Forspoken: towards a huge failure on the part of Square Enix?

Square Enix has severely limited the sending of Forspoken codes to trade media. A practice considered by many as an admission of the fragility of the game, especially when observing the rare game sequences presented on the web.

[Mis à jour le 23 janvier 2023 à 10h41] A promising project from Square Enix announced in 2021, Forspoken seems destined for an uncertain future. Rest assured, the game is still scheduled for January 24, Square Enix having already postponed it enough in 2022, but it is its content that worries both players and critics. Indeed, Square Enix severely limited the sending of test codes to newsrooms around the world, excluding some newspapers or delivering the game extremely late to others. A practice that is traditionally considered dangerous in the industry, even an admission of failure, leading to many questions about the quality of the game, both technically and historically. The few gameplay sequences that have leaked are also cause for concern.

Several major editors therefore complained that they had not received a copy of Forspoken to test. For others who were lucky enough to receive the game, but much too late, it will be impossible to provide a proper review to readers due to too short deadlines. This kind of practice on the part of the publisher too often corresponds to a lack of assurance on the quality of the finished product, there is reason to worry about the release of Forspoken. It should also not be forgotten that the game presents an “isekai” scenario, an element which had already put off a good part of the players accustomed to this format seen and reviewed (an isekai is a narrative form where the protagonist, often Western and contemporary is miraculously transported into a fantasy world, allowing the reader/viewer to be easily linked to the story). Add to that dialogues that frankly do not seem to fly very high and you have the cocktail of anxiety that surrounds the release of Forspoken.

What release date for Forspoken?

The release of Forspoken, which was set for May 2022, has finally been postponed to January 24, 2023. A news justified by the desire of the Square Enix teams to provide a perfect game, at the height of its ambitions. It is a Playstation 5 exclusive, whose technical ambition confines it to a new generation console. Owners of Playstation 4 will therefore not be able to play it.

Trailer

By demonstrating its parkour possibilities, Forspoken still proves how much it tries to stand out from other games. Forspoken and its Luminous Productions engine prove to be very effective on light and particle effects, allowing the game to insist on the magic that guides its gameplay. It remains to be seen whether the scenario will also keep all its promises, knowing that the isekai genre can quickly find its limits and show its repetitive aspects.

Gameplay

Forspoken is an entirely new experience, a world born entirely from the imagination of the Luminous Productions teams. The player embodies Frey, a young New Yorker transported to the fantastic world of Athia, a world she does not know and where she finds herself endowed with powerful magical powers. However, the world of Athia is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis. Ruled by the Tantas, ruthless despots, this world faces many threats, and Frey represents its only hope for the salvation of the people. A very classic scenario for a game with a unique graphic style. The gameplay of Forspoken is centered around two points: the fluidity and speed of movement, and the diversity of magic powers. There are also RPG elements such as a skill tree and some images suggest crafting features. The game has next-gen graphics by being based on the Luminous Engine, which allows, among other things, impressive particle effects during magic fights.