Forspoken pre-launch reviews may be scarce, as many outlets are reporting that Square Enix has opted not to supply early review codes. Square Enix's Forspoken has had a rocky road to launch since its first reveal in June 2020 as Project Athia. After major delays pushing it from its initial May 2021 launch window, the game is finally gearing up for release. With multiple controversies already under its belt, it seems reviews for the game will also be scarce ahead of launch.
Forspoken was first revealed in 2020 at Sony's Future of Gaming event that showcased multiple first and third-party PlayStation 5 titles in development. These titles included Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Resident Evil Village, and Project Athia, a mysterious new IP from Luminous Productions. Project Athia would be the first next-generation title to run on Square Enix's Luminous Engine and was confirmed to be a PS5 console exclusive for at least two years after its launch. The game was later revealed as a third-person open-world action RPG renamed Forspoken, positioned as a new big franchise from the team behind Final Fantasy 15.
Now, many video game journalists are revealing that Square Enix has severely limited review copies of the game even among big outlets. Multiple writers from sites such as VGC and RPG Site have reported that Square Enix has not supplied them with review codes for Forspoken. Even big independent reviewers such as YouTuber SkillUp have claimed that they have not received codes for the game, which has some people theorizing that Square Enix could be preparing itself for bad press surrounding the game's launch. This isn't always the case when games media does not receive early copies of games, but it is a tactic that has been seen before with rough launches such as Cyberpunk 2077's PS4 and Xbox One release.
Since its reveal, Forspoken has been criticized for its unflattering trailers which highlight some of the game's seemingly awkward dialogue. Last month, Square Enix released a demo for Forspoken during The Game Awards 2022, which it expected to win fans over with. While some enjoyed the demo, many fans were still left expecting more from a game that had been delayed almost a full year.
This comes off the back of Square Enix revealing Forspoken's recommended PC specifications, which many have equated to a modern day Crysis given how demanding the game's performance is on even the highest end hardware. The PS5 demo that was released last month faced criticism for running below 1080p in the game's performance mode, implying that even the PS5 is not powerful enough to run Forspoken at an expected resolution and frame rate on modern hardware.
Forspoken will release on January 24 for PC and PS5.
Source: ResetEra