Forspoken Reviews
Squeenix's epic-ish isekai game has cool magical combat, but it's far too big for its own good, and that scale leaves it feeling empty and disappointing.
Forspoken promises an intriguing world with a deep magic combat system, but it struggles in presentation and execution.
Forspoken is an incredible title. Although the story suffers from being a bit too generic, the gameplay is inventive, magical, and an absolute blast. This is a game I'll come back to again and again just to move around and exist in the fascinating fantasy world. Forspoken is an exciting leap forward for action games, and I can't get enough of it.
This could have been a great fish-out-of-water experience, but it's let down by patronising explanations and clunky gameplay.
World exploration in Forspoken can bring you some real joy, and same could be said about the combat system. And yet the writing, weird visual presentation, and overall direction can really bring the whole experience down.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Forspoken is a solid action RPG that sadly falls short due to some of its design. The world is just not that interesting to explore and the weird dialogue can detract from an otherwise interesting narrative. I enjoyed my time with the game and if you do dive in, I recommend simply mainlining the core story as it keeps the repetition to a minimum. If you are a sucker for tons of mindless side content though this game has it in spades. I truly wish it was just more interesting though.
Forspoken isn't perfect, owing to a middling campaign and a need for more optimization. Still, its spell combat system and parkour mechanics are top-notch, with landscapes and abilities that can truly amaze.
Forspoken lacks the kind of refinement expected of a AAA title. If the concepts had received more attention, then the entire package would have been more cohesive. Still, despite its issues, there's definitely something here to enjoy if you can focus in on what the game does well: narrative, accessibility, and writing.
Forspoken is a game that has great potential, expressed in a precise, fast and fun combat system. Sadly, everything else in the game lacks novelty or interest in exploration.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Forspoken should and could have been a better game than it actually is. Its strengths lie in its core gameplay, which is fast, fluid, and great fun at its best. However, unnecessary open world clutter hampers exploration, and the combat system only begins to hit its stride hours into the adventure. If you can push through a poorly paced story, packed with desperately dull characters, then you might find enjoyment in Frey's fantastical abilities, which undoubtedly steal the show both in and out of battle. It's not quite the disaster that the memes would have you believe, but it's certainly not the PS5 showpiece that was once promised, either.
Forspoken is a fun action game that shines best when you're taking advantage of the great magic parkour to soar through the fantasy world of Athia and blast enemies with overwhelmingly cool spells. However, its content is underwhelming, its RPG systems are weak, and its visuals are less advanced than advertised. As such, Forspoken's potential is largely unrealized in its current state. It's still a decent romp for genre fans to go through, though waiting until it gets a discount or is added to one of the many subscription services is recommended.
Forspoken is ambitious, and there are hints of a winning formula.
Forspoken is absolutely fantastic. With all the spells you can unlock, the gear you can upgrade, the fights, the bosses, and a storyline that rivals the best video game stories, this isn't a return to form for SquareEnix, it's a testament that they still got it, and will have it for a very, very long time.
Ultimately, Forspoken is a game that is just like its main character. At first glance, it appears flawed and suffers from several issues. Dig deeper and give it some time, however, and it just might grow on you thanks to a compelling story that tackles some tough issues and a really good combat system that dishes out some serious fun. It’s certainly far from perfect. But it’s also not the horrible game that some make it out to be. I only wish the pacing was better as it starts out really slow and takes a while for it to really get going.
Forspoken would be a passable PlayStation title if it were released a decade ago, but it drops the ball as a contemporary AAA game due to its awkward voice performances, muddy visuals, and many bizarre design choices.
Forspoken is packed with flaws — be they outright missteps or simply middling executions — but there are definitely qualities to this game that can deliver an entertaining and sometimes thrilling experience. I did ultimately enjoy my time with it, all told and considered. There’s interesting lore here, and at times the story approaches compelling, but it was held back so much by odd design choices, an often bland world, and uneven pacing in both the story and moment-to-moment dialogue. On paper, it could and should be great, but nothing quite fits together to make a stronger whole. It’s crammed with so much, and beyond the combat and traversal, the whole experience just winds up feeling like something of a relatively enjoyable mess.
Even with its unfortunate first impression, I’d hardly recommend Forspoken. Its exceptional gameplay is more than enough to make it worth playing and is all the more noteworthy, given it’s a fresh new IP. If nothing else, it lays the groundwork for a new series that has plenty to build from and could go on to be remembered for far more than some rough dialogue.
Square Enix did the right thing by investing in an entirely new franchise. But in the end, Forspoken is a huge disappointement with too many flaws to be a good game. A bland open world with forgets to shape its own identity, a poor writing and too many weakness from a technical point of view, coexist with some good gameplay mechanics like the spells and the parkour.
Review in French | Read full review
Forspoken inspires with its parkour and combat system, but otherwise can only convince moderately and gives away a lot of potential.
Review in German | Read full review