Should you care about Forspoken, Square Enix's next big RPG experiment?

forgotten When we first saw the game (formerly known as Project Athia) back in June 2020, players were immediately divided. Some thought it looked great; just like we saw a playable version of the Agni’s Philosophy tech demo from developer Luminous Productions a few years ago. Others thought it looked like a cynical cashing in on a notoriously problematic engine.

The game sparked further controversy when Square Enix announced in March that the game had been delayed considerably. The publisher confirmed earlier this year that the game will launch in October 2022, much later than its original May release date.

“Our vision for this exciting new IP is to deliver a game world and heroes that gamers around the world will want to experience for years to come, so it’s important to us to do it well,” the publisher said at the time.

But will the extra time in the oven save the game? Maybe.

Forspoken does look good – but is it enough?

Let’s take a look at what we know about Forspoken so far: it was written in part by Gary Whitta — you might know him as the scribe behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and it was he who conceived the original concept. Game writing expert and consultant Amy Hennig also lent her skills to games in 2019. So there’s some strong flair in terms of narrative.

Then there’s the music; BAFTA award-winning composers Bear McCreary (God of War 2018), The Walking Dead) and Garry Schyman (Bioshock) wrote the soundtrack. So you know it sounds like fun at least.

The gameplay also looks like what Final Fantasy 15 wants to do – magic-centric, maneuverable, and quick to switch spells while blasting enemies in real-time. Maybe the poor engineers at Square Enix have finally managed to get the Luminous Engine to work as they expected it to be a decade ago, right now. Perhaps this makes for an interesting game rather than the sum of its (undeniably impressive) parts.

Forspoken does look a bit like FFXV’s Duscae, doesn’t it?

Still, it’s hard to get excited. The game tells the story of Frey, a young New Yorker looking for his way home. But the game feels more like finding its own soul. Is this more than just a tech demo? Can it exist outside the (very troublesome) shadow of Final Fantasy 15? I’m a huge fan of the dynamic and acrobatic movement – which Frey’s mystical powers can enhance – but I’m concerned that Athia might look good and lack real depth or identity other than some flashy particle effects and weird talk bracelet.

Forspoken will launch on October 11, 2022 – no doubt it will rival some of the other big games during busy times of the year. Will it have a chance? We’ll have to wait and see.