We’ve been following and reporting extensively on Luminous Productions’ debut, Forspoken. Over the past year, following the first and second delays, we’ve produced several previews and had the opportunity to speak with the development team to learn more about this anticipated project. Now that we find ourselves a month away from the game’s official arrival on PC and PlayStation 5, I’ve had the chance to check out the game one last time, and as part of a rather extensive preview event, I’ve had the chance to play four of the game’s first five chapters.
Given this very revealing look, I’ve been able to get a good sense of how the story unravels and delivers, and has also been able to actually fight and move through the ring, mostly exploring a bunch of Athia and completing side quests (considered a detour).
Starting with the narrative and storyline, it was a bit of a hit and miss for me. On the one hand, this sprawling fantasy story is filled with enough twists and interesting developments that it can be engaging, but on the other hand, it tells its story in a rather frustrating way, with tons of cutscenes and unskippable moments, neither too much gravitas nor too much to engage the player. The really weird part is that this isn’t always a typical dialogue sequence between main character Frey and the various NPCs she encounters, a lot of times these moments are just transitions that set up the next part of the gameplay, such as in the incredibly dull and Flat stealth sequences have to wait for enemies to move, rather than choosing to approach the moment on your own terms. Thankfully, stealth doesn’t seem to be a huge part of the gameplay, at least from what I’ve played.
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While the narrative is a key part, it’s clear that Forridge’s real appeal lies in its magical gameplay: spell-casting combat and fluid parkour. And, while it can be a bit stuttering, it’s generally a lot of fun, and handled in such a way that it gives players a lot of options while feeling really cool. Between leaping and flinging Frey through Athia’s open world, leaping and catapulting off cliffs, all using a combination of 100 spell types against a wide range of hostile enemy types, the two combine to make you feel like A sporty Doctor Strange. It’s a very unique and interesting premise. This all assumes you’re playing on 60fps performance mode (on PS5), however, when the other two modes favor resolution and graphics, gameplay starts to feel sluggish and loses a lot of its luster.
Spellcasting is also handled in such a way that you can choose at any time by using two unique quick selection wheels, one tied to a more supportive style of magic and the other for offensive spells. You can use Frey’s right hand to go from casting quick shots, usually weaker shots, to heavier slow spells, while switching between binding spells, leech spells, knockback moves, and more. It’s a very intuitive system, which is similar to the case with the progress element.
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It’s clear that Luminous Productions has put a lot of effort into simplifying upgrades and crafting kits, whether it’s considering enhancement spells or Frey’s gear. You can use points to make magical upgrades by defeating enemies around Asia and walking in glowing mana pools around the world that can be used to unlock new spells and improve existing ones, while taking on short challenges to further enhance spells – e.g. , use Flow parkour to dodge attacks in battle to reduce the pressure on stamina. As for crafting and improving Frey’s gear, it’s as simple as picking up resources dropped from enemies or found around Asia and bringing them to the crafting bench to simply get better items. It is very easy to change hands.
The number of enemies Frey encounters throughout the story is great, and the combat just got better. There are twisted versions of wild animals, whether it’s a bear or a giant foe like a badger, a zombified human, or even a magical creature you’d think was pulled from a fantasy novel. Add to that these myriad bosses that are either baked into the narrative or encountered around Athia, all of which bring unique mechanics and attacks to overcome and tackle, and you get a game of which there really is a lot Choose to show off your skills and challenge yourself.
I’ve mentioned Assia a lot, and while you’ve undoubtedly been piecing together the world from the tidbits I’ve talked about, let me add that it seems like a very, very large open world. Since Frey is the main way of traversing it (quick trips to certain locations you’ve already visited), it seems to take quite a while to get from one end of the world to the other. I haven’t had a chance to actually test and time it, but if you travel while the crow is flying and ignore detours and collectibles etc, going from the capital to a stronghold controlled by Tanta Silas (one of the first main bosses) will It takes 15 minutes. Bigger isn’t always better however, a lot of Athia does seem to be empty space, it’s designed with a compelling geographic formation in an attempt to keep it interesting, a small portion is actually allocated to locations and points of interest , where you’ll find strongholds to clear, timed challenges, deserted villages and towns, towers that scout localized areas, labyrinthine side levels that often house a fairly demanding opponent, and more. It’s not the most engaging open world, but the Flow traversal technique and the combat situations you might encounter do keep things interesting, at least during the five hours I played.
While this is a pre-release version of what I tested, given the imminent release, I feel it’s worth adding that Forspoked isn’t usually a particularly visually compelling game. Of course, in open Athia the world has a lot to offer and appreciate, but when you find yourself in the capital (which feels really light on people) and find yourself talking to Frey’s allies and other NPCs, The graphics do leave something to be desired. This is definitely not the strongest point of the game.
But overall, Forspoken does seem to have enough unique and interesting features that it should entertain. The combat and parkour suite is a lot of fun, and has enough depth to make up for areas where Forspoked lacks, and in this case, there are certainly several reasons to keep looking forward to Luminous Production’s first project. But will Francie surprise you? Will it set a new standard for action games? From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t say that.