I can't wait to play around with the fantastical powers in Forspoken

Forspoken
(Image credit: Square Enix)

During the trailer for Forspoken, I watch as protagonist Frey drags a heavily armoured soldier towards her with a rope made of sparking fire. In the next few seconds, she swings the flames around in a circular motion and singes the ground in the immediate area. After diving towards the enemy and backflipping off of their shield, Frey, now airborne, seemingly transforms this fire power into a burning sword and crashes back down on the enemy. It really is quite a spectacle, and I'm already all kinds of excited about the prospect of getting stuck into the slick elemental abilities we look set to wield in this upcoming PS5 adventure. 

I've also always loved stories that explore what happens when you take on the role of a person who's thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and Forespoken looks set to blend the real and the fantastical in a really interesting way. In Forespoken, Frey is plucked right out of her life in New York City and thrown straight into a world of fantasy creatures and magic. As a premise, there's a real appeal in seeing how Frey will handle this outlandish scenario, and how, as a character from the world we know, Square Enix could ground the experience and make it more relatable for us as players. Ella Balinska, who plays the title role, spoke about Frey as a character, saying, "she's raw, she's a girl who lost her way – both figuratively and literally – and is a character I immediately connected with, as I feel many people around will too." 

With fantasy creatures such as giant dragons, there'll be plenty of dangers to face, and we'll have many opportunities to put the powers Frey can wield to the test. Armed with a talking cuff that seemingly lets her wield these slick abilities, there are so many powers I can't wait to play around with. Aside from the flashy fire fight we get to see Frey in the throws of, I also marvel at the big crash of water she can engulf enemies in, before freezing the water into giant icebergs. As well as throwing giant orbs of water, firing off a barrage of sparks in quick succession, and planting explosive traps on the ground, it would appear that there's no shortage of kickass moves to wield. 

Magic powers and dragons 

Developer Luminous Productions is bringing us this new adventure on the Luminous engine, which was used to create Final Fantasy 15. I'm admittedly someone who thoroughly enjoyed my time with Noctis and the gang, and I also did like the real-time action of the combat in 15, despite some of its flaws. From everything I've seen so far of Forspoken, Frey moves with the kind of fluidity and freedom that I wish Noctis could have wielded, and this extends to both the combat, and expansive environments of the setting of Athia. As we see in the Forspoken trailer, Frey can swing across grapple points, dive through the air, and hop across buildings - there are a lot of agile manoeuvres on display that look too satisfying to use as you traverse the open-world landscapes.

With Forspoken set to arrive on the PS5 in 2022, my imagination is also already running wild at the prospect of how all of these movements and powers will actually feel to use on the DualSense controller. Every now and then, a new game trailer comes along that makes you emit a veritable screech of excitement in front of your TV screen, and that was me as I watched the new footage for Forespoken unfold before my eyes for the first time. I'm already drawn to Frey as a character, and I'm very keen to learn more about her and see how she tackles the challenges in Athia. With its blend of reality meets fantasy and some very slick looking combat mechanics, Forespoken shows heaps of potential, and I for one can't wait to see what it delivers when it launches next year. 


Stay up to date with everything coming to Sony's console with our roundup of upcoming PS5 games

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good. 

Read more
Standing below the imposing Monolith in Empyreal with a glaive equipped, this is a piece of key art from the game
This looter slasher mashes up Remnant 2 with shades of Final Fantasy 14 and lashings of special moves, all in an action-packed Steam Next Fest demo
Exploring and fighting in Blades of Fire
Blades of Fire plays like a lost Xbox 360-era mashup between God of War and Soulslikes, and it's coming from the studio behind Metroid Dread
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't the classic turn-based RPG I've been longing for, but its combat is somehow even better than what I wanted
Big in 2025: Ghost of Yotei
Ghost of Yotei will build on Ghost of Tsushima with guns, a gorgeous change of scenery, and "unexpected dangers"
Big in 2025: Wuchang Fallen Feathers
Wuchang Fallen Feathers wants to pick up where Dark Souls left off: "If skilled players still rely on the HUD... the combat system has a significant problem"
The Big in 2025 image for Avowed, showing a montage of fighting and exploring with the RPG, including first-person combat with a skeleton, and Kai slashing enemies
Avowed is an RPG that's both the culmination of everything Obsidian has done before, and also an evolution of it: "There's really not a whole lot of our regions that's off limits to the players"
Latest in RPG
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 "is done," but it's been delayed again to October for "bug fixing, stability, and performance"
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot of an enemy falling backwards through the air away from Yasuke who's just performed a War Kick
Forget the hidden blade: if you're not yeeting enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows, you're missing out
The Witcher 4 cinematic screenshot showing a closeup of Ciri, protagonist of the new adventure
"We slept under our desks and lived in chaos": Before the Witcher 3 became an RPG phenomenon, CDPR's CEOs had a tough time making the original game
Latest in Features
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
An Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail showing Yasuke and Oda Nobunaga armored up and on horseback, ready to ride to battle
"We really wanted you to live this history": Assassin's Creed Shadows is all about "perspective", says the game's cinematic director
A screenshot of a pink-haired protagonist in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, surrounded by other BLADE soldiers and a Skell.
I spent 10 years waiting for the answers to Xenoblade Chronicles X's haunting cliffhanger ending, and it was worth the wait
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot of an enemy falling backwards through the air away from Yasuke who's just performed a War Kick
Forget the hidden blade: if you're not yeeting enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows, you're missing out