recently appeared during The Game Awards 2021, but Screen Rant had a chance to see some in-development gameplay footage ahead of the event, in order to see the beautiful world of Athia in action.
The story of Forspoken starts off in New York City. The protagonist is a woman named Frey, who is transported to the fantasy world of Athia, where she is bound to a magical bracelet, which she names "Cuff." Frey is not a resident of Athia, but she is able to use magic, and can develop her newfound sorcery skills throughout her journey. The fact that Frey is an outsider gives her a vital ability, as she is immune to a destructive force that has almost wiped out the population of Athia. One day, a magical mist, known as the Break, appeared in Athia and transformed all it touched, turning man and beast into monsters, and corrupting the minds of the Tantas, the realm's sorceresses. There is only a single city left in Athia, where the remnants of humanity await their eventual destruction.
All is not lost, however, as Frey is immune to the effects of the Break. This means she can explore the world and discover the cause of the calamity that is corrupting all forms of life. Frey must journey across Athia, with Cuff as her advisor, and pit her newfound magical abilities against the monsters that stalk the land. Forspoken is set to launch next summer, and Screen Rant was given an early viewing of the game, showing its different systems in action.
The Last City & Magical Nails
Frey has access to the final human city, which acts as a hub area of sorts. It's here she can rest between adventures and craft new items. Forspoken eschews traditional RPG weapons, as her weapons are represented by the painted pattern on her nails. Frey technically isn't the first Square Enix character to use magically-enhanced nails as a weapon, as Debora from Dragon Quest V sliced enemies open with hers, but Frey's nails are used to enhance her magical powers. Frey can equip different cloaks and bracelets, which have their own enchantments and unique appearance. Forspoken also uses a leveling & skill point system, with the player able to unlock new powers and strengthen existing spells by selecting nodes on a grid.
Not much was shown of the last human city in the Forspoken preview. Its architecture resembles a mixture of ancient Egypt and Rome, with its downtrodden residents wearing gear that is similarly inspired by different real-world cultures. The city will likely be central to the story, but it's not the real star of the show. Once Frey leaves the stone walls behind and ventures out into the world, Forspoken's visuals really begin to impress.
Exploring Athia
Forspoken is an open world game with a focus on using magical parkour to traverse the environment. Frey can use her magic to zip through the air, run up walls, and leap across the land in huge bounds. She cannot do this indefinitely, as there is some kind of stamina element that depletes whenever she performs an aerial stunt, but this meter is far more forgiving than the one from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and she is able to cover huge amounts of ground without burning through charges.
The landscape of Athia is beautiful to behold, with fields and cliffs stretching out as far as the eye can see. The ruins of the former civilization can also be seen spread across the realm, with empty towns and castles offering glimpses at what Athia would have looked like at its height. The fact that Frey can traverse the world so quickly means that these distant locales feel as if they're within arm's reach. Forspoken isn't a cross-gen title, which means that it's not shackled to the PS4, and its scope and visuals are making the most of the PS5's hardware.
The gameplay demo showed Frey seeking out a treasure chest on the map and running afoul of a group of zombie-like monsters. It's here that the combat system in Forspoken was shown, with Frey raining down magical spells on her foes. The player selects spells from a ring menu which slows down time when brought up, similar to the ATB menu in Final Fantasy VII Remake. This brings up a triangle-shaped menu, with the order of two of the spells being cast changing the effect of the third. The player can quickly switch between spells on the fly, in order to change their approach with the press of a button.
The combat spells in Forspoken include massive explosions, planting magical mines that explode when an enemy walks into them, throwing fiery spears of energy, firing rapid bursts of green energy, and conjuring a storm of ice shards that slam into the enemy from above. The combat in Forspoken is fast and fluid, with Frey's agility and massive arsenal of weapons forcing the player to stay on their toes, and keep moving and attacking at all times.
The Horrors In The Break
Defeating a group of slow-moving zombies that are anchored to the floor is one thing, as Frey can stay out of their range and blast them from afar. There are far bigger threats in the world of Athia that will require a great deal more skill on the part of the player. While Frey is within the boundaries of the Break, there is a chance that a Break Storm will occur. It's here that Frey will encounter some massive creatures that can defeat her in a few attacks. The Break Storms contain incredibly powerful foes and Frey won't be able to survive against them for long. Frey won't be able to tackle every threat head-on from the beginning of the game, so the player will need to explore, hone their skills, and find some decent gear before they attempt to survive a Break Storm.
The footage of Forspoken that has been released so far is incredible, even while it's still a work in progress. The PS5 has had some gorgeous exclusives that show off the power of the hardware, like Demon's Souls and Returnal, but these games haven't been open world titles, at least not to this degree. The world of Athia looks like it's going to be a blast to explore and the different choices available in combat set it apart from similar games. The development footage showed that Forspoken is still in need of polish, but its world and combat are still impressive to behold, and it begs the question of how good the final game could look, once it's ready to hit store shelves?
Forspoken will be released for PC and PS5 on May 24, 2022.
