Forspoken: Deluxe Upgrade

Forspoken is a clunky game with awkward dialogue and characterisation, but the gameplay shines bright.

65 / 100

Forspoken occasionally has small sparks of greatness, but then quickly douses itself in fear of ever being anything other than an upsettingly safe open-world RPG.

6.5 / 10

Forspoken is packed with flaws — be they outright missteps or simply middling executions — but there are definitely qualities to this game that can deliver an entertaining and sometimes thrilling experience. I did ultimately enjoy my time with it, all told and considered. There’s interesting lore here, and at times the story approaches compelling, but it was held back so much by odd design choices, an often bland world, and uneven pacing in both the story and moment-to-moment dialogue. On paper, it could and should be great, but nothing quite fits together to make a stronger whole. It’s crammed with so much, and beyond the combat and traversal, the whole experience just winds up feeling like something of a relatively enjoyable mess.