When Frey Holland is transported to the mysterious land of Athia, one thing quickly becomes clear: it’s not just her new home. It is his playground.
The heroine of Forspoken is capable of incredible magic-enhanced parkour, which allows her to leap, flip, slide, and leap across the world with astonishing fluidity. You can see how it all works up close in our new in-depth parkour walkthrough:
So what exactly was Frey doing in this video? Read on and we’ll tell you a bit more about the parkour skills at her disposal – and how she can use them.
To flow
It’s one of Frey’s main powers – and the beating heart of parkour in Forspoken.
It is activated by holding down the circle button – in this state Frey will rush through the world with breathtaking speed and incredible grace. She will automatically jump over small rocks and ledges, jump small walls, and do whatever she can to keep moving in the direction you tell her to.
Of course, there are limits. Using Flow alone won’t allow Frey to climb a cliff or climb a tall building – additionally, it requires stamina. To really move in style, you need to combine Flow with Frey’s other moves and learn how to chain them together.
Think of it as the foundations of a system that puts you in control of traversal, rather than the game doing everything for you. The better you play, the better you move – and the cooler Frey looks.
Rush
The Rush ability allows you to Flow even faster by working by pressing buttons at the right time.
When using Flow, you will occasionally see flames briefly emanating from Frey. Press the circle button upon seeing this visual prompt, and it will explode keeping its fastest pace. Even better, it also lets you maintain top speeds while restoring some stamina.
It’s a great example of how Forspoken’s parkour system is simple to learn but has a real sense of mastery. Someone new to the game may do well with basic Flow, but experienced players working in Rush can go further and faster, for much longer.
Shimmy
Want to boost your speed? It’s time to Shimmy.
This move allows Frey to lift off the ground to accelerate. Press X at the right time and Frey will take a small leap forward. If you press X again when she lands, you can keep moving forward at incredible speeds.
It’s also great because it’s another move that conserves stamina. Many skills tap into this resource, and when it runs out, so does Frey’s current run. Sometimes taking a well-timed break is helpful as her stamina will quickly recharge when Frey isn’t using an ability.
This is why skills like Shimmy and Rush are so useful. Because they don’t consume stamina, they allow you to extend a run far beyond what you could normally do. The better you play, the longer you can maintain your rhythm…and the more awesome you feel!
Ladder
Flow can take you up a wall, but to go higher you have to learn to evolve.
This ability allows Frey to create phantom footholds to launch himself into the air. You can use it to give yourself the boost you need to reach the top of a structure or launch yourself to continue moving seamlessly through the world.
Having that extra jump available is great, but do you know what would be really great? Have an extra extra jump. Speaking of what…
To go up
Soar lets you climb even higher by performing multiple jumps in quick succession.
As the name suggests, Soar allows Frey to reach incredible heights that are unreachable with a normal jump – this extra height is a real game-changer, allowing you to reach areas that would otherwise be unreachable and opening up even more possibilities. opportunities for flamboyant parkour.
Alright, so this might not be the flashiest skill in Frey’s repertoire, but it’s one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without!
zipper
Zip well – now that’s flashy!
By pressing the square button, you can make Frey cast a magic tether, which pulls her to anything she connects with. It’s useful for letting you move forward in situations where you’d otherwise fall short of a ledge, or around landscapes that might otherwise slow your forward momentum.
Alternatively, you can hold the square stance to slow down the action and target areas you specifically want to head towards. While Zip can cling to any wall, it really comes into its own when targeting certain items found around the world. These allow Frey to swing forward at incredible speeds or launch himself high into the air!
Float
You’ve run, climbed, soared and zipped, but you need to get down fast – what do you do? Use Float of course!
This infinitely useful ability allows Frey to manipulate gravity itself to soften any fall. Just hold the X button in the air and you can gently drift downward at a controlled speed.
Of course, the applications go far beyond simple survival – it’s also fantastic in general traversal situations. Float lets you effortlessly fill large gaps – want to get across a ravine or jump from building to building? In many cases, you can just swipe to where you want to be.
Just be careful – you’ll always descend slowly, so when going long distances it’s best combined with other parkour abilities like Zip.
Slide
Water slows you down, blocks your path, and often contains multi-toothed monstrosities eager to use you as a chew toy. In other words, it is the enemy of parkour.
Unless you have the Glide ability, of course.
You’ve probably seen this one in the trailers. It allows Frey to roam the surface of the water. If Frey has learned the ability, it automatically activates when you use Flow in splashy stuff – just hold Circle to start surfing.
The speed and style at which you can travel makes every lake, river and sea an opportunity to showboat in style. it’s especially useful when fighting some of those aforementioned damp monsters – with this ability, you can spin rings around them. Or, more accurately, Glide rings around them.
Forspoken is one of those games where the act of movement itself is extremely fun. Traversing isn’t just about getting from A to B, it’s about getting there with skill and style.
It’s up to you to figure out how to combine these different magical abilities to get that feeling of “flowing” through the world, and when you do, it’s hugely satisfying and endlessly enjoyable.
You can find out for yourself when Forspoken launches on January 24, 2023 on PS5. Learn more about the PS Store.
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