I was very much excited to play this game seeing the PlayStation Direct footage, the Project Athia developer videos and the gameplay footage showcasing the traversal and combat. It very much seemed like a promising, fluid action RPG akin to Final Fantasy XV. Unfortunately, Forspoken tried very hard to deliver on multiple aspects of what a great action RPG can be but came short and failed to deliver.
To start off positively, I adored the combat in this game. The starting magic is cool - a nice introduction spell set to start you off with. Then the game get interesting with the addition of Tanta magic that you unlock the further you progress in the game. Each new spell set I unlocked engaged me the more I played and achieved in my play through.
Unfortunately, this is the extent of my excitement with this game, as there isn't much more to write home about. The world is lacking; for an open-world, there isn't much that is interesting or engaging. No interesting landmarks, no random event, no world-building through exploring the world, etc. For a game that emphasized on traversal and exploring the world with magic, it is a bit too bland to want to even attempt seeing the unfamiliar territory.
The boss fights and enemy encounters were okay, not the worst but not the best. Some mid-boss encounters felt unbalanced and not fun at all, sometimes making them a bit more difficult than the actual boss encounters. Some of the bosses, especially in the later section of the game felt a bit unfinished and needed reworking, especially one in the later section of the game that I won't spoil.
Overall, I was expecting a lot out of the game and it fell short in various aspects. Possibly with some further patches and some new content this game can be redeemed for a better experience for new and future players. As of now I would recommend for the combat, as I think it is worth playing for that aspect alone.
To start off positively, I adored the combat in this game. The starting magic is cool - a nice introduction spell set to start you off with. Then the game get interesting with the addition of Tanta magic that you unlock the further you progress in the game. Each new spell set I unlocked engaged me the more I played and achieved in my play through.
Unfortunately, this is the extent of my excitement with this game, as there isn't much more to write home about. The world is lacking; for an open-world, there isn't much that is interesting or engaging. No interesting landmarks, no random event, no world-building through exploring the world, etc. For a game that emphasized on traversal and exploring the world with magic, it is a bit too bland to want to even attempt seeing the unfamiliar territory.
The boss fights and enemy encounters were okay, not the worst but not the best. Some mid-boss encounters felt unbalanced and not fun at all, sometimes making them a bit more difficult than the actual boss encounters. Some of the bosses, especially in the later section of the game felt a bit unfinished and needed reworking, especially one in the later section of the game that I won't spoil.
Overall, I was expecting a lot out of the game and it fell short in various aspects. Possibly with some further patches and some new content this game can be redeemed for a better experience for new and future players. As of now I would recommend for the combat, as I think it is worth playing for that aspect alone.