Magic is at the core ofForspoken.
There’s a surprising dollop of comedy too among the occult grandeur.
I suspect that Forspoken will be at its best when it’s most freeing.
The freedom to explore the wide open plains and crumbling ruins of Athia and complete its myriad side activities.
The freedom to fully customise Frey’s abilities.
The freedom to flip between its extensive collection of spells to deal elemental damage and exploit weaknesses.
(Having played thenewly released demoat the weekend, I can confirm this is the case.
Luminous Productions has promised that Frey will eventually have access to one hundred spells.
These are split between offensive (right trigger) and support (left trigger).
Flow, however, is the game’s key mechanic.
It’s all handled with one button that sees Frey performing all manner of acrobatics.
“We started with normal parkour and thought what would happen if we added magic into that?
What if we really poured magic into that?
Between magical burst shots and high speed parkour, the result feels like a merge of Control and Sonic.
Aiming and shooting Frey’s early spells is akin to magical pistols, machine guns, and shotguns.
Locked on to enemies and using parkour to dodge their attacks, the camera sometimes swings dizzyingly.
Frey is freed in wide open spaces where she bounds and gallops.
Athia is an enticing world to explore, without an overabundance of map markers.
Combat challenges provide an opportunity to permanently increase stats.
Pools of mana act like platformer collectibles to steer you across the land.
Locked labyrinths transport Frey underground to crypts crawling with enemies and bosses.
Monuments unlock enhancements, while Founts of Blessing unlock new spells.
A later area had scorched earth, glowing ruby crystals, and an ominous scarlet sky.
Safe houses act as waypoints to rest up and customise Frey’s loadout.
Potions can be crafted and extra buffs can be applied to her outfits.
Again, typical open world stuff.
Best of all is the ability to paint her nails with protective enchantments.
Who are the Tantas?
They are the corrupt matriarchs who act as Frey’s main antagonists.
I won’t spoil any story details here but… they’re quite unkind.
It’s refreshing at least, though, to have a cast of characters who are predominantly women.
What if we changed things up a little bit?
I know there are matriarchal societies in the world.
But in games, we don’t see that too often.
So let’s make a matriarchal society world that’s ruled by these powerful sorceresses.
We wanted a female character to really lead the story.
Recently, a certain video tweeted out drew criticism at the game’s poorly written and overly frequent dialogue.
There have also been concerns about side character Cuff and the amount of chatter between him and Frey.
In this preview, though, it wasn’t a problem.
“Frey at least is a character that is not from that world.
So she is going to react to things more than people who actually live in Athia.
So that was a key defining feature for Frey to begin with.
Cuff actually adds some welcome comedy.
“The situation is very grim.
So it’s very bleak in that sense.
And then there’s also Cuff who has that dry natural sarcasm as well.
But there is a bigger thing going on in the world.
So it’s a fine balance.”
Really the concern shouldn’t be for Cuff, but for Frey herself.
The development team previously raised eyebrows when Frey was described as having a “hip-hoppy kind of walk”.
In that sense, we’ve created this realistic character that everyone can relate to.”
In practice, though, there are some awkward decisions.
Her criminal record is also included as a readable document in the game’s journal.
Her dialogue, too, lacks authenticity.
She refers to her trainers as her kicks; she constantly swears; and she’s quick to anger.
The poncy British accent of Cuff is a clear foil.
Really, the lack of authenticity feels symptomatic of the game’s development.
This proved to be one of the biggest challenges.
So everything was kind of backwards in that sense.
“We did casting for English actors first, we did [performance capture] overseas.
So it was a little bit unfortunate.
As a result, Forspoken feels like a collision of east and west.
And it takes a certain kind of magic to make that work.
Forspoken will release on PlayStation 5 and PC on 24th January 2023.
