PREVIEW- Forspoken is one of two massive PS5-exclusive RPGs developed by Square Enix. Forspoken is the first title from Luminous Productions, taking us into a world that combines fantasy and modernity.

 

 

The team behind the project includes veteran developers who previously worked on Final Fantasy 15 and writers who have worked in games, TV and film. The game, due out later this year, will see Frey transported from New York to a fantasy world where he wields magical powers, including a very cool-looking parkour ability.

First revealed back in 2020, we got another, more in-depth look at the adventure’s combat last year. Read on below to find out everything we know about Forspoken so far.

 

 

What is Forspoken?

 

Forspoken is about a young girl in New York, Frey, who is about to turn 21. Frey is suddenly thrust into the world of Athia, “where fantasies and nightmares are suddenly very real”, as we read in Sony’s blog post at the time.

Frey learns new magical abilities to defeat the fearsome monsters in Athia, but to return home; she must fight the Tantas, all-powerful matriarchs who hold Athia captive.

Forspoken is staffed by talented game, TV and film writers, including Gary Whitta, Uncharted and Last of Us development legend Amy Hennig, Todd Stashwick and Alison Rhymer.

We got a sneak peek into Forspoken during the PlayStation 2021 launch in September, and there’s plenty to look forward to. We find out more about Frey Holland (and his adorable cat) and how Frey came to be in Athia (via a portal). We see that his powers come from a golden handcuff that can talk to him and that these handcuffs offer him incredible magical moves that allow him to take down bad guys with ease.

We also know that Frey will eventually come face to face with a big baddie named Tanta Sila, played by Janina Gavankar in Star Wars Battlefront 2.

 

 

Forspoken release date

 

The release date for Forspoken is 24 January 2023, as it has been postponed from today (the reason for this trailer). In March, the date was already delayed by five months from 24 May 2022. At the time, the development team posted a message on Twitter saying the delay was to ensure they could realise their “vision” for the game.

“Our vision for this exciting new IP is to create a game world and hero that players worldwide will want to experience for years to come, so it’s essential to us that it’s done well. To that end, we’ll be focusing all our efforts on polishing the game over the coming months, and we can’t wait for you to experience Frey’s journey this autumn.”

The new postponement message said the latest delay was “the result of ongoing discussions with key partners”.

” As a result of ongoing discussions with key partners, we have made the strategic decision to move the launch date of Forspoken to 24 January 2023. All game elements are now complete, and development is in its final polishing phase.

We would like to thank you for your continued support and patience on this journey. Your excitement for the game inspires us every day, and we cannot wait to share more about Forspoken with you later this summer!”

An update on #Forspoken. pic.twitter.com/sRLvXX2kjS

— Forspoken (@Forspoken) July 6, 2022

Sony has been granted exclusivity on the console front, so that it won’t be coming to Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. Sony’s video highlighting Forspoken among the other upcoming PS5 titles includes this in the fine print: “In development for PS5. Also available on PC. Not available on other consoles for at least 24 months from release”.

 

 

Forspoken gameplay details

 

What we have seen of Forspoken so far suggests that Frey will be a particularly sporty hero. The protagonist possesses a skill known as magical parkour, which allows him to run fast, jump long distances, and use the environment to swing over precipices and climb vertical ascents.

The latest glimpse of the upcoming adventure offered insight into how magic is at the heart of everything in Forspoken, from frantic magic combat to exploration. Frey is equipped with a variety of magical spells and combat styles that you can use and adapt to suit your play style. From ranged powers to melee spells, you can experiment with all sorts of magical attacks.

You can develop Frey’s various abilities with RPG elements such as crafting and upgrades. You can also equip equipment such as necklaces and capes to improve your stats. To combine realism and fantasy, Frey can use shards to paint patterns on his nails to make his magic stronger.

 

 

Details of the Forspoken story

 

“As the first video game I’ve worked on, it’s remarkable to see the incredible world and story of Forspoken come together, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy,” said Balinska of what she’s seen so far from Forspoken.

“Frey as a character is real, raw. She’s a girl who has lost her way – figuratively and literally – and a character I connected with immediately, as I feel many worldwide will when they embark on this adventure.”

Frey is thrust into the magical and dangerous world of Athia, where she must learn to harness her newfound magical powers to defeat the monsters and Aantes who rule the land. His magical powers come from his “cuff”, a magic bracelet that can speak to him (and is voiced by Jonathan Cake). Frey must use the Cuff to defeat the Tantas to have a chance of returning to New York – and his cat.

The story team is led by Gary Whitta, who has also written for Prey, among other games. Forspoken’s writing team comes from “the worlds of film, TV, games and fantasy literature”, he wrote on Twitter.

 

 

Super-fast load times on PlayStation 5

 

According to Luminous Productions’ technical director Teppei Ono, Forspoken’s load times are reportedly very fast on PS5. So fast, in fact, that it’s said to load in less than a second on Sony’s latest hardware. Too bad we’ll have to wait millions of seconds for the game to launch…

-BadSector-