- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: Jan 24, 2023
- Also On: PC
Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
-
Feb 1, 2023Those who stick out Forspoken until the end may derive enjoyment from how certain elements were tackled like I did, though, ultimately, it’s all too little too late. At the very least, exploring the open world and completing optional tasks after completing the story can be fun, albeit in brief doses, since there’s not much of interest within the environments.
-
Jan 30, 2023Despite the sheer amount of words that have been written about the game – including by me, I’ll acknowledge as I pass the 1,500 word mark on this review – the reality is that it’s just a forgettable, mediocre game. It does plenty of things very poorly, but it also does one or two things well enough that you can’t say it’s completely and irredeemably awful. There’s no real reason to seek the game out, and there’s no reason (apart, maybe, from that stupid talking bracelet) to avoid it at all costs: Forspoken is just kind of there.
-
Feb 6, 2023A below average game that does nothing well. It’s ugly, it’s boring, I’m tired of it. Steer clear of this mess.
-
Jan 27, 2023A litany of missed opportunities results in one of the most aggravating action role-players of recent years, with irritating characters, dull combat, and a frustrating movement system.
-
Jan 26, 2023Forspoken is so uninspired and mired in cliches that its fantastic voice acting cast can only do so much to keep the game afloat. And while the movement and combat systems are interesting, they're often on the cusp of greatness without ever really realizing their full potential.
-
Jan 24, 2023Overall, Forspoken is a failed experiment. The few moments of joy are rarely not succeeded by the most absolute boredom or by questionable gameplay decisions. Look for something else, really.
-
Jan 23, 2023Add to this a less-than-likeable Frey who barely manages to endear herself upon the player, and even less likeable NPCs and a bland, bland game-world I have no desire to learn more about, let alone live in (take me back to New York and my real-world troubles there, please), and you have a game that just… lacks.
-
Jan 23, 2023While Forspoken delivers a solid action-based combat system and an array of challenging bosses, it fails to create an engaging narrative thanks to the surface-level characters and at times, unbearable dialogue. Not only that, the outdated open world feels like more of a checklist rather than an opportunity for exploration, leaving you yearning for landscapes from other games that are more memorable, and less lifeless. Ultimately, Forspoken lives or dies with its combat, so if you fell in love with it in the demo, it may be worth your time. However, if you’re looking for an engaging RPG that immerses you in its world with a strong main narrative and interesting side activities, this is certainly not it.
-
Jan 23, 2023Where Forspoken should’ve been a striking and appealing fresh start for Luminous Productions, the end result sadly is a game not only bland and unpolished, but deprived of a reason to care for its unfolding mystery. A bevvy of technical inconsistencies, lackluster open world design and most disappointing of all, a handful of systems with genuine enjoyment at times that don’t see their potential fully realized.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
-
Jan 23, 2023Forspoken is a good idea that is unable to build the playable and narrative style to make it shine. We want to explore its world, but there's not much to do, nor does the story push you to do so. [Not Recommended]
-
Jan 23, 2023Forspoken takes it time to get over a wobbly start, but there's something worthwhile here amongst the noise.
-
Jan 25, 2023I’ll come back here and rate the game once I’ve finished the last chapter. However, I’m not convinced that it’s going to become any more magical and entertaining than it is now. It’s a shame, because the game starts from a good place: A new fantasy IP with a take-no-prisoners female protagonist. And I can tell that a lot of the people who worked on the game were sincerely trying. But I can also tell that several others very much were not.
-
Jan 31, 2023Forspoken deserves better than what shipped on January 24. The strength of its story and protagonist do outpace its many problems, but much like Frey’s early struggles in seeing her own greatness, it’s clouded by unfortunate circumstances.
-
Jan 23, 2023Forspoken’s final hours feature a bizarre difficulty curve, where I found myself absolutely destroying certain bosses before the full dialogue could even play out, only to then be pitted against the big bad who, among other things, featured a one-hit kill cleverly disguised as a cutscene.
-
Jan 23, 2023There’s a fascinating story and incredible parkour action buried under lackluster combat and a game lacking technical polish.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 340 out of 1190
-
Mixed: 75 out of 1190
-
Negative: 775 out of 1190
-
Jan 25, 2023
-
Jan 25, 2023
-
Jan 25, 2023Damn didn’t think it was gonna suck this bad. First disappointment of 2023.