Forspoken Review: What Was All The Hype Really About?

In Forspoken, the gamer follows Frey, a young woman from New York who finds herself transported to Athia, a realm that is both beautiful and horrible. Frey has to utilize her newly discovered magical talents to navigate vast landscapes and battle with horrific animals so that she can find a route back home.

It was delayed multiple times as well as got very high review scores even without the game being published. Just like many triple-A titles it was hyped beyond measure and led to gamers having their expectations very high as usual. In this review, we’ll share our impressions and discuss the game’s strengths and weaknesses. The review will be broken down into positive and negative aspects to help you make an informed decision.

What Was All The Hype Really About? – Forspoken Review

Pros

Like always, we’ll get off on the right foot by praising the game early on in the review, in this case Forspoken, despite the fact that previous and other reviews have panned it for having nothing going for it. But let’s discuss the good sides nonetheless because they do exist.

Visuals

The first thing that that you’ll notice when playing Forespoken are the visuals, just like every other game. We must say that the visuals of this game are stunning and beautiful to watch. The cutscenes are professionally designed and have real actors playing in them which will make you connect with them way more.

The environment and areas that you’ll be exploring are also beautiful to enjoy, although somewhat barren at times. The weather system, sunlight beams, and everything from entering dark caves to running on sunny cliffs is just a joy to watch. There are even some camera elements to the game that will give you beautiful landscapes to take for yourself so that you might use them as wallpaper.

The monsters that you’ll come across also have a variety and all the visual effects and done very well too. You can notice the small details when casting spells as well as the effects that do damage to the enemies.

Gameplay

Although the gameplay is attacked by some as being dull, it is actually a pretty fun system and made to be not so bad. You are using magical spells that will require you to jump around your enemies and strike them with an arsenal of AoE or single–target skills. There are even some which are melee based.

You will be using parkour quite a bit, and although the movement is clunky which we will talk about later, it still holds its ground in combat especially. There is crafting, skills to be unlocked as you progress the game, items that will give you certain buffs, and so on.

There are plenty of collectibles to collect throughout the map, and they are somewhat annoying to take because it’s the same old thing that you’ll do, but they end up rewarding you in some way or another.

Spell System & Crafting

The spell system is average but nothing to complain about. You have an arsenal of skills that you can use against your enemies, most of the time you’ll need to switch them up depending on what enemies you come across. You can upgrade them and your bracelet to make them stronger as well as unlock new spells as you go through the game. There are also some combat and world-traveling spells too.

There is a market system that allows you to buy things, as well as crafting tables that will allow you to make stronger and unique items that give different benefits to Frey.

Beginner Gamer Friendly

Unlike us in ItemLevel who play and review everything from big triple-A title games to the smallest one-person indie company games and have a long history of gaming that know what makes a good and a bad game, some newcomers might not know about and they simply love Forspoken.

Forspoken is a very beginner–friendly type of game. People that don’t have a history of gaming or even start out with this one as their first, simply love the game. The story and the whole premise don’t throw you inside a world that you should know about or might get you lost. Instead, you are playing as Frey who’s a regular New Yorker and is placed inside a fantastical world that does not know a thing about it just like the gamer playing the game.

The story also doesn’t get too deep and in–depth which will make you scratch your head at times, and throughout the game you’ll get very light dialogues and everyday sort of lines. With that being said, it is a very expensive triple-A title and gamers that have a history of gaming will have lots of bad things to say about it. Let’s talk about them now.

Cons

Now starts the ugly part of the review. We will be real and say things as they are, and although Forspoken looks and feels like a very ambitious project, it definitely doesn’t live up to what it was planned to be.

Optimization

Straight off the bat, you will realize that no matter what type of system you have, mostly talking for PC gamers, you will have a bad time with Forespoken. As you play the game there is a big optimization problem that will not only give you low FPS but make your rigs work double time for no actual reason.

Some people bought RX6600 simply to play Forspoken and even with these settings the game can’t even run at standard 60 FPS. Because the game emphasizes that you use parkour means you’ll move a lot and turn with the camera too, well if you turn it too fast you’ll be getting FPS spikes and freezes.

It does not feel like a released title since the game is not optimized at all. Even if you want to open up the map it will take you 5 seconds at times. Being a triple-A very expensive title this is a very big Con indeed.

Story

The story is nothing to write home about. It is as plain as it can get and although, as we have spoken above in the review, it is loved by some because of it, actual gamers that know compelling and touching stories will be very bored by it.

You are playing as a 20-year-old New Yorker that is thrown inside a fantastical world with a talking bracelet and she will keep commenting about it with very teenage edgy lines almost 99% of the game. It becomes very annoying even after the first hour of the game.

There are cutscenes that show off something of the game, but all of the big things that should be explained much better are simply placed in log books that you can find and need to read. This is a big mistake the devs have did as they have actual room to improve on the story.

If we can choose one word that will explain the story of Forspoken will be predictable. Nothing will happen that might come out of the ordinary.

Side Quests

Get ready to be chasing a lot of cats! The side quests that you’ll do are all the same and you’ll end up getting bored with them very fast and very soon. Most of them can be found inside the big city and will have you chasing cats or doing some awkward and cringe worth cutscenes.

With time you’ll realize what they are and you’ll do them just as mechanically as they are created to be.

Content & Barren World

The content that the world brings to you is close to 0. Seriously. Boring and repeated mob battles, a few chests, and a few places to rest. Add a four-minute obstacle course to each zone, along with a statue that increases stats. Some players have commented that there are a lot more activities to do in Minecraft. This is a shame because the antagonists have great visuals.

Even the world at times seems like a barren desert not because it’s supposed to be, but because there isn’t anything of actual fun placed in it. You will be getting the same things over and over again as you travel.

Not Worth The Price

The game has been extensively hyped, and as a result, many people have paid full money to play it. Well, now that you know the truth, we can confidently tell you that it is a $20 game pretending to be a $70 game. There is zero return on investment at this pricing.

Clunky Movement

Both movement and parkour feel rather clumsy. Attempts to combine freestyle acrobatics and hack-and-slash gameplay but never get around to actually implementing either.

Until very late in the game, the only parkour mechanic is a sprint followed by a jump. There isn’t much room for error when using the sprint, as the character will launch itself over a cliff if you so much as step on a rock.

ALSO READ: Where To Find Enemies Vulnerable To Sila’s Magic In Forspoken