Forspoken

Is it Game of the Year? No.

But is it enjoyable and worth $40 and a steal at $20 which is what I paid for it? Definitely.

The Bad: The graphics felt stuck in the PS3 era.

The writing needed some more time to bake for sure; it's pretty typical isekai so it needed to figure out how to break the mold rather than what was sent out.

There are settings you'll probably need to change to tailor to make the game better.

The Good: The gameplay is solid with the spells being easily customizable to fit your style of fighting.

The enemies and boss fights were engaging and interesting.

The traversal magic parkour was fun albeit takes a bit of work before it stops feeling clunky.

Forspoken is the definition of a mediocre game. Far better than the previous live service hot garbage Square Enix has been pushing lately, such as Marvel's Avengers, but that's not saying much. $70 is laughably overpriced for a mostly bland and wasteful experience that offers little beyond whatever your definition of a mediocre game is.

The main character, Frey Holland, is poorly written and just really irritating. Her personality is essentially what you'd expect from a real life whiny teenage girl. Whiny, rude, stuck-up, and immature, it's especially repugnant if you know what she's dealing with in her hometown, New York. She literally mocks her companion Cuff for zero reason. But she constantly tries to crack these really unfunny jokes while swearing, during both the cutscenes and gameplay. It's as if the writers couldn't figure out how to make a character funny and likable that isn't Eric Cartman or Deadpool. For a 21 year old, she acts like a 12 year old. She looks like one, too. Some people have said she's why silent protagonists in games are better, I personally have to disagree with that. I prefer protagonists in games that talk, it gives them personality. Making them mute makes them self inserts and bland characters. I would just make Frey actually act like a 21 year old.

It's not the voice actresses fault, it's the horrendous writing. I'm all in for a witty and less serious story, but here, it just doesn't work. Also, the game loves to have it so you activate a cutscene after walking every so thirty feet, and it's especially irritating when they've could've just cut the gameplay and made clumped the cutscenes together for one large cutscene. I mainly play most games for the story, but I don't want a cutscene to be interrupted by gameplay and vice versa.

This is a game that could've been delayed for another year or so. It desperately could use some rework. The combat is fine, gameplay is also pretty solid, but man, the story and writing kills the entire experience. This game is wasted potential. Because the gameplay is sadly the only saving grace here, and I feel most of the development time went into that.

I feel critics were a bit too nice on this game, this game is definitely a 4/10. I wouldn't recommend this to a gamer even if it was only a dollar.

You know how you get your hopes up so high that you can only be disappointed well this is where forspoken left me feeling.

It starts out with a seriously disappointing intro level that barely passes for a game from 10 years ago. Not only visually but gameplay wise as well. For first impressions this part nearly made me quit altogether. After about 30 or 40 minutes you reach a new zone that starts to explain the steep system requirements but still doesn't really give that wow factor.

Then there's the character. This probably finished it for me. Her attitude may fit the intro where she's down on her luck but it soon grows tiresome and never really let's up. And that's the part the doesn't fit the game. Plus she adapts to her new skills far too easily for this seasoned gamer. Give this one a pass for now especially at the ridiculous price they launched it at, $93 CAD.

As someone who finally got around to playing Forspoken, I'm genuinely surprised by the overwhelmingly negative reviews it received. While it's certainly not a perfect game, at a price point of 30 EUR or less, it's an incredibly solid experience and well worth your time. I'd give it an 8/10.

The combat, often a point of contention, truly comes alive once you unlock the second magic tree - the fire abilities. This is where the game's unique movement and spell-casting mechanics really click, offering a dynamic and engaging combat system that becomes genuinely fun.

Frey, the protagonist, has been criticized for being "annoying," and while her initial dialogue can be a bit much, you do get used to her. More importantly, many of the common complaints can be significantly mitigated by simply adjusting a few in-game settings. Things like automatic spell switching and reducing the frequency of Cuff's banter can drastically improve the flow and enjoyment. There are plenty of helpful YouTube videos that detail optimal settings to enhance your experience.

If you've been hesitant due to the initial backlash, and you can pick it up at a discount, I highly recommend giving Forspoken a chance. It's a far more enjoyable game than its reputation suggests.

Controls may be a bit clunky, might bug out a bit at times but overall I am genuinely enjoying the game, it is a silly fantasy game but we all need something like this in our lives, beginning was a bit slow but I felt picked up quick, combat kind of reminds me of Ghostwire Tokyo (another favorite of mine) and the dialogue may be a bit choppy too but again it's an overall above average experience, I love the fantasy elements and it's great to see the fantasy genre getting some love again, to me it's an unexpected surprise, game if the year contender? We will just have to wait and see, it again is not a bad game, but definitely above average.