How Forspoken fuses fast-paced spellcasting and magic-imbued parkour for its combat thrills

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We’ve met the cast, seen action-packed trailers and been tantalized with a closer look at the game’s central villains. Today we can detail how the moment-to-moment gameplay of Frey’s journey unfolds by way of a recent hands-on with Forspoken. 

That time is spent in a sprawling valley that’s ripe to play – and explore – with mystical parkour and test multiple magic spells unlocked for this demo. There are five objectives dotted around the map, coaxing players towards mission-based tours of Frey’s skills and the challenges she’ll face. Yet the region’s topography is an open invitation to deviate: mountain pathways, floating rock chunks, gigantic bridges, lakes and ravaged villages. A brief tutorial at the valley’s entrance aside, free exploration awaits.  

That tutorial introduces Frey’s magically-imbued mobility, combat options and crucially how the two are interlinked. A few slow-moving humanoids to test these abilities allow for relaxed experimentation. By demo’s end, a tense battle against a ferocious and fast alligator-type being tests everything learnt up to that point. Juggling attack and support magics and knowing when – and how – to cast them, precise use of parkour to accent those spells and dodge out of harm’s way. 

Enemy design even in this short slice of gameplay is varied, though you’ll need to either Cuff Scan or activate Photo Mode to halt their aggressiveness long enough to admire their look. 

Between these clashes that bookend my play time, a slew of enemy types dot the land, ready to be fought or raced past: wandering crowds of corrupted souls and herds of aggressive stags, gold horned crocodiles, winged aggressors. One objective directs Frey to a bridge patrolled by bow-wielding fiends who, once downed,