When you come across a chosen one arc, you feel dreadful about the outcome, because either it will sweep you off of the ground or will ram you deep underground. The latter was my experience with this game. I walked in with an open mind for this game, ready to be hit by the blizzard of a story. It truly was a blizzard. One that left me cold and numb.
Forespoken falls under the category of games where you enjoy the combat, understand the story only to find how predictable it is, and then run around doing mundane detours that add up to no good. The game does provide an insightful experience, but only if you were awake to pay attention to the story narration.
To keep it brief, the story starts with Frey Holland, a New Yorker delinquent who’s been charged for an ‘unethical’ activity but is given leeway by the judge because she sees potential in her, sigh. Yes, there are goons running behind her and in the process she comes across a mystical object which is shining bright in a dark building and when she holds it close and puts on the bracelet, it turns out to be a port key to an unimaginable setting. She is taken aback by the ruins around and how destroyed the place looks. So commences her journey. The setting is dystopian with places like Athia and Cipal which are located in rocky mountains with breather grass terrains. As for the story arc, Frey is the chosen one, clearly. She fights the deformed and cryptic monsters all around to establish that she is “different”. Moving forward, she is to fight the Tantas, the lords and governors of Athia to conquer the bad guys and unfurl the flag of peace or something like that.
As someone who plays RPG games, as frequently as she can, the primary element of the game is the story of the character and how imperative is their impact in the storyline. With Forspoken, it is hard to keep up with the story, because there isn’t any. It is not that I am being harsh on the creators. But, when you start naming the occult magical elements and the arrival of enemies as “corruption” you should know you have not taken enough effort into the story. I understand you want to speak on the underlying branches of imperialism but you cannot be that naive with your writing.
Moreover, when the gamer starts feeling that their experience is stagnant and they have not been exploring the game as much as they want to, it is assertive that the story has not kept them captivated enough. The introduction of Cuff, the bracelet, as a narrator and a guide around the game seemed helpful, not necessarily unique. However, the lack of ease in the communication between Frey and Cuff was just off-putting and repetitive rather than quirky and witty. In addition, the writing seemed so bland that introducing a character in the story seemed forceful and unnatural. Apart from that, the main story arc did not add any excitement when exploring a new world and concepts. Especially, the introduction of realms and places. The lack of relevance of characters and story arc led to a sense of disconnection.
For me, gameplay is about how gradual the learning curve is for combat and how seamless you can make the exploration for the gamer. Forspoken stands on an above-average rating for this. When it comes to combat, the game explores element skills and incorporates the essence of earthy battles with magical powers. Essentially, you explore the earth-based weapon which is stimulated by Cuff, our tour guide, wherein you can switch between fire modes upon holding L1 and R1 and firing the shots with L2 and R2. The learning curve is gradual, you might find yourself juggling between the multiple modes that are offered, however, once you are acquainted with the elements and how they work together in the combat, you will be swaying around Athia killing meaningless monsters for XP.
The monsters might seem fascinating, I am kind of stretching with that adjective, but yeah, you will soon find them repetitive and identify how uncreative and ordinary they are. It just burns down to how imitative and unimaginable the creators have been for the game. It depicts a serious case of “had to do something, so did it”.
Furthermore, let’s get into the exploration bit of the game. Moving around the world is quite enjoyable, I have to agree. The abilities that have been given to Cuff really enhance the experience for a gamer to move around the world and collect objects… and move around. Yeah see how I am literally out of words when it comes to this game. But jumping off of the rocks is fun, quite therapeutic even.
The developers have taken the phrase rocky and uncertain in great consideration when building Forspoken, for the same can be seen in the visuals and the storyline of the game. Forspoken starts with a rock-strewn terrain with escarpments all around in the map and eventually can be seen exploring multiple magical and earthy combinations in the architecture of the buildings and in the monsters.
Exploration around the world can be really intriguing at first. However, as you move forward the repetition of elements and lack of uniqueness in the thought behind the fragments of the world-building results in the elimination of inquisitiveness for the gamer. In addition, the visual storytelling with characters and their interactions seems non-aligned and bland leading to a poor gaming experience in my opinion. When building upon the fact that the place is magical it is imperative that you make the visual interaction with that density. Here, the game promised a ride into the unknown; however, the visuals were nothing but generic landscapes explored to death by multiple developers… years ago.
However, the animations and visual effects created for combat, especially for fights with Tantas, are pleasing to the eyes and seem majestic because of the subtle and rusty use of colours in creating motion graphics. The game tried to invoke a sense of tension when building up to a fight with music and visuals but was not necessarily successful in achieving the reaction.
All in all, Forspoken as an RPG game, given the subjectivity of the experience, can be given a chance only if you have enough time and patience for an ordinary experience with above-average combat and a predictable storyline. Or if you are into American cuisine.
Developer: Luminous Productions, Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows
Played On: PlayStation 5
Price: ₹4,698/-