Forspoken, formerly under development with the working title ‘Project Athia’, is a new action RPG from Square Enix that sees players taking on the role of Frey Holland (played by Ella Balinska), a fairly ordinary young woman who must harness her magical abilities to survive in a fantastical and dangerous land called Athia.
According to Square Enix, as Frey, players will embark on a “thrilling, otherworldly adventure” and “face treacherous trials” as they attempt to unearth the mysteries of Athia and “awaken something much more from within”.
Square Enix first revealed Forspoken at Sony’s PS5 games reveal last year and the title remains a PS5 console exclusive for now. It’s unclear whether the game will make its way to Xbox Series X in the future, then, but Forspoken at least appears to be a genuine PS5 game, and won’t be available on PS4. Not a huge amount is known about the Forspoken yet but we’re hoping we’ll learn more over the rest of 2021.
Interested to find out more? Read on for everything we know about Forspoken (formerly known as Project Athia).
Forspoken: what you need to know
What is Forspoken? A new action RPG from Square EnixWhen is Forspoken coming out? TBC 2022What platforms will Forspoken release on? PS5 and PC
Forspoken release date
Unfortunately, we won’t be getting our hands on Forspoken this year. Forspoken will release in 2022 for PlayStation 5 and PC, making it a PS5 console exclusive.
Square Enix hasn’t given a more precise window for the action RPG’s release date other than this, and – given the pandemic is still impacting game development – it’s possible we could see Forspoken delayed in the future.
Forspoken trailers
The most recent trailer for Forspoken revealed the game’s official title and its targeted release window of 2022. This trailer gave us a sneak peek of the Forspoken’s fast-paced, frenetic traversal and the gorgeous world it takes place in, along with some of Frey’s magical abilities. Check it out below:
Forspoken (or as it was called then ‘Project Athia’) was announced during Sony’s Future of Gaming 2020 showcase with a teaser trailer lasting just over one minute long.
The trailer gave us a very brief glimpse at Frey using some of her magical abilities, the world of Athia itself and some of the creatures we expect to encounter. Check it out below:
Forspoken gameplay
Details on Forspoken’s gameplay are thin, but there have been some details we’ve been able to glean from the trailers we’ve seen so far (and from what Square Enix has confirmed).
We know that Frey will have magical abilities and, from the trailers, it looks like these will include the ability to spawn a magical shield, blast enemies, and summon tentacle-like things to entangle enemies. But what we saw most was how Frey is able to traverse the world with incredible speed and fluidity. In the trailers we see Frey gliding through Athia, scaling cliffs, and leaping across ravines.
Forspoken news and rumors
E3 2021 absence
Although Square Enix hosted its own livestream during E3 2021, Forspoken was not one of the games it discussed. We’ve marked it down as one of many big games that were notably absent from the show. However, although we didn’t see Forspoken during E3 2021, that doesn’t mean we won’t see it for the rest of the year.
Sony didn’t attend E3 this year at all and as Forspoken appears to be a PlayStation exclusive, there’s a chance that Sony could host its own games showcase later in the year where it could potentially take the opportunity to expand on what we can expect from Forspoken.
Designed for PS5
According to Square Enix, Forspoken has been “designed specifically for the PlayStation 5, taking advantage of the new console’s power and features to create a game that feels like a true next-gen experience.”
That means we’re expecting Forspoken will feature DualSense controller support, meaning the game should feel even more immersive thanks to haptic feedback and adaptive triggers – however, these exact features haven’t been confirmed yet.
It’s likely that Forspoken will also feature 4K and higher frame rates (potentially up to 120fps). But, again, these exact details haven’t been confirmed.
