Were it not for some ridiculous scene-chewing and an ending that almost makes the entire ordeal seemingly pointless. “Watch out for the twist, stand clear of the twist, are you ready for the twist, here comes the twist and…there is the twist! Shocked? No?” The second of these, a little less predictable, while admirable in the way its structured, does almost manage to work. “The twist will be arriving at Platform 5,” Forspoken cries. To the point it almost seems like the game is screaming there’s a twist coming as if through some overhead loudspeaker. The first I feel confident in saying 99% of players will see coming. While I won’t go into any specifics pertaining to spoilers, Forspoken‘s attempt at a gratifying revelation or twist - there are two instances where this is the case - falls short.
While it may not throw up a continual barrage of similarly-intolerable lines like the infamous “…so let me get this straight…” sampling provided, to say Forspoken fairs any better thereafter would be misleading. Is this dramatic or comedic, am I to take these events seriously or not at all? Let’s get the elephant-in-the-room out of the way first by way of the writing the means by which Forspoken aims to tell the story of main protagonist Frey Holland and her Alice in Wonderland-esque dive into the mythical world of Athia, the primary setting. A slog (ironic given the type of traversal mechanics employed) capped off with a narrative and writing core that can only be described as tonal whiplash. It’s everything in-between that ends up souring the experience. But that’s possibly the most crushing disappointment coming away from a game desiring little more than around 15 – 18 hours of your time to reach end credits, side-quests includedįorspoken is a game - a new IP on top - with glimpses of what could’ve been and in all likelihood should’ve been. Moments that have you begging for further fleshing out but may well find themselves relegated to fleeting spots of “neat” from time to time. In its defense, Luminous Productions’ debut outing away from the established brand of Final Fantasy isn’t without momentary pluses. Both technically - so far as how Forspoken aims to render a brand new, presumably inviting, fantastical world to discover - and as has become the unwanted if not entirely unwarranted “star” of the lead-up: its writing. Notable enough as it is in one part to find a game that feels unfinished and yet paradoxically realized through, it’s another to somewhat confirm many’s fears regarding the performance.
You’ve probably figured it out already with where I’m going with this, so let’s get it out of the way: Forspoken isn’t good.
Would it shock you to hear I held out hope that something like Babylon’s Fall would prove such creeping pessimism wrong? Alas, there comes a time when even one’s lowered expectations created in part by the initial hands-on and glimpses of marketed material preceding it isn’t enough. And while it’s easy to proclaim the figurative writing was on the wall for ill-fated projects in years past, caution should stand as an accompaniment rather than an overruling feeling going into any release. To reiterate on a point touched upon in the closing segments of one’s time with the public demo last month: no one wishes a game comes out bad.
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