During June 2020's PS5 reveal event, Square Enix announced Project Athia, a new title from Final Fantasy 15 developer Luminous Productions. This game would later be renamed Forspoken, a brand-new AAA RPG franchise from one of the industry's biggest publishers. While the game has still not yet launched however, it seems that Forspoken has been a problematic title for Square Enix, as the game has been the subject of much ridicule during its marketing cycle for what critics have deemed cringe-worthy dialogue, technical issues, and a string of delays pushing it from early 2021 all the way to early 2023.This is emblematic of a larger issue with Square Enix however, namely the company's continuous fumbles in marketing its titles. Fans will remember last year's Square Enix Presents E3 2021 showcase, in which the studio received major backlash for spending half of the show presenting Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, while also releasing a trailer for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin that has gone down in infamy for its hilarious premise and overuse of the word "Chaos". Thankfully, these titles were well received upon their launch, although the same remains to be seen for Forspoken.
Forspoken's Fumbles So Far
Forspoken's first reveal in 2020 came with a lot of promise. The game is the first original title from Luminous Productions and will be the second ever AAA release to utilize the studio's Luminous Engine that has only previously been seen in Final Fantasy 15. Given the project's status as a PS5 timed console exclusive, this is an exciting opportunity as Forspoken will see the studio flex its muscles on an entire new generation of hardware, unrestricted by the last generation's aging technology.
The game also features publisher Square Enix's first foray into western-style storytelling, at least from one of its Japanese teams, seeing as how the story is written by writers Todd Stashwick, K. Michel Parandi, and Allison Rymer, led by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-writer Gary Whitta, with input from Uncharted and Legacy of Kain writer Amy Hennig. The game's soundtrack is also being composed by The Walking Dead and God of War composer Bear McCreary and BioShock Infinite composer Gary Schyman. Finally, the game's lead actress is Ella Balinska, who recently starred in Charlie's Angels and Netflix's Resident Evil TV series.
With all of this potential at its disposal, it's a wonder why Forspoken continues to be the subject of debate with every new trailer Square Enix releases for the game. After over two years since its reveal, the game should be a known quantity, with fans prepared to dive into it when it (hopefully) releases in January 2023. The issue that has quickly become apparent, however, is that Square Enix keeps getting in its own way when marketing certain AAA releases, and it's marketing for Forspoken has been some of its worst yet.
Earlier this month, Square Enix released a teaser for Forspoken on the game's official Twitter account that plucks some of the game's dialogue without context that features protagonist Frey quipping about her situation, having been transported from modern day New York to a fantasy world. Many compared this to the much considered outdated dialogue writing of Joss Whedon, the writer and director of films such as The Avengers and the theatrical cut of Justice League. While this style of writing can still be found in many works today, its implementation in Forspoken, especially through Forspoken's awkwardly constructed Twitter video, is painfully unoriginal and exaggerated.
How Square Enix Failed Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger of Paradise
This brings to mind Square Enix's recent handling of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, two games that ultimately went on to receive positive attention upon release despite being heavily mocked and criticized before release. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was criticized heavily upon its reveal for its humor, with many of the jokes being poorly implemented into the game's trailers, followed by a long gameplay presentation that failed to provide context for the events leading up to it, making the whole presentation waste showcasing the game's potential.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy also had the unfortunate position of following Marvel's Avengers, a game that is still to this day seeped in controversy for its live-service game design, monetization practices, and repetitive content. Guardians of the Galaxy's reveal less than a year later left it in a rough situation, and Square Enix was clearly not prepared to give the game the attention it deserved, giving it a four-month marketing window between release and reveal. Ultimately, there were low expectations for Guardians of the Galaxy approaching its release, until reviews released claiming that the game was actually a surprise win for developer Eidos Montreal, coming in at a solid 80 on Metacritic. Unfortunately, it was too late for the game's sales, as Square Enix later revealed that it was disappointed with Guardians of the Galaxy's sales before selling off developer Eidos Montreal to Embracer Group earlier this year.
Stranger of Paradise shares a similar story. Developed in partnership with Koei Tecmo, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin wasn't met with outright hate at its reveal rather than it was mocked for the poor editing of its trailer that highlighted some of the more campy elements of the game's storytelling. The game later received a PS5 exclusive demo that many fans praised for its gameplay, but criticized for its underwhelming visuals and bizarre narrative, which was a retelling of Final Fantasy 1's story with characters that feel plucked out of a modern day setting.
This ridicule of Stranger of Paradise kept up similar to Guardians of the Galaxy until it too released to positive reception, scoring a decent 72 on Metacritic. While most of the criticisms remained the same, many fans and reviewers found Stranger of Paradise's unintentionally humorous style of storytelling somewhat endearing, and the game has already earned itself somewhat of a cult following despite only releasing five months ago.
There's Still Hope For Forspoken
What this means for Forspoken is that, even though the game's marketing seems to be the subject of much criticism and debate, there is potential for the game to get a positive reception when it releases. Fans have already begun to praise the gameplay trailer released during Gamescom 2022, which finally took the time to highlight Forspoken's different combat and open-world elements, which seem to be the standout features of the game. Forspoken's combat already appears to be fun, mechanically diverse, and unique compared to anything Square Enix has done before, and its traversal continues to look breathtaking.
Hopefully this means that the game is just yet another victim of Square Enix's increasingly problematic marketing. Like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, it may yet find an audience and turn out to be great.
Forspoken will release on January 24th 2023 for PC and PS5.