Forspoken

Forspoken manages to stand out for its fantastic combat system and spectacular exploration in its open world. However, it clearly could have been better in other areas.

Forspoken feels like a breath of fresh air for open-world adventures with its stylish engine, but is held back by pacing and other foibles.

Forspoken is on the precipice of something great. Behind the funneled narrative beats and the obese, sprawling world is a game that simply wants players to engage with its every part. Past the eye-rolling dialog and self-serious narrative is a potentially interesting protagonist and universe that occasionally mesh well. Each puzzle piece of Forspoken is so close to fitting and so often I could see the picture clearly, especially when bounding across the seemingly boundless landscape, making the screen quiver and explode with Frey’s awe-inspiring magic. Perhaps in another place, in another time, Forspoken will speak to everyone.

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.

There was a moment in which we really feared for the success of Fospoken, which, due to a not exactly crystal clear communication from the publisher, often ended up making us feel mixed sensations. Confirming the impressions gained on the occasion of previous direct contacts with the product, however, the new creature of Luminous Productions convinces in every respect, without excelling in any field. While the staid pace of the isekai matrix plot is counterbalanced by surprising twists and turns that leave a love flavor, the albeit chaotic combat system and the exorbitant number of optional activities offered by an open world that is anything but empty compensate for a surrender visual not quite state of the art.

Forspoken's story and combat fail to reach the heights of its movement and exploration, but thankfully those two latter elements make up most of the experience. I sprinted, often literally, through the campaign in about 15 hours, and now I have a large world filled with nooks and crannies I'm eager to run through and explore. The narrative won’t linger with me, and I avoided combat in the open world often, but I loved making Frey leap and fly through Athia to discover all its treasure chests and secrets.

My time with Forspoken was a strange one. Elements of the game are fantastic, with an engrossing story and a gorgeous world. However, it all just feels segmented, like nothing really wants to work together. Forspoken is a good game and one I would recommend to most open-world fans, but it just feels so close to greatness that I can’t help but walk away disappointed.

As a new title from Luminous Productions six years after FFXV, Forspoken continues to show the shortcomings of its open-world design. The abundance of magical combat and the still-excellent story make up for most of these shortcomings. However, the hopes for a fantastic magical world cannot be fulfilled.

Rough and ready, just like Frey, Forspoken is a tale worth stomping through one high-stakes, magic-infused battle at a time.

Early on, Forspoken‘s somewhat empty, barren world isn’t the most appealing. Stick with it, though, and you’ll be rewarded with more interesting landscapes, plenty of side content to sink your teeth into and a range of magical beasts itching for a fight. Frey makes a great protagonist, and we couldn’t help but be charmed by her punchy personality. But it’s her exhilarating parkour that really sets Forspoken apart. This open world adventure offers up the type of fun that’s hard to put down once you get started. We’re certainly keen to keep returning to Athia to mop up those remaining distractions.

Forspoken is absolutely fantastic. With all the spells you can unlock, the gear you can upgrade, the fights, the bosses, and a storyline that rivals the best video game stories, this isn't a return to form for SquareEnix, it's a testament that they still got it, and will have it for a very, very long time.

Forspoken is an incredible title. Although the story suffers from being a bit too generic, the gameplay is inventive, magical, and an absolute blast. This is a game I’ll come back to again and again just to move around and exist in the fascinating fantasy world. Forspoken is an exciting leap forward for action games, and I can’t get enough of it.

There's something here to get stuck into for fans of open world adventures, and Forspoken isn't without its charms, but like Frey herself, it's often its own worst enemy.

Forspoken isn't for everyone - and this is its strength. Games that spark controversy can be the most interesting. This seems a sign that the developers have successfully realized their vision. Such courage is commendable, especially in the era of clones.

Forspoken it's not the next gen game that we're waiting for, but it's not as bad as some found in the demo. It has its share of elements to improve, starting with the script, but it makes combat and traverse very fresh and enjoyable, in a world full of things to do, that invites to keep playing even after watching the ending credits.

Forspoken is neither black nor white, it's a mottled gray of spectacular combat and magical parkour to be experienced within a dated open world.

Forspoken is an ambitious title that builds both its fluid movement and its battle system around the concept of magic. From comfortable exploration to speedy combat, this unique open world action RPG has plenty of appeal, and its story that depicts the spiritual growth of its young New Yorker protagonist is immersive. That being said, the game does have issues, such as a lack of variety in side quests and a hub area that takes too much time to navigate through.

Forspoken is therefore an experience that takes time to reveal its potential, but which, once the controls have been mastered, offers to discover a pleasant open world thanks to the magical powers of Frey.

Forspoken doesn’t do anything new for the open-world genre of games, but it does offer just enough to distinguish itself, mostly thanks to Frey and her magic spells, and a story that’s able to stick the landing. Or to translate this to Whedonspeak, “Yep, she really did just do that!"

Forskpoken isn't a bad game, but it isn't outstanding either. If you get interested in its universe, whether for its story or combat, it won't leave you indifferent. However, the game doesn't dazzle, and it might not meet the expectations of all players.

Forspoken is an urban-come-high-fantasy open-world, action-adventure game played in the third person. Combining magic and parkour, you take on the role of Frey as she learns to understand her new abilities in a strange world that needs saving from disaster.

Forspoken represented a huge risk taken by newcomer Luminous Productions. While the story may feel a bit contrived at times, the Flow method of traversal and combat more than makes up for it. Frey may annoy some people as the protagonist, but stringing together a chain of magical commands within just a few seconds while deftly avoiding incoming fireballs is rewarding, and ultimately, I came away from Forspoken having enjoyed my time helping the people of Athia.

Forspoken offers a unique and thrilling experience with its impressive combat and smooth traversal mechanics. The story and open world may fall victim to the pitfalls of its genre and the largely formulaic side quest design only shines occasionally, but it's an overall satisfying and well-crafted action RPG with fast-paced and energetic gameplay.

Forspoken is a unique game, with a very distinct gameplay, setting and story that compose a very fun and interesting experience. It suffers with its short duration, problemactic camera, lack of variety in side missions and it needs a few adjustments to its gameplay, but its one of the most beautiful games on the PS5 so far and a title that deserves everyone's attention.

Forspoken is a far better and more compelling game than I had feared, but it also doesn’t reach the heights I dreamt of. There is a lot of fun to be had exploring Athia and the main quest keeps things interesting even when you get bored with the open-world checklist. But at the same time I can’t help but be disappointed with how safe Forspoken plays the open world, and I am unlikely to go back to clear out all of those rote points of interest. And I also can’t deny there are some eyebrow-raising moments as to how the writers chose to portray a black woman like Frey, despite personally liking her quite a bit when viewed through the lens of having finished the game. There is a lot of diversity in the cast too, in a way we don’t usually get from big-budget RPGs. I am not sure how many steps forward versus how many steps back Forspoken takes, but there are steps taken forward. In the end, I recommend Forspoken to anyone who loves Final Fantasy XV or Ubisoft-style open worlds and especially anyone who has a thing for character mobility. Yet, the game has a certain charm that I believe makes it worth giving a try to anyone.

Forspoken is a game of ups and downs. The title is much more focused on the story than on the open world component and this is not a bad thing at all. The narrative is enjoyable, but not without flaws, while the open world is very classic in style without particular flashes of originality.

There's a lot to love about Forspoken despite its technical issues. It makes up for that with great traversal, a fantastic DualSense implementation, and solid storytelling. It might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed my time in Athia and will be checking out the story DLC when it launches in the future.

It’s always going to be on my desktop or my PlayStation, and I’m gonna keep going back to it every once in a while because it’s really relaxing to hold down the parkour button and go through this huge world to unlock stuff and find new quests.

You can spend hours completing spell challenges, exploring dungeons, fighting enemies, and activating altars to upgrade your powers. But that fun is often held back by the story. Forspoken's pacing could be better. The game takes you away from what you want to do. We often wanted to explore to our heart's content, but the game forced us to spend minutes that felt like forever in uninteresting storytelling.

Even with its unfortunate first impression, I’d (heartily) recommend Forspoken. Its exceptional gameplay is more than enough to make it worth playing and is all the more noteworthy, given it’s a fresh new IP. If nothing else, it lays the groundwork for a new series that has plenty to build from and could go on to be remembered for far more than some rough dialogue.