Forspoken Review: Braving The Break

Ali Hasan February 5, 2023

Forspoken was first revealed during Sony’s June 2020 PS5 showcase, known as Project Athia back then. The game would not release for another three years and would face a long and tremulous development cycle marked by delays, setbacks, and a demo that some would argue did more bad than good.

The good news, however, is that Forspoken is a largely solid game, introducing some incredible ideas that I could see being played around with by other studios and building on some gaming fundamentals that for the most work extremely well. Forspoken is a good game but one that is not without its caveats which can be overbearing at times but ultimately melt away and are eclipsed by its other facets as you embark on Frey’s journey of heroism and discovery.

Athia is a Beautifully Realized and Unique Game World

Forspoken takes place in the world of Athia which opens up to you after a rather lengthy tutorial/opening sequence. You assume the role of Alfre “Frey” Holland a renegade orphan street hustler trying to make ends meet while simultaneously trying to steer clear from the ire of the law. The game throws you into her world and her many problems head-on, opening with Frey in the midst of a court hearing, which by the looks of it isn’t her first rodeo, it is here that things start going south for our protagonist.

After spending some time in a rather bleak and lifeless looking New-York where Frey loses her apartment, her savings, and her adorable cat, Homer, she is thrust into Athia, (through a talking golden cuff) a fairytale-like world rife with monsters, massive and beautiful vistas and people dressed and speaking as if they belong in the Victorian era.

Athia is vast, beautiful, and diverse. There is a real sense of scale and grandiosity with large structures visible in the far distance and elevated areas overlooking unending stretches of land. The map is split into four distinct regions which do share some similarities owing to the game’s traversal system but are unique in their own right. Each region is under the control of one of four Tanta’s the former rulers and protectors of Athia who have since gone rogue and are in the crosshairs of Frey. From the jagged and towering mountains of Junoon to the deep valleys and crevices of Praenost there is plenty of variety on display here. Junoon quickly became my favorite place in the entire game, owing to its almost eerie environment and cooler color pallet.

There is a real sense of history present in the world, it’s not apparent given most of it is told through collectibles littered throughout the map it is worth it to stop and give them a quick read. The crumbling towns, towers, and buildings affected by “The Break” a mysterious blight originating from Tanta’s also do wonderfully to add to the many layers of the open world, it is here that you’ll find most of the clues explaining events leading up to the Break and the effects that it had.

Traversal is Forspoken’s Greatest Strength

Traversing Athia through Frey’s magic parkour ability is something I didn’t expect I’d like as much as I did, there’s never a dull moment journeying across Athia because the system is so well made. It starts out fairly simple with a standard jump and high-speed maneuvers but grows more and more complex over time as you take down the Tanta’s and unlock new abilities. Chaining together different moves as Frey runs across the map coupled with the excellent DualSense features feels absolutely spectacular. Each magic type has a core traversal ability and additional abilities that you can unlock by searching the map. My favorite ability is by far the pull mechanic which lets Frey latch on to rocky formations and then shoot high up, allowing for easy escapes along with a quick scout of the area.

The world is empty but not overbearingly so. You can go long stretches without a point of interest but this is very deliberate. The traversal mechanic is core to the entire Forspoken experience, I’d even say it’s the game’s identity, and having a large varied sandbox is essential to it, even if it is rather barren by today’s standards. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the near future, a game employs a similar traversal mechanic as the one found in Forspoken because it’s just that good and fun.

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Athia is Filled to the Brim With Activities and Collectibles

In saying that, however, the world is rife with activities, collectibles, detours, and puzzles. I think the fact that the world feels so barren and devoid of life yet it’s still brimming with stuff to do is a testament to the game’s incredible open-world design. There are plenty of enemy types littered throughout Athia, shielded knights, poisonous reptilian creatures, and wildlife affected by the Break make up just some of the game’s enemy roster. Cosmetic items including ponchos, nails, and necklaces can be unlocked by completing the many open-world activities.

A particular standout for me was the dungeons, which almost felt like a play on the chalice dungeons from Bloodborne, they’re fairly simple in their setup. You go in and face off against a couple of waves of enemies and then finally take on a boss. You are granted a reward and then brought back to the entrance. There are also time trials, which can be immensely fun, puzzles that can really test your patience, monuments that grant you buffs, and founts that grant you new abilities. There is a lot to do and if you’re a completionist like me you’ll be spending a lot of time in Athia. Even if you aren’t one it’s well worth it just to unlock more traversal abilities and stronger cosmetics.

Forspoken’s Combat is Complex, Fun, and Innovative

Combat is another area where Forspoken stands out. Like the traversal, the combat starts out fairly simple with you having access to Frey’s purple magic but as you defeat the Tanta’s you also unlock their magic which you can use in combat. Each magic type has three main attack spells and about half a dozen support spells. Every magic style is unique its in own way; Tanta Sila’s magic is good for melee combat and delivers fire damage, while Frey’s purple magic is built around projectiles.

With so many spells at your disposal, it can be quite overwhelming juggling different combos and switching between spells but once you do get a hang of it, it becomes increasingly fun, and almost second nature. While most games have you equip a certain number of spells for a given loadout with Forspoken you have up to 100 unique ones right at your fingertips.

The spell combinations truly are unending, so much so that even after finishing the game I was still unlocking new abilities and figuring out new combos. Being able to chain together different spells across different magic types truly is the game at its finest and when I did do it I finally started understanding the intent behind the game’s combat system. My favorite combination so far has been using the binding spell from Frey’s magic and then quickly engulfing all the bound enemies with a firestorm using Tanta Silas’ crucible fire support spell.

The game pushes you to experiment, and in the process carve out your own unique play style, whether that’s a methodical reliance on support spells or a more conventional use of the attack spells, there truly is something for everyone here. The one thing I do wish the combat had was a favorite wheel just to allow for even faster switching between your most commonly used spells but other than that, the combat in Forpsoken is second to none. At least as far as games of this nature and caliber are concerned.

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Frey’s Journey is incredibly Heart Warming…

Frey’s journey is one that surprised me. Behind the façade of playful banter, disbelief in her worth and place in Athia lies what has quickly become one of my favorite protagonists in gaming and I think actress Ella Balinska deserves all the credit here. From playing the scared and helpless yet determined hustler in New York to becoming what is essentially a hero in her own right in Athia.

The progression that Frey sees throughout the course of the game and the accompanying performance was one of the most well-put-together aspects of the game. While her conversations with Cuff can get a little overbearing at times (thankfully you can tone them down) especially when you hear the same exchange for the umpteenth time it does not take away from the gravity of her character development and progression.

It’s a shame, however, that outside of the main cinematic cutscenes, character animations and facial animation work is downright terrible, with some exchanges being almost hilarious in their lack of detail and emotion. At times it felt like something straight out of the early 2010s, for a game that’s leveraging the power of the PS5 to promise a true next-gen experience I expected more. Even panning the camera to Frey while she’s talking to Cuff in the open world, yields a deadpan expression that takes away from the immersion of the game.

…But is Oftentimes Overshadowed by the Game Itself

This is further exacerbated by an overreliance on fading in and out of scenes. During the first few hours and particularly during Frey’s first encounter with the people of Cipal, the time the game fades in and out to transition from scene to scene was jarring and puzzling.

Jarring because it takes away from the presentation of the game and the cohesion that one would expect from a game of this caliber and budget. Puzzling because a game that loads in literally under one second needs time to process and load a scene set within the same area and in the same context.

It feels like the team could have had more polish in this regard because outside of the combat, traversal, and open world everything else feels almost like an afterthought. The game will also sometimes stop you from moving while you converse with Cuff, it becomes almost frustrating at times having to finish out an entire exchange before you are granted access to move Frey again.

Verdict

Forspoken is a solid outing by Luminous Productions featuring an innovative combat system, unique traversal mechanics, and a beautifully put-together world, however, some design choices prevent it from being as good as it could have been. Ella Balinska’s performance in particular is a standout, bringing life and emotion to Frey and her journey, though this can get bogged down by horribly rendered character exchanges and a constant fading in and out of scenes.

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