Forspoken, the preview
Forspoken
Forspoken. A term no longer used, which can be translated mainly in two ways: to bewitch (intended as casting a spell on someone) or to forbid. Both concepts that seem to adapt very well to the new fantasy adventure by Square Enix, known until a few days ago as Project Athia. Surprisingly, during the digital event Square Enix Presents, the game that many remembered but began to fade in the memory in the face of more concrete or important titles - such as Final Fantasy XVI or Elden Ring - reopened a presentation that was thought closed with the promising Life is Strange: True Colors. Indeed, for the first ten seconds it was believed to be yet another additional content for Final Fantasy XIV, at least until all doubts about it were dispelled: to guide us in the rather sparse premises of the game is the British actress Ella Balinska, who she plays the protagonist Frey.Stranger in a strange land
Beyond the visual impact, which already at the time of the very first announcement during the presentation of PS5 had taken favorably, we like how the developers have managed to convey in a single word what could be the two main points of Forspoken: it is quite obvious, if the claim that he is in a world he is not part of, that Frey is a person of the nowadays - if we mean the present or a hypothetical future it is not known but it is in any case a modern girl. Something, a spell we would say, must have brought her there, in a land as fascinating as it is dangerous; a forbidden place in which she should not be but which she must adapt to if she is to hope to survive and return home. All concepts contained in a single word, archaic like that world that Frey will have to bend to himself with strength and cunning.As for the setting and gameplay, Forspoken is an open world action adventure with a strong emphasis on history, which according to the developers will bring beauty and awe together. We know very little about the mysterious world in which Frey will have to move but there seems to be particular emphasis on nature on the possibility of both exploiting the elements and fighting them, in the combat and platforming phases that should characterize the game. Our young protagonist, after an understandable dismay at finding herself catapulted into another reality and having crossed the road with "fucking dragon", accepts her condition and indeed gets in tune with what surrounds her proving to be quite agile and combative.
Forspoken: Frey calls giant roots from the ground to get rid of some enemies. In fact, she can be seen traveling great distances in a single leap and running fast, almost as if she has unlocked latent abilities that only in that world can express yourself. Beyond the cloak, from what we have been able to see nothing changes in her clothing or accessories (such as the right bracelet) and this reinforces the belief that, if Frey really has hidden potentials, they resonate with the world in which one they find and do not appear to be due to some external factor. The same offensive phases see her manipulating the elements, as already written, without for now relying on anything other than herself: between more "common" enemies, or at least smaller ones, and others decidedly towering like an eye held up by a sort of tree trunk or the dragon of the opening movie, there is also the possibility that we will go to face some boss fights.
The only perplexity at the moment concerns the open world itself: as usual , when it comes to offering boundless environments, the main problem remains how to make them attractive and interesting without running into a world unfortunately empty like in Final Fantasy XV, or full ad nauseam but very uninteresting as happened in the last chapters of Assassin's Creed. In its frenzy, the trailer showed a territory from which man, or in any case a potential civilization, seems to have been banished in favor of nature which returns to take what it deserves: there is no shortage of barren, rocky and even verdant views - luxuriant it seems a bit excessive to us - but beyond occasional enemies there is nothing else. As this is a tiny glimpse of Forspoken, it's too early to be worried and we'd rather be confident in what ultimately is Luminous Studio's first real project since its inception in 2018.
Forspoken: Frey's displacement abilities undoubtedly have something magical
From the point of view of the story, the development team hasn't unbuttoned that much. However, the few words spent for Frey are interesting, who is described as a very real, straightforward and unfiltered character (although the adjective "raw" may also indicate her inexperience, we will find out only in full play): a girl who he has lost his way not only literally but also figuratively, someone with whom it could be easy to connect. Who knows that this mysterious journey will not serve her to find herself. We certainly know that her narrative will mainly revolve around her and her experience of her in the world where she is catapulted, a reality that however does not seem to scare her that much. "She She will rise", one of the slogans of the game, is also indicative of a potential path of growth and maturation of Frey, which could change on a personal level precisely from this physical bewilderment. Forspoken is described as twisted, stormy and hostile, an experience in which truths will be questioned and devotions will be questioned - claims that suggest the existence, even if only in the past, of a form of civilization, such as after all testify to the occasional ruins shown during the trailer.
Difficult to make predictions with this little information in hand. Given the presence of a disembodied male figure, whose voice we only hear, there is even the possibility that Frey may be in some simulation where she has been stuck and which she must get out of if she is to save her life. The hypotheses are truly endless but once again we want to be confident about the writing: after all, Gary Whitta, who collaborated on the writing of Prey - to name one, is leading the narrative. Overall, Forspoken is a game that intrigues in many respects, it was not expected to see and above all it had no leaks whatsoever to anticipate it: a real surprise which, if only for this reason, we can be satisfied.
Forspoken is a game that intrigues and surprises, an open world adventure that seems to have a lot to tell about itself and the team at its development - so far only involved in the Stadia version of Final Fantasy XV . The premises are interesting, above all because it could be one of the exponents of the potential of the next gen, but we still know too little to unbalance us: the idea that a modern-day girl is catapulted into a wild world and this must be trusted in order to survive. has its why, but everything will have to be tested over time, when we will know more to understand where the developers want to go. In a context where leaks are king, the fact that nothing is known is in itself an added value and we hope it will surprise you in the future as now.
