Kotaku checked out Forspoken:

Forspoken: The Kotaku Review

Forspoken tells a great story, but suffers the technical jank of an iffy PS3 game

Forspoken is a painfully flawed game. With a variety of rampant inconsistencies, its stilted presentation belies a gem of a story that centers women and feminine expression. In some ways that makes Forspoken a welcome breath of fresh air for fantasy games, as its 15 to 20 hour open-world campaign follows a woman of color who not only must overcome a great fantastical evil, but must also overcome the effects of life-long trauma and marginalization. Given its many technical flaws, Forspoken is a tough game to recommend, but its story pays off with a wonderful protagonist who exists in a world full of narrative twists and turns.

Released on January 24 of this year, Forspoken comes courtesy of publisher Square Enix and developer Luminous Productions. The game is an open world action-RPG that follows Alfrey “Frey” Holland as she is warped from her hometown of New York City to the fantastical realm of Athia, where she is tasked with fighting off an evil force encroaching on the last human city. The subject of many jokes and much head-scratching over its polarizing, non-stop dialogue and uncomfortable character animations, Forspoken was likely dead on arrival for many. And sure, it can sometimes feel clumsy as it tries to pitch a story about reclaiming a shattered matrilineal heritage.

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Forspoken deserves better than what shipped on January 24. The strength of its story and protagonist do outpace its many problems, but much like Frey’s early struggles in seeing her own greatness, it’s clouded by unfortunate circumstances.

PC Gamer has reviewed Forspoken:

FORSPOKEN REVIEW

Forspoken could have been excellent if it tried a little harder.

On paper, Forspoken is a game that should have resonated with me. It's a Luminous Productions/Square Enix venture, a developer I remain deathly loyal to despite its poor track record in recent years. It features some of my absolute favourite things in life: nail art, cats, parkour, and badass matriarchal rulers. 

Yet, Forspoken is let down by its sheer unwillingness to break the mould. In many ways, it's the exact type of game you've seen countless times across the last 15 years. An open world RPG with superpowers, mystical creatures, and a terrifying world-ending threat. It does play into some isekai tropes, with protagonist Frey Holland whisked away from her New York home and plonked into a fantastical world. Along with her talking bracelet companion Cuff, she navigates the world of Athia and the Break which threatens to consume the land and everyone in it.

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The biggest mistake I made during my time with Forspoken was doing so much of my exploration early on. If you're going to play it—and it's a game I do think is worth picking up on sale… and also potentially on console depending on your rig—blitz through the story. The true enjoyment comes once you're in the post-game, with Frey's full kit at your disposal. When I spent several hours flinging around my one or two spells, I lamented how painfully basic its combat was. Had I been handed more elements earlier on, or simply ignored side tasks in favour of getting access to those, I think my time with Forspoken would've been more enjoyable.

It's a game most fun when you're not following its orders. Free of sudden stops for a fade-to-black cutscene, or the game randomly rooting you in place while you initiate dialogue that could have easily happened while on the move. Once the shackles of its limp narrative came off, I finally felt like I was playing the game Forspoken was trying to be. Don't get me wrong, freedom can't cover up vapid gameplay objectives. But hey, it sure does help.

A game shouldn't have to end to feel like it's just starting. Unfortunately for Forspoken, that's exactly what happens.

Score: 65/100

Mortismal Gaming checked out the action RPG Forspoken:

Forspoken - Review After 100%

Davidvinc has reviewed the action RPG Forspoken:

Full Honest Review of FORSPOKEN - Does It Deserve The Hate?!

Mortismal Gaming and Wizard Worm checked out Forspoken:

Forspoken - First Impressions

Forspoken Review - A Beautiful and Cruel Open-World of Athia (Action RPG)

Score: 7/10

IGN reviewed the upcoming action RPG Forspoken:

Forspoken Review

Score: 6/10

The action RPG Forspoken will be released on January 24 - here's the launch trailer:

Forspoken | Launch Trailer

IGN presents the official cinematic trailer for the upcoming action RPG Forspoken:

Forspoken - Official Cinematic Trailer

IGN checked out Forspoken:

Forspoken: The Final Preview

A PS5 demo is now available for the upcoming Forspoken - here's the trailer:

Forspoken Demo Trailer | The Game Awards 2022

@DSOGaming A video showing magic in Forspoken has been released by Square Enix.

As the description reads:

“Frey can take on the countless twisted foes that lurk in the Break. Mastering multiple magic types enables customizable combat options and numerous ways to fight the enemies threatening the realm of Athia.”

Forspoken uses the Luminous Engine and will be coming only on current-gen systems. Furthermore, the game will take advantage of DirectStorage on PC. Square Enix has promised to reveal more tech details about it in the near future.

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YongYea checked out the action RPG Forspoken:

I Played 1 Hour of Forspoken - The Great, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (Hands-On Preview)

 A Gamescom 2022 trailer for Forspoken:

Forspoken - Official Gameplay Overview Trailer | gamescom 2022

The release of Forspoken has been delayed to January 24, 2023. All game elements are implemented and the polishing phase has already begun.

A new cutscene out of Forspoken:

Forspoken - Story and some Skills

Thanks Farflame!

Quest Mode analyzes what is already known about the action RPG Forspoken:

Forspoken Gameplay - The Ultimate Preview

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DSOGaming reports on two new trailers for Forspoken which reveal gameplay.

GameInformer and Sony released two new gameplay trailers for Square Enix’s upcoming action RPG, Forspoken. Forspoken has been delayed until October 11th, and these new trailers will give you a glimpse at some of its gameplay mechanics.

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Bluesnews reports that action RPG Forspoken has been delayed until October 11th 2022.

We've made the decision to move the release date of Forspoken to October 11, 2022. Our vision for this exciting new IP is to deliver a game world and hero that gamers across the globe will want to experience for years to come, so getting it right is extremely important to us. To that end, during the next few months we will focus all of our efforts on polishing the game and can't wait for you to experience Frey's journey this fall.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to sharing more about Forspoken with you soon.

Wccf Tech reports that Square Enix have announced a release on May 24th, 2022, and revealed a new trailer.

Forspoken to Release in May 2022 on PC and PlayStation 5; New Trailer Released

Forspoken, the first game from Luminous Productions, will release in May 2022, publisher Square Enix confirmed.

During The Game Awards 2021, the Japanese publisher confirmed that the game will release on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store, and on PlayStation 5 on May 24th, 2022.

A new trailer providing a new look at the Forspoken gameplay has also been released, and you can check it out below. [...]

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Gamerant discusses the new trailer of Forspoken, which was shown at the Playstation Showcase 2021. Another article reveals the storywriters.

Forspoken Trailer Shows Off Incredible Magical Abilities, Sets Up the Story

During the Playstation Showcase 2021 event, Square Enix debuts a new trailer for its fantasy action-adventure game Forspoken.

Sony's September PlayStation Showcase event revealed a variety of announcements, as well as new looks at highly anticipated upcoming projects like Square Enix's Forspoken. Forspoken was first unveiled in March, earlier this year. The fantasy action game provoked many more questions than it answered, but it seems Square Enix is now ready to start answering some of those questions. The big one is that Forspoken is now confirmed for a spring 2022 release.

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Forspoken Features Writers From Star Wars Rogue One and Uncharted

Forspoken has four prominent writers putting the game's story together, two of whom have written familiar epic stories in the past.

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Further backing up this writing team is Gary Whitta, famous for several book and film writing credits. Foremost among these is Star Wars: Rogue One, one of the most successful standalone Star Wars films to date. More importantly, it contains the blend of magic and real world solidity that Forspoken is showing off, playing up the mystical nature of the Force and ensuring the story's pacing remains urgent and on point throughout. Hopefully Forspoken will continue to showcasing his strengths as a writer.

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A new version of the debut trailer for Forspoken which features more gameplay.

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Introducing Forspoken, the new narrative-driven adventure set in a beautiful yet cruel world.

Play as Frey Holland, an ordinary young woman who must harness her magical abilities to survive in the fantastical yet dangerous land of Athia.

Enjoy an extended sneak peek of new exhilarating gameplay and meet Ella Balinska, the voice and performance capture actor portraying Frey.

Developed by Luminous Productions for the PlayStation®5 system and PC, Forspoken will take players on a magical and perilous journey.

Stay tuned for more information to come later this year.

DSOGaming reports that Square Enix have announced that Project Athia will now be called Forspoken.

Unfortunately, Square Enix did not reveal any additional details about this game. From what we know so far, Forspoken will be an open-world game, and will support real-time ray tracing.

In this game you will play as Frey Holland; an ordinary young woman who must harness her magical abilities to survive in the fantastical yet dangerous land of Athia.

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