Forspoken - Review @ Mortismal Gaming

[HiddenX]

Mortismal Gaming checked out the action RPG Forspoken:

Forspoken - Review After 100%

More information.

 

[Couchpotato]

So it's a mediocre game at best according to all the reviews.

Anyway I found this yesterday for a different take.

Forspoken's Critical Reception Highlights the Dire State of AAA Gaming

Forspoken's underwhelming critical reception is more broadly representative of the disappointing and homogenized state of AAA gaming in 2023.

www.cbr.com

Sadly, when new IPs, as in Forspoken's case, are not well-received, it implies that fans and critics don't want these new titles and would instead prefer tried and tested ideas when that's not entirely the case. Such implications are hugely damaging to the industry as they stifle further opportunities for creativity, with developers and publishers opting instead for safer, more familiar gambles. As a result, the cycle of AAA titles following the same formulas will continue, which is disappointing for gamers who are bored with experiencing the same tropes time and time again.

 

[HiddenX]

I have often much more fun with non-AAA titles, because they can experiment much more with new game ideas.
AAA - games cost a lot of money and most publishers don't want to risk anything and re-use proven game-ideas only.

 

[JFarrell71]

"Sadly, when new IPs, as in Forspoken's case, are not well-received, it implies that fans and critics don't want these new titles and would instead prefer tried and tested ideas when that's not entirely the case. Such implications are hugely damaging to the industry as they stifle further opportunities for creativity, with developers and publishers opting instead for safer, more familiar gambles. As a result, the cycle of AAA titles following the same formulas will continue, which is disappointing for gamers who are bored with experiencing the same tropes time and time again."

This take makes me angry.

Are gamers required to buy and pretend to like every new IP that comes out to avoid "implying" that they don't like or want new IPs? The game isn't very good. New series, old series, you have to make a good game that people want to play. There have been plenty of new games that have been successful (in fact, literally all of them at some point).

And that last line... like Forspoken isn't made up of tropes we've seen many times? There's a bizarre assumption in this article that new IP automatically equals new and innovative, when it most certainly does not.

 

[SSIGuy]

I played the demo and my reaction was "meh". Not a bad game; the combat was ok but there was nothing compelling about it either.

And I agree with JFarrell71... those sentiments are a bit ridiculous, especially the last sentence: "...which is disappointing for gamers who are bored with experiencing the same tropes time and time again."

Most of the games I play are not AAA and I have no shortage of interesting, innovative games to play. Maybe the reviewer should cast a wider net when looking for new games to play.

And frankly, a game doesn't have to be innovative to be a great game anyway. I just recently finished God of War, which isn't really that radically different from its predecessors and doesn't offer anything new and innovative. It's just a tightly designed game, with good combat, good graphics, an engaging story and great voice-acting. In short, a great game.

From what I've played of Forspoken, there didn't seem to be anything new or innovative there. It recycles most elements for open world action games; but just does it at a mediocre level.

 

[Arkadia7]

My problem with this is that there are so many games now coming out with unalterable main characters who you are forced to play as, and if they don't appeal to me, then that game won't be bought by me or I will not be interested in the game. Believe it or not, there are still many white males - both young and old - out in the gaming universe who prefer to play main characters that they can identify with. Hopefully that isn't too shocking to hear in the ultra politically correct and conformist world these days....lol. I know stats are not always politically correct, and can be disturbing to folks these days. But if you look up the stats it is still true today, it is around 60% to 40% male to female gamer ratio. That is taking into account all the mobile gaming and what many would consider to be non-games like mobile games and pay as you go crap. It used to be 90% plus white male gamer not so long ago regarding pc gaming, and some genres are probably still close to that same type of percentage, like shooters, for example.

Who knew, that many people find it easiest to identify with, by people who represent them? *gasp*! This is beyond shocking...(sarcasm) So when I see so many new games coming out with female-centered main characters these days, it just makes me wonder if some gaming studios have forgotten this, and are not understanding that they are making their game unappealing towards and potentially bypassing a huge gaming market. For example, for me, I like playing male characters in general, though I have liked playing as female characters but only with strong established personalities like Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, as an example. If they are a new character that is one not established, then they better be very well written and fleshed out or I probably won't be interested to play as them in a game. Anyway, my 2 cents.

 

[Moorkh]

So when I see so many new games coming out with female-centered main characters these days, it just makes me wonder if some gaming studios have forgotten this, and are not understanding that they are making their game unappealing towards and potentially bypassing a huge gaming market. For example, for me, I like playing male characters in general, though I have liked playing as female characters but only with strong established personalities like Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, as an example. If they are a new character that is one not established, then they better be very well written and fleshed out or I probably won't be interested to play as them in a game. Anyway, my 2 cents.

That might hold true for you, but then you by yourself are not really a "huge gaming market", and you cannot know just how much or how little the broader market agrees with you.

Take me, I've preferred playing protagonists not representative of my own POV ever since my teens and Ultima 6, I guess. Not that I've stayed that flexible over the years - I keep revisiting my fantasy alter egos, instead. But games, RPGs especially, have always attracted me due to their ability to let me slip in someone else's skin.

And yet, I have no idea if my feelings on this are in any way more or less prevalent in the market than yours.

Where I do completely agree with you and others in this thread, though: if said skin is unappealing to me - and characters can be drawn with so much flavour these days, leaving little room to my imagination to iron out fatal flaws - the game itself quickly loses any and all appeal to me.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

And that last line... like Forspoken isn't made up of tropes we've seen many times? There's a bizarre assumption in this article that new IP automatically equals new and innovative, when it most certainly does not.

Yeah, that is just a very weird line.
Forspoken is pretty much a carbon copy of all the AAA "open world sandbox" games we've seen.
There's nothing unique here, other than 1.5 main characters that constantly vary between sassy and obnoxious.

 

[Ripper]

Personally, I've never cared about being 'represented' by a character. Though if I did I'd be fairly well-served.

I do agree that if it's a set-protagonist and narrative kind of game, I do need to find the character agreeable to spend time with. I didn't really like Geralt, but was quite content playing Aloy in HZD. With this one, the banter seems obnoxious and annoying, combined with a kind of gameplay I don't like.

 

[JFarrell71]

I think it's pretty obnoxious to complain that there are non white, non male protagonists in videogames. Frey's gender and ethnic background are the absolute last thing that's at issue here.

 

[Gwendo]

New IP =/= New gameplay/ideas

 

[Dolby]

Don't know, to top everything something about spell visuals just rubs me the wrong way... They look more like something from Star trek than high fantasy... Anyway, the whole open world flying jumping was done to the death and as always flying and jumping is busted by the looks of things. i get a bit of a elex 2 vibes just made for new age generation.


Looks generic and hardy worth exploring, classic boring MMO waypoint world if you will... THe bane of most if not all new age console infected rpgs...