Forspoken is the upcoming debut title from Square Enix's Luminous Productions studio, a team comprised of some developers that initially worked on Final Fantasy 15. The third-person action RPG is a brand-new IP for Square Enix and introduces a new world called Athia and a character named Frey Holland, a young New Yorker that ends mysteriously transported to this magical land. By using an array of mystical, magical powers, Frey will work her way to escape the cruel, monster-filled world and get back to New York City.
During The Game Awards 2021, Square Enix did show off a new trailer for Forspoken, revealing the final release date and more gameplay, but Game Rant was able to attend a video presentation for Forspoken to see even more of the game's magical powers, learn more about Frey as a character, the game's narrative, and even info on how Frey's nails will play a part in the combat system.
Who is Frey Holland in Forspoken
Frey Holland is the main character of Forspoken that gets thrust into the world of Athia. According to the writing team in the Forspoken presentation, Frey is an orphan living in New York City. She's an angry 21-year-old that has hit rock bottom at home, with nobody to go to. She's only had herself for a very long time and grows tired of New York, wanting to start a new life and go somewhere else. Still, even with everything going on in her life, she's a fighter and a very funny person, but she uses that sense of humor as a defense mechanism. She was created to be a very relatable character, and players will be able to hopefully see themselves in Frey while exploring Athia.
In the gameplay shown to the press, Frey and her partner Cuff, which she wears on her wrist , often partake in witty banter while exploring the world and engaging in combat. From what we've seen so far, the banter seemed to be a bit too much, happening very often. Frey can especially be really chatty, and it appears that the Forspoken team is aware of this, as they told the press that they are "still in the process of adjusting the frequency, content, and volume of their banter, but we’re excited for players to learn more about both Frey and Cuff through their interactions."
Frey also tends to curse a lot in Forspoken. According to writers Allison Rymer and Todd Stashwick, they wanted to ensure that players see Frey as a "complex, imperfect, and raw character." The banter will also shed light on the world and story of Forspoken, offering players a glimpse into Frey's thoughts and ideas. Since she's just an ordinary person thrown into this unknown world, she has a lot going on, so her thoughts will go into that and what she's going through and experiencing herself. Hopefully, the banter in Forspoken will be eased down a little once it launches, but still gives players insight into all sorts of things.
Forspoken's Exploration
Forspoken's mystical world of Athia is vast, and Frey can use her magical abilities to travel far distances very quickly. Game Rant asked the development team exactly how big the world of Athia is, but they did not provide a clear answer or comparison. However, the team did say that Forspoken players should be able to explore the environments freely and that the size of the world "should satisfy players." The traversal is still one of Forspoken's most exciting features, as the game's world looks exceptionally beautiful and detailed, and watching Frey move expertly past all kinds of terrains looks very enjoyable and satisfying.
It seems like the major hub town that players will visit is called Cipal, and it's the "last bastion of humanity in Athia." Although Cipal is a city with NPCs and things to do, the developers mentioned that players would come across other towns, but they won't be full of people. Instead, these towns and villages will be in ruins, and players can explore them to gather more information about the land's former inhabitants.
It's also worth mentioning that Forspoken's main narrative is set in stone, and it cannot be changed by a player's decision. This means that there probably won't be any secret ending or alternate endings to get. However, there are side stories to find, as well as hidden secrets to uncover.
Forspoken's Combat
Since Forspoken is an action RPG, Frey will level up as she defeats enemies across the world of Athia. She has a ton of different magical spells up her sleeve, and there were way too many shown to go over them all. However, whenever Frey unleashes any of her abilities, the particle effects look astounding and the spells themselves look gorgeous and stylish in action.
Frey not only has access to moves that are powerful, but there are others that require more strategy to pull off, like a spell called Prime that has Frey place a magical trap at a specific spot, and when an enemy steps on it, it deals explosive area damage. There's also a move called Bind that tangles enemies up in weeds, a move called Implant that shoots seeds at enemies, and one called Disperse that causes flowers to spring up at a certain spot, and then the flowers grab nearby rocks and hurl them at foes. These are just a small taste of what players can expect when Forspoken launches in 2022.
Break Storm
The force of enemies known as the Break in Forspoken will be the main antagonists that players face off against. However, there will be random moments throughout the course of the game where players will need to fight against extremely difficult packs of enemies. This occurrence is known as a Break Storm and will throw a bunch of tough opponents at Frey, and she must defeat them if players want to earn extra XP. Players can run away from these battles if they so choose to do so, but it still gives players a nice change of pace from the normal gameplay loop.
Originally, Break Storms were part of Forspoken's main narrative, so it was created to be a required action event, but throughout development, it the feature evolved to be something random that would throw players off occasionally.
Forspoken is shaping up to be one of the most visually impressive video games of 2022. If the game's narrative knocks it out of the park, and the magical spell-focused combat is engaging and rewarding, and the traversal is enjoyable, Forspoken has the potential to be a hit, especially since Gary Whitta and Amy Hennig are involved in the game's world and story concept.
Whitta has previously worked on Star Wars: Rogue One and The Book of Eli, while Hennig has had her hands in most of Naughty Dog's Uncharted series and is currently working on a "blockbuster" Marvel game. With the two of them behind Forspoken's world, as well as lead writers Allison Rymer and Todd Stashwick, there's a lot to look forward to here.
Tech Specs for Forspoken
Luminous Productions has confirmed that there will be three different graphical settings for players to choose from depending on they want to experience Forspoken. The team is currently targeting a 2K 60 frames-per-second mode, a 4K 30 FPS mode, and a ray-tracing mode.
Forspoken launches on PC and PS5 on May 24, 2021.