Forspoken faced challenges even before its February launch, with early trailers showcasing awkward, out-of-context lines from the protagonist, Frey Holland. This drew attention away from the game's impressive parkour. Despite the initial negative impression, the game deserves more praise than it received, particularly for its unique and magical movement.
Once the story begins, Frey is whisked away to a fantasy world and, once tutorials are over, she is free to explore the vast land of Athia. The map is unexpectedly large, and Frey has nothing but shoes on her feet and a bit of magic to help her navigate from place to place. The open areas are not filled with buildings or closely packed structures, ruling out any kind of Spider-Man-like movement system. Instead, developer Luminous Productions opted for agile and stylish footwork.
At its core, Frey simply runs and jumps across the expansive map. These athletic feats only become more impressive as the game progresses and Frey gains access to speed boosts, quadruple jumps, wall-scaling abilities, a fiery grappling hook, and even a magical surfboard made of water and ice.
Frey's magic is divided into four elements. Earth introduces her basic movement skills: Shimmy, Flow, and Leap, which serve as the foundation for the rest of her abilities. Each new elemental skill tree enhances her traversal abilities, building upon these starting points.
Fire adds a speed boost and a flaming whip for crossing gaps and swinging through the air. Water provides a super jump, a magical surfboard, and a gravity-defying float. The electricity skill tree unlocks a quadruple jump and short-range teleportation, enhancing Frey's mobility even further.
Frey swiftly navigates through Athia using magical parkour. Any movement system in an open-world game that makes you think twice about fast traveling deserves a real shout-out. Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 is the best example of that this year. And I'm not saying Forspoken's open-world traversal is on that level, but in my eyes, for this specific gameplay element, it comes in second. Yes, even above the other big-name parkour contender, Assassin's Creed Mirage.
Forspoken's parkour seamlessly combines stylish flair with speed, allowing players to effortlessly navigate from point A to point B with visually stunning abilities. Despite the stamina meter, the game provides numerous ways to refill stamina while free running, ensuring that players rarely need to slow down for the protagonist, Frey, to catch her breath. Once players become accustomed to the movement options and animation timing, the stamina meter becomes inconsequential, only truly impacting combat situations, as it should in most open-world games.
The fights also incorporate unique parkour elements, allowing for fluid movement that extends beyond just parkour. Frey can slide, flip, and twirl her way through battles, evading enemy attacks with the same elegance seen in non-combat situations. Her dodges mimic regular world traversal, as she narrowly avoids damage through sorcerous acrobatics.
Frey surfing across a lake with water magic. Traversing Athia by running, leaping, and surfing never lost its charm, no matter how many hours I spent speeding around the somewhat sparse landscape. It's a pity that the fantasy setting doesn't feel more vibrant, because Luminous Productions' movement system truly belongs in a world that feels worth exploring.
The current state of the game only offers limited incentive to explore off the main path, with the primary rewards being upgrades for Frey and underwhelming gear. Frey's magical movement adds a sense of whimsy and joy to an otherwise lackluster setting, with only a few environments standing out as unique while the rest feel like variations of each other.
Despite Luminous Productions' announcement of shutting down and returning to Square Enix, it is my hope that their efforts will not be lost. While a sequel to Forspoken may never materialize, I genuinely hope it does, at the very least, Square Enix should incorporate the magical parkour mechanics into a new game to rekindle the exhilarating free-running experience.
Editor's P/S
As a passionate gamer, I was eagerly anticipating the release of Forspoken, and I must say, it exceeded my expectations. The game's magical parkour system is truly a standout feature, offering a unique and exhilarating way to traverse the vast and beautiful world of Athia. While the game faced some criticism for its awkward dialogue and lackluster story, I believe its parkour mechanics more than make up for these shortcomings.
Forspoken's parkour system is incredibly fluid and stylish, allowing players to seamlessly chain together jumps, dashes, and magical abilities to navigate the environment with grace and speed. The game's stamina meter adds a layer of challenge, but it never feels overly restrictive, and the numerous ways to refill stamina ensure that players can maintain their momentum without constantly having to stop and rest. The combat also incorporates parkour elements, allowing for dynamic and visually stunning battles. Frey's ability to slide, flip, and twirl through combat adds an extra layer of excitement and skill to the fights.
