Seat Of Reflection: Venturing Through A Forspoken Dungeon

After flinging herself up a sheer cliff face with the help of some high-flying parkour magic, Forspoken’s protagonist, Frey, approaches a rotunda made of stone and metal. A pool with glowing flames-like auras blazes in the middle of the structure. The first time we have seen a Seat of Reflection is when Athia’s travelers will encounter it. This mini-dungeon allows players to battle through. Overcoming its challenges will be tough, and monsters lurk within which players won’t find outside the complex. However, there are great rewards for those who fight well.

Banter is the first step on this journey to unknown. Forspoken’s creators admit they took fans’ criticisms to heart about the amount of dialogue between the main character and her golden companion.

“There’s been some commentary about the frequency of banter between Frey and Cuff when you’re out in the world,” says creative producer Raio Mitsuno. “Those kinds of things we’re looking at in terms of fine-tuning the frequency, making sure that it’s not to the point where it feels overwhelming, but we want to make sure it’s timed nicely. Where it doesn’t feel like there’s too much silence when you’re playing out in the vast world. But we don’t want it to be too much. You know, you don’t want it to be noise, obviously. So, we are taking a lot of feedback and making sure we’re adjusting things to make sure that it’s kind of the optimal experience.”

While the developers may be reducing the level of conversation, the tone is the same. After being asked whether she intends to go into the dungeon, Frey responds with an emphatic, “No!… But I mean, it’s kind of asking for it.” It’s not the most heroic line, but it does underscore the duo’s relationship. Cuff and Frey are more along the line of frenemies in the early game, with our heroine blatantly disinterested in helping Cuff save the magical realm she’s somehow stumbled into. Understandably, this upsets Athia-native Cuff, and much of the pair’s early dialogue reflects this tension by way of teasing and sarcasm.

Frey follows her curiosity into the dungeon. Thanks to a helpful text, we learn that we are in The Seat of Reflection, a subterranean labyrinth historically tied with the land’s powerful rulers, the Tantas. Inside, the walls are thick stone and look like a medieval fortress’s hallway. The wall is lit by sconces that emit a purple glow called Erie. Just before encountering an army of enemies, Frey finds a useful resource to craft along the corridor.

They look more like magic than the Break-touched monsters outside. They glow with the same purple light found in the hallway, and their bodies are visibly immaterial, but that doesn’t mean they don’t pack a punch. Frey is on the attack, using several ranged magic spells in an attempt to eliminate a shimmering deer-like creature as well as several other winged threats. We go more in-depth into all her mystical attacks and what we learned about Forspoken’s magic combat here if you want to dive deeper into the game’s arcane knowledge.

Our preview cuts to the boss at this point. We have little time to explore the tunnels of stone and the dangers that might lie within them. Pushing back a set of heavy doors, Frey confronts a “Proto Jabberwock” that materializes from a wall of shimmering blue sparks. Frey’s formerly formidable spells now barely dent the massive, spindly monster. Aiming for what looks like a singular eye in the middle of the Jabberwock’s cluster of long appendages, Frey combines her offensive powers with magical parkour to weave around the limited battleground. She mutters to herself at one point, growling in frustration that something she’s doing isn’t working, which seems like a clue to the player that they should switch up their approach. Frey receives a boost of EXP, 10 more mana and a bonus leveling up her character.

Several Seat of Reflection dungeons are scattered throughout Athia, but those aren’t the only activities to look forward to in Forspoken’s open world. Check out our side activities breakdown if you want to know more. Are you looking for the most recent information on this title? Head over to this month’s cover story hub for all things Forspoken!