In a year filled with big releases, Forspoken is a title many gamers are looking forward to. It features Frey, a New Yorker who, as an orphan, has experienced her fair share of hardships. She lives with a furry white cat, and she has learned to use humor and sarcasm as a coping mechanism. However, everything changes when she is yanked out of New York and thrown into the magical world of Athia. Forspoken chronicles Frey's journey as she attempts to find her way back home while trying to survive in Athia, a realm ruled by powerful matriarchs called the Tantas.

Although Forspoken has its own unique identity that fuses fantasy and modern elements, trailers and screenshots have caused some gamers to compare it to Final Fantasy 15. This is not a bad thing, though. Final Fantasy 15 has many positive qualities, and Forspoken has the opportunity to improve in the areas where Final Fantasy 15 went wrong.

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The Connection Between Forspoken and Final Fantasy 15

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It is not unexpected that there are similarities between Forspoken and Final Fantasy 15 since many people who worked on Final Fantasy 15 are part of Forspoken's development team. Luminous Productions was formed in 2018 by developers who were working on Final Fantasy 15, a game that went through a protracted development period. As the name might suggest, the studio exists to develop games using Square Enix's in-house Luminous Engine.

This should not cause gamers to believe that Forspoken will be a carbon copy of Final Fantasy 15, however. There are plenty of new names that have come aboard to lend their creative talents to the game. Notable writers include Amy Hennig of the Uncharted series and Gary Whitta, who was a co-writer on the film After Earth. Big-name composers are also on the team, including Garry Schyman of the BioShock series and Bear McCreary, who produced music for 2018's God of War.

How Forspoken Can Improve on Final Fantasy 15

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Final Fantasy 15 is remembered for its heartwarming representation of friendship between Noctis and his buddies Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto. However, it is also criticized for many reasons, especially its open-world. Although Final Fantasy 15's open world is expansive and beautiful, huge swaths of it are empty, making it feel dead and boring. Furthermore, exploration is not rewarded much, which leaves much of the open-world wasted.

Final Fantasy 15 was released in 2016, and gaming has advanced a lot since then. Plenty of games have improved on open worlds and demonstrated just how detailed and immersive they can get. This is seen in games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, which includes a startling amount of realism, Horizon Forbidden West's sublimely beautiful environments, and Death Stranding's remarkably vast landscapes.

Forspoken has the opportunity to learn from Final Fantasy 15's mistakes regarding open world design while borrowing innovations made by modern open world games. Trailers have revealed that Athia is huge, and Frey will need magic to traverse its vast distances. Luminous Productions should ensure that this world is populated with enough activities to make it feel alive and dynamic. The developers can also make Athia feel alive through the inclusion of realistic weather patterns, foliage, wild animals, and interactive NPCs.

With a team of great writers and developers behind it, Forspoken will likely, much like Final Fantasy 15, be a visual marvel with a memorable story. However, Forspoken is in the position to go right where Final Fantasy 15 went wrong, and deliver an open-world that feels alive and fun to explore. Should Luminous Productions get this right, Forspoken could be one of the best releases of 2022.

Forspoken is scheduled to release on October 11, 2022, on PC and PS5.

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