Forspoken doesn’t make a great first impression. The restrictive opening chapters, poor pacing, and PS5 demo didn’t help it, and things didn’t move until near the end of the event. I might have stopped early on a random game – but I’m glad I saw it. Once things changed, I couldn’t say no, and since Forspoken isn’t a long action RPG, it’s worth sticking with at least at first – the kind of game that doesn’t always find the smoothest gameplay journey, but the buildup will eventually get payback.
Forspoken plays Frey Holland, starting with a frustrating opening chapter that makes her rough upbringing evident. Soon, she’s teleported to a fantasy realm called Athia, unable to return home, and carrying a playful bracelet, Cuff. Forspoken doesn’t open a few chapters, but once it does, you’ll face the four Tantas, a powerful group of matriarchs who rule every region of Athia. Once benevolent sorceresses, each of them succumbed to madness and terrorized the land, let us hunt them down.
After completing a fairly simple secret mission, Frey is soon free to explore Cipal, the medieval city center that serves as your hub and humanity’s last hope. It’s a safe haven from a pervasive corruption long known as Sabotage, which affects everything it touches except Frey. With wild animals and depraved humans ready to kill, each region faces its own challenges, and Frey doesn’t need conventional weapons.
With magical spells, Frey’s locomotion sticks mostly to ranged attacks, complemented by secondary magic, such as binding enemies with weed to slow them down. Defeating Tanta grants new ability combos that you can quickly switch between mid-battle, and spells that can be upgraded through their respective skill trees. Slamming these corrupted enemies with Tanta Sila’s melee abilities is a particularly satisfying highlight. In some ways, combat feels like a natural extension of Luminous’ previous game, Final Fantasy XV, but this isn’t just another road trip for the boys. Frey travels alone, changing spells instead of weapons, but the basic combat is still very familiar.Rushing at enemies in Athia’s open world, doing real-time combos is still fashionable, and that feeling only gets stronger with new abilities
That’s where the controls are a bit of a letdown, though. I’ve always instinctively wasted assist magic by pressing the left trigger, thinking it would help aim my shots. Instead, you automatically fire at enemies you lock onto with R3, which I eventually remembered, but it wasn’t intuitive. Giving me menus to select spells in combat feels clunky, though you can activate automatic spell switching to replace spells that are currently on cooldown.
It’s the dialogue that will undoubtedly divide, but it’s not the verbal disaster that some think it is. Frey is new to the world, and she suddenly uses a spell to wipe out monsters; who wouldn’t be excited, scared, or both? A seemingly exaggerated response is often justified, even if it comes close to Whedonspeak. That said, Cuff’s playful fight dialogue can quickly become annoying, trying to add a sense of lightheartedness in a way that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Marvel movie. Like all comedies, this is subjective, but I’m not a fan. Thankfully, you can minimize his voice line in the settings, and once I did, I haven’t looked back.
Despite these issues, there were moments where I enjoyed the duo’s banter, and Cuff isn’t the worst partner when it comes to exploring Athia. From the lush forests of Junoon to the great plains of Visoria, this open world is full of ruined beauty and much to do. Frey can take refuge in different shelters and craft items, photograph specific landscapes, and even befriend Tantas’ familiars (magic cats). The maze offers a short dungeon filled with mini-bosses, while events like flashbacks and eliminations add different twists to the battle sequences, like killing all enemies within a set time. Accessibility options such as custom button mappings, adjustable text size, and color vision deficiency settings further enhance this experience.
Exploration feels dynamic thanks to Frey’s “magic parkour,” which used to zip through environments and dodge attacks. Traveling through Athia feels good, but there’s a more important problem. You’ve got all these events in an open world, and it rarely makes more sense than map-filling. The mazes often hide interesting lore, but other than that, I just don’t care and focus on the main quest. Even so, it’s hard for me to shake off the initial impression.
Frey, at least, is a great character, even if she’s not always the most likable. You’ll find moments when she seems self-absorbed, inconsiderate, unwilling to see the big picture, but I never hated her. Frey is a lonely person, which is the result of her bad upbringing. She spent a long time feeling unloved and abandoned. The pressure comes when her entire life is turned upside down and she’s called upon to save a world she’s never understood.
All in all, it means that Frey is complex, flawed, and—even if you don’t like her dialogue—she comes across as human. I love watching her character develop as she finally learns to let other people in, break down those inner walls and live out her self-worth. But it’s not perfect, and the writing leaves something to be desired. Giving her a criminal background in theft and gang dealing is a very questionable choice for Night Light and feels lazy. Even so, that didn’t stop her from being one of the more authentic protagonists I’ve seen lately, ending with an emotional end.
Unfortunately, the story took time to get to that conclusion, and I only felt invested towards the end of this campaign. The upside is that it’s not that bad considering the main story is relatively short. You can defeat Forspoken in about 12 hours, provided you ignore its side quests and post-game content. It’s a far cry from the 30-40 hours promised, though it never feels overly lengthy. In some ways, it’s your typical save the world premise, but Forspoken likewise builds a very personal story about Frey’s life, one that ultimately resonates. I’m also interested in worldbuilding, and Athia’s history before Break is well documented. You’ll find diary entries detailing the fate of each area’s inhabitants, a war long past, and more. While it’s easy to miss these, there’s plenty to take in.
You won’t find an exploration of black culture that rivals Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Instead, Forspoken goes out of its way to emphasize classism, especially in the early side quests. Frey takes a tour of Cipal with an enthusiastic young blacksmith, and things go well until you reach the more affluent Upper Town. It’s clear that neither of you are popular with the residents. “What business do people like this have this side of town?” one whispered, while other residents rightfully complained that the food in Uptown was better than theirs. Class divides are exposed throughout, highlighting these tensions nicely.
Clearly there are bright spots here – I had my doubts about Forspoken and I came away pleasantly surprised. Despite misgivings about Frey’s backstory and divisive dialogue, Luminous has created one of the more engaging heroes I’ve seen in a while, even if she shuns the title. The story takes time to get going, and while the writing doesn’t always land, there’s a lot to enjoy even if the myriad ups and downs make Forspoken hard to universally recommend.Still, elements here are worth a look for their strong character development, detailed world-building, and stylish combat
