Forspoken is an open world action RPG developed by Luminous Productions and published by Square Enix. It was released worldwide on January 24, 2023 for the PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and Windows Store).[1] It was directed by Takeshi Aramaki and Takefumi Terada with Gary Whitta providing world and lore concept, Amy Hennig providing the story concept, Allison Rymer and Todd Stashwick serving as script writers.
Gameplay[]
Forspoken is an open world, action role-playing game in which players take control of protagonist Frey Holland, a stranded girl who can perform a variety of actions related to both field exploration and combat.
Battle System[]
Magic[]
Up to 100 spells are available in the game. Players can invest in different types of spell (earth, fire, etc.), and can switch between them at a moment's notice.[2]
Difficulty modes[]
Forspoken has four difficulties:
- Focus on the Story: Recommend for players who just want to enjoy watching the game's narrative unfold.
- Explore the Open World: Recommended for players who want to visit every corner of the game world.
- Take Part in Challengin Battles: Recommended for players who are used to playing action games.
- Ultimate Mode: Recommended for players who want to take the next level. Pull off slick moves in battle to increase the damage you deal.
The setting the player choose won't affect how the story unfolds and the player is able to change the difficulty at any time they like (except during events/battles) via the SETTING menu.
Character progression[]
The field[]
Story[]
Synopsis[]
The protagonist, Frey Holland is a directionless, gritty yet street smart young woman who has persevered despite her rough upbringing in New York City. And her life hasn’t really gotten any easier now that she’s about to turn 21. Things take a turn for the unexpected when she’s magically transported to Athia, a land where fantasies and nightmares are suddenly very real. Playing as Frey, you’ll need to harness newly discovered magical abilities to battle the terrifying monsters that inhabit the land. To have a chance of returning home, she’ll also have to contend with the Tantas — destructive and twisted all-powerful matriarchs who have dominion over Athia.[3]
Setting and Characters[]
Plot[]
Music[]
The soundtrack of Forspoken is primarily composed by Bear McCreary, known for his composition on 2018's God of War, and Garry Schyman, known for his contributions to the BioShock series.
Development[]
Earlier in development, it was known under the title Project Athia.[4] The title is being developed to take advantage of the graphical capabilities of the PlayStation 5.[4]
The game's writing team includes Gary Whitta (who also serves as story team lead), Allison Rymer, Amy Hennig, and Todd Stashwick. Bear McCreary and Garry Schyman are composing music for the game.[3]
Whitta was first approached by Square Enix back in 2017 about potentially working on Luminous Production's newest title and was given a largely blanks canvas to create the fantasy world and story Forspoken, with their full support and cooperation.[5] With some initial visuals to work with, Whitta was tasked with taking Square Enix and Luminous Productions' initial points of inspiration and shaping them into a story and fantasy world that would later become the building blocks for Frey's adventure.[5]With the scale and ambition of the project other writers were brought on board to help with the creative process of shaping the story and setting of Forspoken. With writers joining at different times throughout the development process, Whitta didn't work directly with Hennig or Stashwick who picked up the "story baton" after his work was completed to develop the story from there. Whitta worked with Rymer, who he said was "an incredible asset" in the writer's room. Allison Rymer worked as the main connective tissue between the initial story-breaking and world-building that they developed in 2018 and the more fully realized story that has developed since then.[5]
The game was originally revealed under the working name of "Project Athia" during Sony's State of Play livestream presentation of June 2020. During the presentation a teaser showed sneak peek about the game world and gameplay.[6]
The game was showcased during Square Enix's Square Enix Presents livestream presentation of March 2021, now under the official name of Forspoken. In the presentation it was revealed Ella Balinska would as the voice actress of protagonist Frey Holland as well as a small scene featuring Frey in the presence of a dragon creature.[7]
Forspoken made an appearance during Sony's Playstation Showcase 2021 livestream with a new trailer showing more details about the story and snips of gameplay and revealing the game's release window of spring 2022.[8]
Forspoken last public appearance in 2021 was during the The Game Awards with a new trailer showing more aspects of the story like the Break, Tanta Prav and Monsters, the trailer concluded revealing the game's release date of May 24, 2022.[9]
On March 7, 2022, the development team announced that the game will delayed from its original release date to October 11, 2022.[10]
Forspoken made an appearance during Sony's State of Play livestream presentation of March 2022, the trailer called "Worlds Collide" showed more footage of the monsters of Athia as well as the combat of the game.[11]
On July 6, 2022, the development team announced that the game will be delyed to January 24, 2023 and calling the move a “strategic decision” that will give them more time to polish the game.[1]
During Gamescom 2022 producer Raio Mitsuno presented a new video showcasing more gameplay details about the game.[12]
The game was showcased during the Tokyo Game Show event with a new trailer and a playable demo, focused on combat and traversal of the open world, that attendees could play.
From late October Square Enix and Luminous Productions kicked off the release of a three-part video series, offering players a deeper look into the gameplay mechanics of the game. The first video in the series focuses on protagonist Frey Holland’s magic-enhanced parkour and traversal skills, as well as the variety of spells at her disposal, the second video focused on Magic combat and the final video focused on the overall exploration of the open world of the game.[13]
On December 9th Square Enix revealed new gameplay content showcasing Frey’s high-intensity battle with Tanta Sila, an encounter with a very powerful Breakbeast, and an ominous introduction to a never-before-seen character, Tanta Olas.[14]
The game released worldwide on PlayStation 5 and PC on January 24, 2023.
Release[]
Forspoken was originally slated for release on May 24, 2022, later delayed to October 11 and subsequently delayed further to January 24, 2023.[10][1]
For $69.99 players can purchase the "standard edition" of Forspoken on retail and digital stores.
For $94.99 players can purchase the "Digital Deluxe Edition" of Forspoken on digital stores, which includes a rare resource kit (Playstation 5 only), a mini artbook, mini soundtrack and early access to the Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust DLC.[9]
Playstation 5[]
On Playstation 5 Forspoken features three graphic/resolution options as well as support for 120Hz output displays[15][16]:
- Performance Mode: targets 1440p resolution at 60FPS. This mode targets 60FPS when enabling 120Hz ouput.
- Graphics Mode: targets 4K resolution at 30FPS. This mode targets 40FPS when enabling 120Hz ouput.
- Ray Tracing Mode: Features ray tracing. This mode targets 40FPS when enabling 120Hz ouput.
The game will integrate dualsense features that will take advantage of the controller adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. The triggers will provide different tactile feedback depending on what type of spell is used.[15]
Limited Edition
The Limited Edition is a japanese exclusive release of Forspoken. This release includes the following content:
- Main game.
- Forspoken Original Soundtrack Expanded Edition.
- Original soundtrack with special disc only for Limited Edition
- The Art of Forspoken.
- A4 size luxury binding art book full of setting materials and various art materials.
- Forspoken Orignal T-Shirt.
- Original T-shirt designed for Limited Edition (one size fits all: length 74 cm, width 55 cm, sleeve length 22 cm).
- Early access to the story DLC Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust.
- Rare material kit (DLC),
PC[]
On PC Forspoken supports AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 and Microsoft's DirectStorage technology.[17]
System Requirements[18]
| Minimum | Recommended | Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows® 10 64-bit (After November 2019 Update) or Windows® 11 64-bit | ||
| Processor | |||
| AMD Ryzen™ 5 1600 (3.7 GHz or better) | AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600 (3.7 GHz or better) | AMD Ryzen™ 5 5800X (3.8 GHz or better) | |
| Intel® Core™ i7-3770 (3.7 GHz or better) | Intel® Core™ i7-8700K (3.7 GHz or better) | Intel® Core™ i7-12700K (3.7 GHz or better) | |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 24 GB RAM | 32 GB RAM |
| Video card | AMD Radeon™ RX 5500 XT 8 GB | AMD Radeon™ RX 6700 XT 12 GB | AMD Radeon™ RX 6800 XT 16 GB |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 6 GB | NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 8 GB | NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4080 16 GB | |
| Display resolution | 720p 30fps | 1440p 30fps | 2160p 60fps |
| HDD/SSD space | HDD 150GB or more | SSD 150GB or more | NvMe SSD 150GB or more |
PC features[18]
| Graphics API | DirectX 12 Ultimate (Agility SDK) |
|---|---|
| Sound | DirectSound compatbile device |
| Supports 7.1 audio (Ambisonics) | |
| Imput Device | DUALSHOCK®4 DUALSENSE™ wireless controller |
| DirectImput or Ximput compatible controller / keyboard & mouse | |
| Graphic options | Customizable resolutions, aspect ratios, graphic features |
| Dynamic refresh rate under Windows® 11 | |
| Supports super wide screen* (up to 32:9) *only supported during gameplay sequences | |
| HDR | Full support |
| Supports Auto HDR on Windows® 11 | |
| Storage | DirectStorage support under Windows® 11 (NVMe SSD recommended) |
The game initially released with Denuvo DRM but this feature was eventually removed from the game.[19]
Downloadable Content[]
- Main article: Downloadable Content
Players that pre-ordered the game received unique gears and items, the content would differ depending on the platform:
- No Limits Cloak, Symbol Combo Necklace, Trigger Happy Nails and Crafting Starter Kit (PS5).[9]
- Elite Cloak, Spectra Combo Necklace and Overclock Nails (PC).[9]
Players can download a free playable demo to try out the gameplay and open world exploration taking place in the Avoalet region.
Owners of the Digital Deluxe Edtion can download a prequel story DLC titled Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust, the DLC can also be purchased separately.
Reception[]
Critical reception[]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Opencritic | 67/100 (133 critics)[20] |
| Publisher | Score |
| RPG Fan | 8/10[21] |
| Easy Allies | 8/10[22] |
| Game Informer | 7.5/10[23] |
| Destructoid | 7/10[24] |
| Digital Trends | 3.5/5[25] |
| IGN | 6/10[26] |
| Shacknews | 6/10[27] |
| GameSpot | 5/10[28] |
| GamesRadar+ | 2.5/5[29] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 2/5[30] |
Forspoken received "fair" reviews, an aggregated score of 67/100 and 28% critics recommendation, according to review aggregator Opencritic.[20]
Comercial performance[]
In Japan the PS5 version sold 29,055 physical copies on its launch week, by the end of 2023 the game sold 47,181 copies.[31][32] In the United Kingdom's Boxed Charts Forspoken debuted at forth place overall at launch.[33] On France the game topped the physical sales charts on launch week.[34]
In February 2023, during a financial results briefing, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda said sales of the game had been “lacklustre” following “challenging” reviews.[35]
Production Credits[]
Staff[]
| Director(s) | Takeshi Aramaki[36] Takefumi Terada[37] |
|---|---|
| Creative Producer(s) | Raio Mitsuno[37] |
| Production Executive | Yosuke Matsuda |
| Writer(s) | Todd Staswick (Story & Script)[3] Allison Rymer (Story & Script)[3] Amy Hennig (Story cocept)[3] Gary Whitta (Original concept)[3] |
| Composer(s) | Bear McCreary[3] Garry Schyman[3] |
| Sound Director | Masayuki Sato |
| Visual Art Director | Norihito Ueno |
| Art Director | Yuki Matsuzawa |
| Battle Director | Takayuki Kanbayashi |
| World & System Director | Masashi Takizawa |
| Gameplay System Direction | Takatsugu Nakazawa |
| Lead Programmer | Masaki Kobayashi |
Cast[]
| Character | English | Japanese | German | French |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frey Holland | Ella Balinska[36] | Umeka Shōji[38] | Giovanna Winterfeldt | Fily Keita |
| Cuff Susurrus |
Jonathan Cake[3] | Satoshi Mikami | Jean-Paul Baeck | Serge Biavan |
| Johedy Kladivo | Keala Settle[3] | Kyo Yaoya | Sarah Liu | Suzane Sindberg |
| Auden Keen | Monica Barbaro[3] | Sanae Kobayashi | Carolin Scrimali | Marie Diot |
| Robian Keen | Anthony Skordi | Hiroshi Naka | Thomas Balou Martin | Philippe Dumond |
| Olevia Liette | Tajinae Turner | Hina Kino | Malin Steffen | Caroline Mozzone |
| Tanta Sila | Janina Gavankar[3] | Yu Sugimoto | Claudia Urbschat-Mingues | Laurence Dourlens |
| Tanta Prav | Pollyanna McIntosh[39] | Rika Fukami[40] | Demet Fey | Helene Bizot |
| Tanta Olas | Claudia Black | Mie Sonozaki | Ilya Walter | Sophie Riffont |
| Tanta Cinta | Kendal Rae | Kikuko Inoue | Fabienne Hesse | Laura Blanc |
| Bellette Krau | Debra Wilson | Jun Karasawa | Michaela Kametz | Raphaelle Valenti |
| Jennesh Hekkadi | T. J. Ramini | Syunsuke Sakuya | Martin Sabel | Cyrille Mongel |
| Treahy Duganur | Francois Chau | Shinya Fukumatsu | Joshy Peters | Loic Houndre |
| Dax Viernost | Victoria Atkin | Rie Ishizuka | Sonja Szylowicki | Chantal Baroin |
| Maya Bird | Nicki Micheaux | Megumi Okada | Katharina Schmalenberg | Nathalie Homs |
Videos[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Square Enix delays Forspoken to 2023
- ↑ Cuffing Season In Athia (2022-12-12). Archived from the original on December 17, 2022.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Journey with Frey to Forspoken’s fantastical world next spring.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Square Enix’s Project Athia has a 2022 release date and a final name: Forspoken.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Forspoken writer Gary Whitta on building its "lustrous new fantasy world".
- ↑ PS5 - THE FUTURE OF GAMING SHOW.
- ↑ SQUARE ENIX AND LUMINOUS PRODUCTIONS UNVEIL ‘FORSPOKEN’.
- ↑ Forspoken launches in spring 2022, story trailer.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Square Enix and Luminous Production's Forspoken confirmed for release on May 24, 2022.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Announcement of delay on Forspoken social media.
- ↑ Forspoken – State of Play March 2022 "Worlds Collide" Gameplay Trailer | PS5.
- ↑ Forspoken - 10-Minute Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games.
- ↑ [https://press.na.square-enix.com/UNCOVER-THE-MAGIC-OF-FORSPOKEN-WITH-NEW-DEEP-DIVE-VIDEO-SERIES UNCOVER THE MAGIC OF FORSPOKEN WITH NEW DEEP DIVE VIDEO SERIES].
- ↑ New Forspoken characters, areas, PS5 bonuses, and more revealed.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Square Enix details Forspoken PS5 graphics modes and DualSense features.
- ↑ The Forspoken demo: six graphics modes to choose from but what do they do?
- ↑ New Forspoken Tech Video shows off AMD FSR & DirectStorage.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 @Forspoken: Learn more about #Forspoken's PC performance and requirements.
- ↑ Square Enix has removed Denuvo from Forspoken
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Forspoken on Opencritic.
- ↑ RPG Fan review of the game.
- ↑ Easy Allies review of the game.
- ↑ Game Informer review of the game.
- ↑ Destructoid review of the game.
- ↑ Digital Trends review of the game.
- ↑ IGN review of the game.
- ↑ Shacknews review of the game.
- ↑ GameSpot review of the game.
- ↑ GamesRadar+ review of the game.
- ↑ Hardcore Gamer review of the game.
- ↑ Famitsu Sales: 1/23/23 – 1/29/23
- ↑ Game Data Libary. Retrieved on September 16, 2024.
- ↑ Dead Space is No.1, but launch sales lower than The Callisto Protocol | UK Boxed Charts.
- ↑ Jeux vidéo on Twitter
- ↑ Square Enix says Forspoken’s launch sales were ‘lacklustre’.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Forspoken is the final title of Project Athia, the new RPG from the Final Fantasy XV team.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Square Enix announces TGS 2021 Online lineup, schedule.
- ↑ Umeka Shōji on Twitter.
- ↑ More details on the newly revealed Tanta Prav, who Frey will confront on PS5 May 24, 2022..
- ↑ Announcement on Twitter.