Let me set this review out by making clear I mainly rented Forspoken to make a joke about playing "the Wizard Game". My expectations from what I had seen, mainly videos of cringe dialogue on Twitter, were not especially high. This was not helped by the first half hour of the game basically being a walking simulator. And yes, the dialogue is indeed consistently cringe throughout the game, though Frey's VA Ella Balinska really gives her all and there are some poignant scenes throughout.
However, while the game does make some truly baffling choices, the simple fact is that the gameplay is very good. While Frey's movepool is initially rather shallow, it expands with each major story boss, introducing layers of increasingly fun spell loadouts. All of the different styles of magic bring their own playstyle and quirks beyond their element, such as a focus on close-range combat, or detonating spell primers. This prevents the feeling of that expanding movepool from feeling like you're just getting the next option of a game of elemental rock-paper-scissors. Combat is not excessively challenging on Normal mode, but is difficult to master and I imagine certain encounters would be a nightmare on higher difficulties for those who want that.
On a lot of fronts it is standard open-world fare, with traversal options also unfolding over the course of the game and various side-quests and rewards for exploration. A minor aspect I really appreciate is that waypoints on your minimap are explicit about the reward you'll receive for completion, it's refreshingly honest.
I must also say I've found the critique that the game is too short to be not entirely unfounded but certainly exaggerated. I beat the final boss with 23 hours logged, doing some side-quests but only ones which I thought 'on the way' to my next main goal, and I have post game to come.
In fact, I came in with a score of 3.5 stars but my heart lies somewhere between there and a 4 really. But this is much better than its reception would suggest and is worth a look.
However, while the game does make some truly baffling choices, the simple fact is that the gameplay is very good. While Frey's movepool is initially rather shallow, it expands with each major story boss, introducing layers of increasingly fun spell loadouts. All of the different styles of magic bring their own playstyle and quirks beyond their element, such as a focus on close-range combat, or detonating spell primers. This prevents the feeling of that expanding movepool from feeling like you're just getting the next option of a game of elemental rock-paper-scissors. Combat is not excessively challenging on Normal mode, but is difficult to master and I imagine certain encounters would be a nightmare on higher difficulties for those who want that.
On a lot of fronts it is standard open-world fare, with traversal options also unfolding over the course of the game and various side-quests and rewards for exploration. A minor aspect I really appreciate is that waypoints on your minimap are explicit about the reward you'll receive for completion, it's refreshingly honest.
I must also say I've found the critique that the game is too short to be not entirely unfounded but certainly exaggerated. I beat the final boss with 23 hours logged, doing some side-quests but only ones which I thought 'on the way' to my next main goal, and I have post game to come.
In fact, I came in with a score of 3.5 stars but my heart lies somewhere between there and a 4 really. But this is much better than its reception would suggest and is worth a look.