Forspoken

Forspoken is a 2023 action role-playing game developed by Luminous Productions and published by Square Enix. The game focuses on fast and fluid terrain traversal, with an open world that allows free exploration. Players control Frey, a young woman transported from New York City to the fantasy world of Athia, where she uses magic to survive and find a way home. Athia is ruled by the tyrannical Tantas.

Forspoken is the debut game from Luminous Productions, created by former Final Fantasy XV staff. Originally called Project Athia, it was developed to showcase PlayStation 5's power with features like ray tracing and procedural generation. The writing team includes Gary Whitta and Amy Hennig, while Black Girl Gamers provided consultation on the characterization of Frey. The music was composed by Bear McCreary and Garry Schyman.

The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on January 24, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics.

According to director Takeshi Aramaki, the gameplay was designed to be focused on terrain traversal speed and fluidity. Square Enix also described the game as a "narrative-driven adventure". The character exists in an open world game format where players are able to travel anywhere at any time.

The player character, Frey, has access to a variety of magical spells. Following each combat encounter, the player earns experience points. Frey's cloaks and necklaces can be swapped and upgraded in order to improve her combat efficiency and stats while applying nail polish unlocks special abilities. The player can also craft new items, or rest at a safe location in order to restore health. While the player is exploring the game world, they may encounter a "breakstorm", a scenario similar to a horde mode in which waves of demonic creatures spawn and attack Frey. The storm ends with the appearance of a named boss character.

The protagonist, Alfre "Frey" Holland (Ella Balinska / Umeka Shōji) is a young woman who is transported from New York City to the fantasy world of Athia. She uses magical powers to journey through it and survive in order to find her way home. Athia is under the tyrannical rule of the Tantas, which include Tanta Sila (Janina Gavankar / Yū Sugimoto), Tanta Prav (Pollyanna McIntosh / Rika Fukami), Tanta Olas (Claudia Black / Mie Sonozaki) and Tanta Cinta (Kendal Rae / Kikuko Inoue). Other characters include Frey's sentient bracelet Cuff (Jonathan Cake / Satoshi Mikami), the archivist Johedy (Keala Settle / Kyo Yaoya), and Auden (Monica Barbaro / Sanae Kobayashi).

Frey, a young woman abandoned near the Holland Tunnel as a newborn, appears in court for theft and is sentenced to community service. She is ambushed by the gang who forced her to steal but escapes to her house and her cat, Homer. The gang sets the building ablaze, but Frey and Homer escape. Now homeless, Frey entrusts Homer to her sentencing judge and visits Holland Tunnel on her birthday. She is drawn to a strange bangle, which activates a portal that draws her in.

Frey is transported to the world of Athia. The bangle, bonded to her, reveals that it is sentient and can only be heard by her. Frey names him "Cuff" and finds that he has awakened magical abilities within her. She discovers Athia is overrun by a miasma called the Break, which corrupts all life, but she is unaffected by it. Frey reaches the city of Cipal, humanity's refuge from the Break. Its ruling council captures Frey, and distrusting her resistance to the Break, imprisons her, but a citizen named Auden helps her escape to the slums.