WHEN we played the opening chapters of Forspoken, we were left wanting more.
More in the way that we wanted to try out more combat, see more of the game’s story, and also that we wanted more from Forspoken.
Forspoken follows the story of Frey.
The premise is solid, and yet one we haven’t seen in the triple-A space for a while.
Traversal around the 3D world is fast-paced, making exploring the world frantic and fun, and the combat is based entirely on elemental skills.
What intrigued us, was how many elements we will be able to use and play with, and how they will synergise together.
But we still don’t know, because we could only use one element during our demo play.
We could still see potential in the system, as even with only one element we could use, there were three primary attacks, and a whole number of secondary abilities which could come into play.
That’s the thing about Forspoken; it’s very dynamic, very fluid.
Aside from the slick methods which you can use to move around the map, switching between elements is just as smooth.
While in the preview there wasn’t a large range of enemy types to stand up against, fighting had this frantic problem-solving feel to it that we loved.
The only thing that’s hard to tell at this point is whether we’d still love the fighting style at 20 hours, or if the combat will receive a shake-up as you play.
Boss fights don’t do anything you haven’t see before, but the classic attack signalling, dodging and countering, is well done here.
The pacing is excellent, and you adapt to each fight to find the right window to attack.
There’s enough variety in these boss fights, that they feel different and significant compared to multi-enemy fights.
Forspoken calls its movement ‘magic parkour’ and it’s exactly what it sounds like. You have wide open spaces to run through, and you can build momentum to pull off some impressive leaps and bounds.
As the speed builds, you really have to nail where to pull off the next jump, much like a rhythm game, and there are some jumps that you won’t believe you can land.
You can tap a button when you touch the ground for an extra burst of speed, and you’ll end up using this as often as you can.
The movement still has its limits. Keep trying to run up walls, and you’ll eventually run out of steam, forcing you to think of smarter solutions to these problems.
There’s a stamina system when you’re fighting enemies, but it’s a lot more generous when it comes to movement.
In the part of the world we saw, there was plenty to play around with, even if nothing was particularly new or inspiring.
And the same can be said of the story, where Frey, a woman struggling to make ends meet, ends up falling through a portal to a magical world.
Some people have been playing the demo, and whispers of how cringy the dialogue is have made their way across social media.
We didn’t find this, though we were expecting it from the first trailer. Instead we thought is was much worse. It was boring.
Conversations take too long to wrap up, and the tonal shift from Freya being way out of her depth, to cracking wise is deafening.
You are given camera control during some of these dialogue cutscenes, giving you the illusion that you could continue on your journey, but instead, you are glued to the spot with the ability to look at yourself from various angles.
It’s hard to say how Forspoken will end up when the full game releases.
The fun and frantic movement and combat butts heads, with an uninspired location and story, and we’re not sure where the two will meet yet.
Forspoken releases on January 24, 2023, as a console exclusive to PlayStation 5, and is also coming to PC. A PS5 demo of the game is available now.
Written by Ryan Woodrow and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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