Forspoken Launches A Demo, and We Dive In

Players got an early Christmas present, and we have plenty of thoughts on it

The Game Awards 2022 brought plenty of surprises and fun to its show. Besides being one of the most popular awards ceremonies for the industry, The Game Awards has also created a reputation for bringing shocking game announcements and news as a sort of December E3. True to form, one such revelation was the shadow drop of a playable demo for Luminous Production’s upcoming action-adventure RPG Forspoken. I was able to take the time to play the roughly 30-minute demo, and I was certainly not disappointed.

This piece of gameplay felt less like it was a section of the actual story and more like a presentation of various gameplay elements as if this demo was specifically created as a form of sales presentation. This is not a criticism, but rather a recognition of smart demo delivery in my opinion. I like being able to test out the game without seeing something that could be seen again later once the game actually releases. Players are set on a 5-step mission covering different objectives I’m sure we will encounter in the full release. The various steps included clearing an area of enemies, learning how to acquire new spells, and finishing an objective to get a new piece of gear. As a bonus, players could test what they’ve learned against a substantially difficult enemy to round off the demo. Without doing any sort of exploration, I’d estimate you could finish this whole preview in about 15 minutes.

Frey gains extra magic and spells inside fonts of magic.

Forspoken’s combat gameplay has always been what intrigued me, and this demo surprised me with how fast-paced the fighting is already. Prior development videos and trailers made the mechanics seem as if fighting was heavy and directed toward one enemy at a time. However, Frey’s movement and parkour ability directs players to play faster and in an almost anime-style fluidity. I don’t think I’ve felt this much freedom of movement and speed since my time with Zone of the Enders back in the early PlayStation 2 days. Fast dodges and evasion is accomplished with just a joystick movement and singular button press, and just like in Final Fantasy 15, this motion can be held for a constant dodging system if you don’t feel like pressing the button each time. By the time I hit the last few minutes of the demo, I was dashing all over the map during battle encounters.

Scroll wheels help select attacks on the fly

Attacks are done (on controller) with the left and right triggers, and here is a moment in which the technology of the DualSense controller actually confused me for a bit. For reference, the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller has several unique features, one being the haptic triggers. Essentially, these are triggers that have custom function capability in terms of pressure and realism. In past games I’ve played, this meant that if, for instance, my character has a bow and arrow weapon, and I want to pull an arrow to shoot, I feel pressure in that trigger as if I were pulling back the string in real life. In Forspoken, combat attacks utilize a regular and charged attack system, but both are built into the haptics. I spent the first half of the demo trying to pull through the increased pressure just to do normal attacks, and often I found myself accidentally doing a charged attack instead. What I later realized is that there was a tangible “stop guard” style in the trigger, meaning I only need to push down on the trigger enough to make the regular attack work, and then once I wanted a charge attack I’d pull all the way. I feel like that pressure can be adjusted a bit, but otherwise, I thought it was a clever adaptation of the tech available.

The magic system offers diversity in attack variations within a snappy selection system. I was able to use R1 to select different offensive magic attacks and L1 for the defensive spells. The demo offered the use of two magic disciplines: earth-based magic used primarily for medium-range shooting and attacking from a distance, and fire-based magic that creates melee attack opportunities. Each type started with three spells of offensive and defensive each, and the game allowed me to level up and learn more options for a total of 8 in each section. Also, both types had a unique “super” spell I could utilize. Holding L1 and R1 together allowed me to swap between the two elemental types, though I figured out later that this can also be accomplished with the D-pad. After practice, I was swapping between types quickly, sometimes in the middle of dodges.

The map has plenty of optional items to explore.

In prior articles, I addressed my concerns about the large map and potentially how empty it could feel. Looking at the section of map provided in the demo, I noticed plenty to explore if I chose to do so. Purple dots cover the map, designating treasure chest spots. I would imagine these chests are a combination of gear and crafting resources. Also, I was able to discover other landmarks via a scout tower system, where I activate a tower and have a high-level view of the immediate surroundings. I was able to explore several photo op locations, though that amounted to a simple photo snap of a designated area that was guided into focus by my camera viewfinder. More locations included monuments, areas of power that either immediately gave me stat increases or put me into combat scenarios to finish first. With all that being said, this is still a large map to explore on foot, and I can’t help but wonder how exhausting that may become after a few hours.

Something else that brought back memories of my time in Final Fantasy 15, was the random dialogue between Frey and her gauntlet-with-a-voice companion Cuff. So many times, Frey would make small talk with Cuff, whether it was to comment on the architecture surrounding her or to make exclamations about enemies. These bits were not one-line quotes either, but rather full-on conversations. However, the uniqueness did seem to run out after a while, and Frey started repeating herself as is expected. So just like my time in other Final Fantasy games, I’m sure I’ll find a way to eventually tune this out. One other comment I’ll make is how refreshingly blunt and crass the dialogue is. Forspoken isn’t afraid to drop dirty words into the mix, and oddly enough I think that makes the game more grounded. Honestly, if I as a player am most likely yelling things like that at my TV while having to super dodge and throw out magic, I would like my character to be doing the same. Of course, this is just a little personal quirk, but I thought it was a very human touch.

Super attacks can sometimes even the odds

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with the Forspoken demo. It was a welcome announcement during The Game Awards, and I hope many get to experience it. Though the game will be available for PC, the demo is only currently available for PS5 users, though there does not seem to be an end date listed for when the demo goes offline. Forspoken launches on PS5 and PC on January 24th, 2023. For more information, be sure to check out Forspoken on Steam, Epic Games, and the PlayStation site. Enjoy the screenshots below, as I adored using the game’s photo mode to capture the magic in all its glory.