As I sit behind my desk, it’s hard to find the words, to sum up exactly how I feel about Forspoken. I guess in a funny way, that stereotypical mom line “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed” might be the closest I can come. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not in any position to truly feel disappointed with how the game turned out because I wasn’t all that excited, to begin with.
A few years ago, when the first sneak peek of the game was released, I remember everyone and their mom jumping up and down with the same level of excitement they express when the bachelor hands over his final rose. But yet, something was missing when I watched it, something subtle. I couldn’t put my thumb on what it was, but it lacked something that prevented me from feeling that spark.
Since its announcement, more and more people in my life and on the internet started to feel that same lacking that I did. Before long, much of the momentum the game had created started pulling the title in the wrong direction. But even so, some still had death grips on that initial excitement. That love and hope was infectious enough that I kept Forspoken on my radar, desperately hoping that the problem was me.
Before we go into the review, let me address one key point we must get out of the way before going any further. The price. I get paid to write, it’s my job, and it’s what I do to pay my bills. So essentially, I get paid to play video games, and it doesn’t matter which gaming platforms you frequent; this is true for most writers.
Because playing games is our job, we often don’t correctly assess the price of games, which could be because we get sent keys and never really focus on the price. Or, because we buy so many games, we write it off as a business expense. However, the price is significant for those who don’t get paid to write about games. As such, it’s something that warrants talking about. So. Forspoken will set you back anywhere from R1400 to R1900, depending on which version you buy. That is a ridiculous price for a game, and it should be shamed, not normalised.
My opinion of the game aside, at R1400-R1900, it is not worth it. Even if the game speaks to you, wait until the game gets marked down before committing. There are countless other games you could pick up for a fraction of the cost and which will likely bring you more enjoyment. Also, it sets a precedent that outrageous pricing won’t be tolerated.
Okay, now let’s finally talk about Forspoken. As I said earlier, I’m struggling to break down my feelings in a digestible way, so I will break them down into chunks.
Chunk one: what you see. The world of Forspoken, both the real world where your adventure starts and the mythical world of Athia, are truly sights to behold. At first glance, the world is beautiful and eye-catching. In fact, if I had to write my review based on the environment, this would be a very different tale. The other area of Forspoken that is easy on the eyes is the game’s cinematics.
The cinematics has this way of making the characters, environment, and foes come alive. However, each time a cinematic ends, I had a hard time not feeling like I was catfished. As marvellous and as alive as Frey looks in the game’s cinematics, that is how lifeless, unfinished and dated she looks in-game. Frey is genuinely the catalyst in shining light on the ugly truth behind Forspoken: the game is fine, from a distance, and if you squint.
Next up, let’s talk about the story. Forspoken’s story is anything but original, I also don’t believe it has to be. In a world where every version of every story has been told before, it’s far more important to focus on how to retell the story instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. Forspoken is about Frey Holland, a young New Yorker who gets pulled into the fantasy realm of Athia after accidentally becoming bonded to a talking armband called Cuff.
The four realms of Athia have been afflicted with corruption, and it falls on Frey and her new powers to help restore the world to what it once was. It’s your basic down-on-your-luck life-turned-upside-down story that will see Frey ultimately become the hero she didn’t know she was.
Now, the story of Forspoken is not the game’s most significant shortfall, but it’s also not its biggest draw. In a nutshell, the story is… fine. It’s like bread without butter, food without salt or room-temperature tap water. While it won’t send anyone running, it will not attract them either.
Finally, let’s talk about the heart and soul of any game, the gameplay. Forspoken feels like a game split down the middle into two parts. On one side of the division, you will spend time talking to NPCs and doing the world’s most mundane chores, like feeding sheep. And on the other side, you will find yourself sprinting across the world using Frey’s parkour skills and beating enemies. And if I’m being honest, that is about as deep as either side of the split ever becomes.
While many other games take a similar approach to their quests and gameplay, Forspoken handles it in such a boring way that you end up feeling like you are running through an endless checklist of stuff to do instead of exploring and interacting with the world.
All this being said, do I think Forspoken is the worst game ever released? No, no, I don’t. But in the same breath, it also can’t stand with the big boys thanks to its price point. Take the game as is, make it R400, and now you have something – but at more than three times what I think the game is worth, you can find something prettier, more entertaining and meatier without breaking much of a sweat.
