Since magic lies at the heart of the new intellectual property Forspoken, the game has the ability to carve out a niche for itself in the role-playing genre. There is depth between the shadiest corners of New York City to a magical realm populated by supernatural beings. Though being a brand-new IP, some gamers may be wary of it, and it has many of the makings of a game that might divide its audience.

The plot serves as its fundamental axis, and your progress through the game's many locations and side quests will intrinsically relate to that tale. Making that connection will open up a lot of cheerful possibilities. However, learning the limits is simple enough if you utilize the dyes against the game. While Luminous Productions has worked under Square Enix to develop Final Fantasy XV, they take open-world exploration to a far greater height with Forspoken.

Formerly entitled Project Athia, Forspoken is Luminous Productions' second game and was pitched as an open-world experience that would symbolize the studio's height. There have been two postponements of the January 24 release, but in the end, the flowless gameplay experience feels worth the wait. It's no secret that parkour and combat involving vibrant and light magic are eye-catching, but sadly, both tend to become aimless after serving their intended function for a while. Fortunately, Forspoken doesn't spend an excruciatingly long time trying to figure out what it implies. Before the vast open world genuinely seems like it's there to explore, players will have to spend a good deal of time leaping across Athia, performing spells, and listening to corny dialogue.

The events in Forspoken allow us to steer the actions of Frey Holland. A struggling girl trying to escape New York for a new life gets dragged away to Athia's realm after discovering a magical bracelet. Frey had been abandoned by her family when she was an infant and now has to discover a strange world. Athia, home to a wide variety of dangerous creatures and powerful spells, also suffers from the effects of some demonic influence.

Architecture that dates back to the Middle Ages might be seen in ruins all over the place, surrounded by beautiful landscapes and the remnants of a once-thriving civilization. Frey gets confused after realizing that a talking bracelet locks her wrist. Cuff, her bracelet, grants her supernatural abilities to fight against strange creatures and more as their bond strengthens.

The gateway that brought her to Athia eventually closed, and she was left in this universe, despite her first disbelief. Even though there are several clichés in Forspoken's plot, Frey's cheerful presence is particularly likable. She learns about her past and her attachment to Athia throughout the narrative as she progresses. In adapting to her new surroundings, she uncovers a sequence of magical abilities crucial to her survival, unlocking the secret to her history and, at the same time, rescuing the last surviving humans of Athia.

Frey will have to confront four decisive witches who reign with an iron grip and seem to be the source of the disaster that plagues this realm if he is to succeed in his mission. Cuff also becomes her ally in battle because of his array of spells. He keeps Frey accompanied with continuous conversations, which be adjusted from nonstop to brief and to the point.

While Frey remains a charismatic and enjoyable protagonist throughout the game, the beautiful Athia is spectacular. It's a shame that the break destroyed so much of the scenery since it's gorgeous even in its broken state. Additionally, you will amass a multitude of bright capes, do a variety of kickflips, whirl and swirl like a dancer, and speed through magical realms. For some reason, nothing in the distance seemed to materialize out of thin air.

You had the freedom to go anywhere you happened to look. For the first part of Frey's stroll, you can climb any peak with relative ease. You witness individual grass blades and fully grown trees. The sky is blue or sometimes crimson. Threats waiting for you to get close to them, whether they're in the air or on the ground.

Forspoken is, first and foremost, an intense action experience with combats that occurs with lightning speed. Although role-playing elements are included, a real-time battle is a backbone. Unlike the protagonists of other action games, Frey does not have access to firearms; instead, she relies on his magic to deal damage and protect herself.

Spells can be cast and charged to increase their potency, dodged, and counterattacked while bearing in mind the enemy's defenses and vulnerabilities. Provided an attacker has been knocked down, you can finish it off with an assault by pressing the action button at the proper time. The fighting is enjoyable and fulfilling, particularly against the final witches, who are all distinct enough to allow you to be creative, even though it may get chaotic at times.

While you begin with primary influence over nature and earth, you will eventually learn four more spell sets as the tale progresses. You will unlock new parkour and combat skills by obtaining with each spell set. Holding B allows fundamental parkour maneuvers while using Frey's magic, a medium-range projectile collection. Attack and support spells are allocated to RT and LT, respectively, in combat. You can launch a combo of rocks by repeatedly pressing LB. 

One of three more powerful spells can be performed by holding the button and selecting it from the radial menu that appears when you press RB, which displays three for each spell set. You could, for instance, save up enough energy to unleash a devastating rock explosion, or you could unleash a rapid-fire stream that reaches far. In contrast, support spells provide a variety of effects, such as temporary health restoration, increased defenses, and damage throughout time projectiles.

The game's central promise is unquestionably rooted in its combat idea and Frey's magical skills. You will choose from a vast range of spells, and more will become available as the storyline develops. You can advance her supernatural abilities by leveling up, completing side quests, and gathering magical resources. The battles are mind-bending, and we'll face everything from hordes of foes to one-on-one showdowns with monsters.

Even playing on a PC, controlling Frey during combat is easier with a controller than with the mouse and keyboard. Because there are instances when battles grow disorganized, making it difficult to kill the intended enemy due to the poor accuracy of the automated aiming mechanism unless you switch to manual targeting.

The Ruin has severely deformed a wide range of creatures, so you may expect to fight many different types of monsters, including those that resemble undead and others that are more akin to the standard fare of mythical creatures. Simply put, you will never have the luxury of staying still in a fight because our enemies will be exceedingly active and will not wait to assault us in number. Despite the varieties of enemies and their diverse weaknesses to learn, Forspoken is rather easy if you invest your time in exploring and leveling up.

The visual appeal of spellcasting is undeniable, even when you aren't fighting. It's thrilling to go about Athia; Frey's swift, effortless mobility makes the whole experience seem like something out of a dream. Frey's ability to glide is easy to perform, granting a great deal of freedom of movement; when more abilities are gained, the player is empowered to do incredible acts, such as climbing up cliffs and swinging over vast distances.

Forspoken captures the thrill one experiences when randomly wandering an area. There are countless landmarks and quests to complete throughout the game's enormous territories. Searching for lore in any area provides context for the location, which involves fighting a bunch of enemies to open a treasure box and utilizing Frey's abilities to figure out a way to open locked areas. There are also puzzles with boss fights at the end; puzzles, however, are rather easy compared to the game's primary objectives.

As you explore the land of Athia, you will encounter a wealth of opportunities and resources. Frey will unlock better clothing, accessories, and nail designs by completing objectives. Individual pieces of equipment allow for much customization, including the enhancement of magical abilities and defensive capabilities. At the beginning of Forspoken, there is a significant amount of conversation. You'll eventually use Cuff's scanner to locate further objects of interest and question marks to indicate prospective quests or people needing interaction.

Many Detours and landmarks in Cipal and the rest of the Athia provide plenty of backstories for those wanting to get completely immersed in the game's lore. In all honesty, it's best enjoyed slowly and thoroughly. Sadly, weaknesses of the game's side missions include their lack of variety and complexity, with most delivering little more than a group of opponents to kill or a hidden item.

In Forspoken, you get XP whenever you accomplish a task or defeat an opponent in combat. When you achieve this, you'll get mana, which can be used on any spell in the game. Additionally, light trails on the ground represent resources located at various points around the map. While there is a definite minority of spells from each of the four schools that may be obtained from certain magical sources, it will require a significant investment of time and resources to learn all of them.

Additionally, Frey discovers a network of hideouts dotted throughout the map that serve as shelters and workshop spaces. There are also bookshelves where she can keep tabs on up to three Spellcraft competitions if she chooses. These short quests require you to use the chosen spell in specific ways.

The screenplay does a fantastic job of setting up the amusing and intense situations that define the journey aided by suitable soundtracks, but the actors give them life. The supporting cast is also quite good, especially Ella Balinska as Frey, who gives a fantastic performance despite sometimes having mediocre dialogues and her frequent use of swear words. The Tantas are portrayed by Janina Gavankar, Pollyanna McIntosh, and Claudia Black, three actors of considerable skill and experience.

They all do an outstanding job, and even though some of the supporting NPCs might need some work, the cast uplifts the game. In their absence, Frey and Cuff's verbal sparring would come out rough even if it were at its finest. The voice actors, notably Ella Balinska and Jonathan Cake as Cuff, do a fantastic job of giving the game's protagonists believable voices and making their conversations seem natural, even though hearing the same lines repeatedly can get monotonous at times.

The extent to which players may enjoy Forspoken, despite its complex systems, will depend on a number of factors. Gameplay-wise, it's a mammoth undertaking, but many players may care less that it's so large since the same activities are found in every given location of Athia. Others, however, will enjoy getting a new traversal spell since they know it will allow them to climb a mountain they've never been able to before.

It's a complete adventure that can be finished in around 20-25 hours if you only focus on the campaign or twice as long if you take part in every optional side quest and event. It's a stand-alone game, so sadly, there are no multiplayer modes that could make it far more interesting, but luckily there are no microtransactions to worry about.

Forspoken stands on its own as an impressive game, promising enough to join Square Enix's other flagship series in the future. It's just at the threshold of a breakthrough. Despite its narrative being slow and building slowly when everything fits into place and its expansive landscape, the game ultimately engages players to explore every inch of its universe.

It is a pleasant experience to learn the valid reasoning behind everything, discover the characters' true identities, and attain the climax. Although it needs more variation in its side quests, the game's core mechanism and acting are compelling enough to attract everyone's interest. It has everything for those who are into RPG, Open World Exploration, Fantasy, and magic or combat with a unique mechanism. Forspoken delivers on what it promises, and you will be satisfied if you're into its premise for story or gameplay.
 

Azfar Rayan (@AzfarRayan)
Editor, NoobFeed