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The reviews for Forspoken started to come out today and wow, they are not good. They aren't exactly terrible, but for a game that has been sitting in the spotlight for so long, the scores this game is receiving cannot be what Square Enix was hoping for. Forspoken sits at a 69% average on OpenCritic, and what critics have been saying are not painting a very pretty picture for the game. Despite the decent average, only 28% of all critics actually recommend the game.
Forspoken is developed by Luminous Productions and published by Square Enix. Though the game is coming out on January 24, 2023 for PlayStation 5 and PC, no review codes for the PC release were sent out. Meaning that all we're seeing here are the critical takes on the PlayStation 5 release.
If you are sitting there thinking that "maybe the PC release will be better," you may want to think again as there are several red flags already. First off, the fact that nobody received a review copy for the PC is extremely concerning. Secondly, the requirements on PC are absolutely absurd, especially when the minimum is targeting a 720p resolution at just 30FPS. This one is going to be a very tough sell to the PC crowd, especially with its starting price of $69.99 (USD).
Even if the game came out and ran flawlessly at 4K and 120FPS on PC for everyone, it doesn't change the fact that there are some major issues involving the gameplay, the story, the dialogue, the traversal, and the visuals. Let's see what an assortment of critics have to say about all of these areas, and more, in some of their reviews.
IGN - 6 / 10
"Forspoken is the sort of game you’ve probably seen before – from its stereotypical fish-out-of-water fantasy story to its giant open-world map full of repetitive optional tasks. Its combat is flashy and fun enough to entertain across its comparatively short RPG campaign, with fights that do a good job of pushing you to shake up your use of elemental powers even when the overall variety of enemies isn’t particularly impressive. Its parkour system is also satisfying enough, despite the scenery you are running through being about as picturesque as a bowl of rocks with an Instagram filter slapped on. There’s a kind of person that might be enough for, happy to spend hours and hours uncovering every inch of Forspoken’s needlessly large map after the main story, but that doesn’t mean I was able to find much reason to do so once the credits had rolled."
"Forspoken is the sort of game you’ve probably seen before – from its stereotypical fish-out-of-water fantasy story to its giant open-world map full of repetitive optional tasks. Its combat is flashy and fun enough to entertain across its comparatively short RPG campaign, with fights that do a good job of pushing you to shake up your use of elemental powers even when the overall variety of enemies isn’t particularly impressive. Its parkour system is also satisfying enough, despite the scenery you are running through being about as picturesque as a bowl of rocks with an Instagram filter slapped on. There’s a kind of person that might be enough for, happy to spend hours and hours uncovering every inch of Forspoken’s needlessly large map after the main story, but that doesn’t mean I was able to find much reason to do so once the credits had rolled."
GameSpot - 5 / 10
"Forspoken is a tricky game to recommend. The lore of its world is interesting but delivered in a stilted expository manner, and the freeing sensation of taking off across the landscape in a magically-propelled sprint is sullied by the knowledge that there's nowhere to go or anything fun to do. Combat is visually impressive but not all that engaging, and the excellent sound design and the catchy musical score are regularly undermined by unfunny quips from an unlikable protagonist. I enjoyed parts of it, but too often my fun was dragged to an unrewarding halt."
"Forspoken is a tricky game to recommend. The lore of its world is interesting but delivered in a stilted expository manner, and the freeing sensation of taking off across the landscape in a magically-propelled sprint is sullied by the knowledge that there's nowhere to go or anything fun to do. Combat is visually impressive but not all that engaging, and the excellent sound design and the catchy musical score are regularly undermined by unfunny quips from an unlikable protagonist. I enjoyed parts of it, but too often my fun was dragged to an unrewarding halt."
Polygon - Unscored
"Forspoken’s opening hours are by far its worst. It took me 16 hours to complete the game, taking in a fair bit of the side offerings in this open-world action RPG, being careful not to sprint too quickly toward the game’s conclusion, though the temptation was there. The first seven hours of those 16 (nearly half the game’s run time, I feel the need to emphasize) were hamstrung by a lengthy tutorial, one-note combat, and an insistence on interrupting the “magic parkour†with lore entries, horrible dialogue, sheep-petting minigames, cat-following minigames, and spoken exposition detailing the intricacies of meat production in Cipal, Forspoken’s empty, ugly hub city."
"Forspoken’s opening hours are by far its worst. It took me 16 hours to complete the game, taking in a fair bit of the side offerings in this open-world action RPG, being careful not to sprint too quickly toward the game’s conclusion, though the temptation was there. The first seven hours of those 16 (nearly half the game’s run time, I feel the need to emphasize) were hamstrung by a lengthy tutorial, one-note combat, and an insistence on interrupting the “magic parkour†with lore entries, horrible dialogue, sheep-petting minigames, cat-following minigames, and spoken exposition detailing the intricacies of meat production in Cipal, Forspoken’s empty, ugly hub city."
Kinda Funny - Unscored
"When you want to talk story, combat, open world, mission design... the list goes on. None of them are good. On the Kinda Funny review scale, there is no choice but to declare that this is a bad game."
"When you want to talk story, combat, open world, mission design... the list goes on. None of them are good. On the Kinda Funny review scale, there is no choice but to declare that this is a bad game."
GamesRadar+ - 2.5 / 5
"The much-delayed Forspoken unfortunately might have still needed a bit more time in development, as the delivered experience makes for a rough adventure. There are some impressive mechanics buried somewhere deep within Forspoken, but they're too often swallowed up by classic open-world chaff, a lackluster narrative, and at-times dreadful animation. The promise of effortlessly juggling a number of different spells, all while jumping around an attractive fantasy landscape, is held back by the unfortunate reality of what that's actually like; a lovely dream that isn't quite held up by its implementation."
"The much-delayed Forspoken unfortunately might have still needed a bit more time in development, as the delivered experience makes for a rough adventure. There are some impressive mechanics buried somewhere deep within Forspoken, but they're too often swallowed up by classic open-world chaff, a lackluster narrative, and at-times dreadful animation. The promise of effortlessly juggling a number of different spells, all while jumping around an attractive fantasy landscape, is held back by the unfortunate reality of what that's actually like; a lovely dream that isn't quite held up by its implementation."
