Square Enix’s Forspoken puts a New Yorker in a Final Fantasy-like world

Over the past decade, publisher Square Enix’s catalog of games has felt of two worlds: From its Japan-based internal studios, the company makes games in the ever-growing RPG universes of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Nier/Drakengard, and Kingdom Hearts; and elsewhere in the world, Square Enix publishes the adventures of Lara Croft, JC Denton, Rico Rodriguez, and Marvel superheroes.

The global publisher’s next big AAA game, the all-new world of ForspokenIt feels as if Square Enix’s two halves are coming together. Luminous Productions is responsible for the development of this game. This team consists primarily of former Square Enix employees. Final Fantasy 15.Developers. Written by a group of Western creators. The ForspokenStars a New York City-based young lady who is transported into a fantasy world where magic spells and a sentient wrist bracelet can help her defeat an evil force called the Break.

The Forspoken is a classic fish-out-of-water story — or if you know the term, an isekai tale. Heroine Frey Holland is magically whisked away from New York to the strange fantasy world of Athia, where she’s not only capable, she’s incredibly powerful. But she’s also in over her head. Frey will use magical spells to battle Break-mutated creatures and traverse a vast, deadly, but bland-looking open world using “magic parkour.”

Image: Luminous Productions/Square Enix

A hands-off preview was held The Forspoken, the game’s creators say that players will be able to explore Athia “as freely and as stylishly as they please.” Frey’s magic parkour moves let her scale cliffs, leap over tall buildings, and break falls that would mean instant death to a normal person. Controlling Frey “is a whole lot of fun,” its creators promise.

But Frey is not a superhero, according to lead write Todd Stashwick, who calls her “a vulnerable human underneath it all.” Stashwick said Frey has a “tough exterior,” thanks to a rough upbringing in a foster care environment, and she uses humor as a defense mechanism in her interactions with allies and enemies. “It’s what most people do when things are hard or absurd,” explained writer Allison Rymer. “You meet it with humor.”

In practice, that humor didn’t seem to land. Frey’s constant quipping is a problem in battle. It happens at a pace that makes her seem more irritating than charming. In an interactive game lasting dozens of hours, it can be difficult to come up with funny timing. However, Frey’s best jokes are kept for last. The Forspoken’s release in March.

Still, Frey doesn’t seem like the typical Final Fantasy protagonist, dressed up in grungy jeans, flannel, and slip-on sneakers. The casual streetwear she wears will be complimented by magical necklaces, cloaks, and nail stickers infused with spell fragments. The Forspoken progresses. Frey will become increasingly powerful, learning and leveling up spells — her solitary means of combat in the game — on her journey to cleanse Athia of the Break and dispel the corrupted matriarchs who rule it, the Tantas.

Image: Luminous Productions/Square Enix

Frey is viewed by the residents of Athia with fear and awe, just as in stories such as this. That’s what seems most intriguing about Forspoken: Frey’s outsider perspective and role in a big Square Enix-developed fantasy world. Watching her navigate the environment, politics, and conflicts of Athia — all while saving it — is the game’s most compelling premise.

Although the combat appears to be very good, some time will still need to be spent on it. When The Forspoken comes to PlayStation 5 and Windows PC on May 24, 2022, we’ll see if the former Final Fantasy 15.The team did it.