Guides & Editorials

A spoiler-free beginner’s guide to Forspoken

Find out what you can expect from Luminous Productions and Square Enix’s latest action RPG.

Meet Frey

In Forspoken, you’ll follow the story of Frey Holland - a complicated, vulnerable yet fiercely determined New Yorker. After a chance encounter, she finds herself transported to the land of Athia.

A sentient golden bracelet winding its way the length of her forearm appears on her arrival. Known as Cuff, Frey soon learns it provides her with the ability to cast powerful spells and perform incredible magic-enhanced parkour.

In her efforts to find a way home, Frey must face terrifying creatures, corrupted rulers known as Tantas and uncover secrets that may free Athia from its oppressive forces.

The four realms

The world of Athia

Athia is made up of four realms: Junoon in the north, Praenost in the east, Visoria in the west and Avoalet in the south. 

Click and drag the image to explore.
Click on the icons to learn more.

Click the icons to learn more

Getting around

Magic-enhanced parkour abilities make getting around Athia a breeze, but are also great when used as defensive manoeuvres and accessing hard-to-reach locations.

Flow

Allows Frey to move at high speeds to cover large distances quickly

Shimmy

Launch from the ground in the form of a long jump

Float

Allows Frey to survive falls from extreme heights

Glide

Skim across rivers and lakes in style

Scale

Create floating footholds with Scale on unclimbable terrain

Rush

Unleashes burst of energy and speed and helps recover Stamina

Zip

A magical tether that quickly pulls you towards anything it connects with. It can be carefully aimed (by holding Square) or used quickly, for example to evade attacks.

The Break

What is The Break?

The Break is a dark force that corrupts everything it touches. Once it infects its host, there is no cure. There is only one haven from The Break in Athia - a city called Cipal. Everywhere else is inhospitable.

Where did The Break come from?

The source of the corruption is currently unknown, but Frey’s journey will help uncover the truth and rid the land of this blight. For the people of Athia, Frey is incredibly important as she is able to roam the lands without being affected by The Break.

Enemies affected by The Break

Break Born

Corrupted people turned into savage zombies. The enemies you fight vary depending on the type of person that was infected.

Break Beasts

Infected wildlife turned into dangerous beasts roam the land of Athia. You’ll face many different types of Break Beasts as you explore different areas.

Evolved wildlife

These huge beasts pose a great threat if you come face to face with them. Their prolonged exposure to The Break has made them powerful and aggressive, so plan your approach when facing off against them.

Tantas

Tantas were once benevolent matriarchs who now rule as cruel, evil sorceresses. They have been maddened by The Break, but they are not the source of it.

Spells and combat

You’ll gain access to and master 100 combat and parkour spells across four distinct magic groups. 

  • Purple (Earth)
  • Red (Fire)
  • Blue (Water)
  • Green (Air)

Each is structured in the same way, with Attack, Support, Surge and Parkour abilities. The first magic set you have access to is Purple, or Earth magic.

Explore Purple magic skills

Attack spells
Support spells
Surge spells

Spells and combat

You’ll gain access to and master 100 combat and parkour spells across four distinct magic groups. 

  • Purple (Earth)
  • Red (Fire)
  • Blue (Water)
  • Green (Air)

Each is structured in the same way, with Attack, Support, Surge and Parkour abilities. The first magic set you have access to is Purple, or Earth magic.

Explore Purple magic skills

Attack spells
Support spells
Surge spells

Tip: Helpful spells

During your adventure, look out for two spells in particular. Both can be unlocked at Founts of Blessing. One enables you to instantaneously collect nearby items – very useful for those who love to explore. The other is a magic parkour ability called Float from the latter half of the game that enables you to slowly descend in the air and opens up new ways to get around.

Upgrading Frey’s abilities and equipment

Skills

Collect Mana to upgrade Frey’s abilities via the skill tree. It is possible to undo any upgraded abilities without penalty, allowing you to try all available upgrade paths and focus on your preferred playstyle.

Parkour proficiency

Completing spell craft challenges allows Frey to upgrade magic parkour and combat skills. These Challenges can be found throughout your adventure. For the most part, progress is passive, and Challenges will be completed as you play through the story, but you can focus on them if you want to focus on improve related abilities.

Items

Mostly obtained via detours, Cloaks, Necklaces and Nails can provide boons and boosts to magic sets. Equip and upgrade each item type to increase their effects. Every item has an initial set of attributes, but they can all be upgraded to boost stats or add equipment effects.

Platform:
PS5
Release:
23/1/2023
Publisher:
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
Genres:
Action, Role Playing Games
Voice:
English, French (France), German, Japanese
Screen Languages:
Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Spanish (Mexico), Thai
Purchase or use of this item is subject to SEN Terms of Service and User Agreement.
© 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.