friends.
Forspoken boasts a solid foundation,
but it might not always be clear that you’re free to do what you want.
In the lead up to the first major encounter with one of the world’s rulers,
you’re turned loose in their domain to explore at your leisure.
Yet at other similar moments in the game’s story,
the guided nature of the narrative sometimes blinds you to the fact
that you’re in an open world and have the opportunity to deviate off the path.
You can technically just race through the main storyline and reach the conclusion
in about 20 hours or so, but those wishing to experience much of what this game has to offer
can end up with a play time easily above the 50 hour mark.
Though it might not be as iconic as Bear McCreary’s recent effort with God of War Ragnarok,
Forspoken’s main theme certainly stands out with its mix of hip hop and fantasy,
and the numerous battle themes are equally up to the task with their frantic vibes.
He’s joined by veteran composer Garry Schyman,
and you can definitely hear the similarities to BioShock in many of the game’s overworld tracks
with their haunting choirs and bewildering melodies.
After all is said and done, Forspoken emerges as a solid new IP.
It has its fair share of issues, but the longer you spend time in Athia,
the more its world draws you in with its intriguing combat
and the simple pleasure of freely crossing massive environments
with spellbinding abilities.
Luminous Productions is definitely onto something with this concept,
it just needs a bit more focus and refinement.
At the very least, Forspoken proves its worth on its own terms,
and demonstrates the potential to someday hang alongside Square Enix’s staple franchises.
Final score: 8 out of 10.
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