Forspoken [aka Project Athia]

[Lulcielid]

Some official character renders and concept art.

Spoiler: Frey Holland

Spoiler: Frey's companion, Cuff

Spoiler: Tanta Sila

Spoiler: Concept art

 

[HylianMogget]

Call me crazy, but I would trade all of that for some new FFXVI footage.

Same... except for maybe Triangle Strategy (though I still haven't checked out the demo ).

Anyway, this looks kind of interesting. I don't think the dialogue in the trailer was terrible (for better or for worse it's not so bad it becomes memey like the Stranger of Paradise CHAOS stuff), but it was pretty mediocre/standard.

The Tanta Sila design looks very cool.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1436348259245645852

 

[Lulcielid]

More confirmation of staff members:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1436379409477369862

 

[Lulcielid]

Not a lot of new info at their TGS presentation but we got some new concept art:

 

[Lulcielid]

Forspoken writer Gary Whitta on building its "lustrous new fantasy world".

Interesting tidbits:

• Square Enix reached out Whitta as far back as 2017.
• Amy Henning worked on the story concept in 2019.
• There are some more "really impressive names" of writers yet to be revealed.

 

[Lulcielid]

A second batch of GeForce leaks was found on GitHub, featuring placeholder release dates for many games with Forspoken having a march 1st, 2022 release date.

It maybe a place holder but this could be an indication of the game releasing on the first half of spring 2022.

 

[Lulcielid]

Steam and Epic Store pages are up now.

Interesting info from the pages:

1. PC version will have partial control support.
2. Will use Denuvo anit-tamper DRM.
3. Supports 14 languages
4. Will come with 4 audio (EN, FR, DE, JP)
5. To have mature content ("This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content ")

 

[Tetsujin]

May 24th!

 

[Lulcielid]

New character Tanta Prav, played by Pollyanna McIntosh.

Spoiler: Tanta Prav

The Digital Deluxe Edition contains several exciting bonuses, including:

• Rare Resource Kit (Only included for the PlayStation®5 console Digital Deluxe Edition)
• Mini Artbook (Digital Download)
• Mini Soundtrack (Digital Download)
• Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust prequel story DLC*

Those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will also receive the below unique gear and items to aid them in their journey through Athia:

• No Limits Cloak, Symbol Combo Necklace, Trigger Happy Nails and Crafting Starter Kit (PS5™)
• Elite Cloak, Spectra Combo Necklace and Overclock Nails (PC)

The Digital Standard Edition is also available to pre-order from today. Players who pre-order the digital standard edition for PS5 or PC (via STEAM®, Epic Games Store or Microsoft Store) will also receive the above pre-order bonus items for the respective platform at launch.

The physical (disc) version** of the game will also be available from participating retailers. Pre-orders of the physical (disc) version are subject to local retailer availability and schedule***.

* Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust DLC coming Winter 2022, following the game’s launch. Players who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive early access to this prequel story DLC when it becomes available.
** In-game digital pre-order bonus items not available by pre-ordering the physical version.
*** The start of pre-orders for the physical version will vary by retailer.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Wow, this looks intriguing! The gameplay looks amazing, although I have no idea wtf this story is. These people look insane, lol.

Overall this game definitely looks amazing, glad S-E is putting Luminous Studios to good use here!

 

[Lulcielid]

From the Forspoken JP product page:

Playstation 5 Limited Edition

Cost: 22,000 yens (with taxes)

• Physical PS5 game.
• FORSPOKEN Original Soundtrack Expanded Edition
• THE ART OF FORSPOKEN ( A4 size luxury binding art book full of setting materials and various art materials).
• FORSPOKEN ORIGINAL T-SHIRT (one size fits all: length 74 cm, width 55 cm, sleeve length 22 cm).
• Story DLC "FORSPOKEN: In Tanta We Trust".
• Story DLC Early Access.
• Rare material kit (in-game consumeable items)

Main differences with the DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION are:

• The larger soundtrack
• Larger (physical) artbook.
• T-Shirt.

There's no info about a western release of this edition.

 

[LNK]

Still haven't gotten a ps5 yet. Will more than likely buy the ost whenever it comes out though

 

[Lulcielid]

 

[Lulcielid]

Previews from some outlets:

• The Gamer - Forspoken Preview: This JRPG Still Has A Whole Lot To Prove
• GameSpot - I Have Misgivings About Forspoken And Its Protagonist
• Gamesradar+ - Forspoken puts magic at the center of everything, from combat to exploration
• IGN - Forspoken: Hands-Off Preview
• Shack News - Forspoken preview: We're not in New York anymore
• Destructoid - Square Enix’s Forspoken still looks gorgeous, but I’m worried about the narrative
• Console Creatures - PREVIEW: FORSPOKEN
• GameRant - Forspoken Preview: Details on the Open World, Frey's Character, Combat, & More

 

[Lulcielid]

Interesting tidbit.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1470418436094410755

 

[HylianMogget]

Not sure quite what to make of the 4 minute gameplay trailer. Like the traversal looks like it could be fun, but the world shown looked kind of empty/bland, so it kind of seemed just like... running around in an open world but fast? And the magic looks visually really cool but the mobs being fought look and act really basic. Hard to tell if they just picked a kind of unexciting bit to show or if there's gonna be issues overall. The off-center camera also seems like it may take some getting used to. The UI does look really nice.

Also, personal preference, but I do wish the writing didn't seem so MCU banter-y. Actually, given how cool some of the character designs posted are, I kind of wish this didn't have the "MC from the real world transported to fantasy land" aspect at all, in terms of narrative. It having a Black, female MC is really cool, though.

 

[cold_spirit]

Square Enix details Forspoken PS5 graphics modes and DualSense features

Specifically, Creative Producer Raio Mitsuno shared that Forspoken will have the following three graphics modes on PS5:

• Performance Mode – 1440p resolution at 60FPS
• Graphics Mode – 4K resolution at 30FPS
• Ray Tracing Mode – Features ray tracing

“Right now, for the PS5, we’re planning on adding the three main modes that you see in a lot of games nowadays. So, you have the Performance Mode, which will be rendered at 2K at 60 frames per second, and then we have Graphics Mode which is 4K and 30 frames per second. And then, we also have a mode that will use ray tracing. So, we’ll have the set of modes that you’ve seen in the modern PS5 games today,” said Matsuno.

Aside from giving us info on the game’s graphics modes, we also found out more about how Forspoken integrates DualSense features. Specifically, game director Takeshi Aramaki shared that Forspoken will take advantage of adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

“We really have included a lot of unique PlayStation 5 hardware features when we were developing this game,” said Aramaki. “For example, using the adaptive triggers, we added tactile feedback when you’re using the different types of magic. We’ve got lots of different magic spells you can use in the game, and the planners and designers sat down and worked out how to differentiate the feedback you get from controller for each of the magic spells.”

Heck yeah, 1440p at 60fps, the perfect mode.

 

[Lulcielid]

The game has been rated M by the ESRB for:

• Strong Language
• Violence

Rating Summary

This is an action role-playing game in which player assume the role of a woman (Frey) who finds herself teleported to a fantasy world. As players try to find their way home, they can explore and traverse terrain, interact with characters, and battle fantastical creatures. Players use a magical vambrace and other attacks (e.g., leach, disperse, tendril) to defeat zombie-like creatures and monsters in frenetic combat. Battles are accompanied by colorful effects, screen-shaking, and cries of pain. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence: a character attempting to jump off a building; monsters killing civilians; a character held at gunpoint. The words "f**k" and "sh*t" are heard in the game.

 

[Lulcielid]

Delayed to October 11, 2022.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1500863854359846913

 

[Tetsujin]

Oh wow, big delay.

 

[Sephiroth Crescent]

Is that not the expected FF XVI timeframe? ?

 

[Lulcielid]

We'll be getting lots coverage from Game Informer this whole month.

 

[Tetsujin]

 

[Tashasaurous]

Oh wow, big delay.

Not as big as what happened with Final Fantasy XV when it began as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. That took years, and Sonic Frontiers was delayed by a whole year. At least Forspoken is only delayed by six months.