I'm Really Worried About Forspoken

thegamer.com:

Forspoken has been delayed yet again, this time to January 2023. The upcoming JRPG from Square Enix and Luminous Productions has had a rough time of it, with the majority of its trailers met with relative apathy alongside multiple hold ups that prevent this PS5 exclusive from making the impact it is desperately hoping for. It also just looks really boring.

The reason for the delay was due to discussions with key partners, which to me sure sounds like Sony wanted the spotlight for God of War Ragnarok and asked Forspoken to please nudge itself into next year to make things easier for everyone - probably asked less politely than that. Their audiences don’t actually crossover - one is an open world role-playing game and the other is narrative blockbuster - but Jim Ryan and the gang have enough power to strongarm such a move.

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Even without a delay into the January graveyard, it still felt like Forspoken was approaching with minimal fanfare. It’s a new IP powered by a next-gen console with a sprawling fantasy world and so much going for it, but for some reason hasn’t lit the world on fire. Even initial previews, which didn’t allow for hands-on time, had critics coming away underwhelmed. Its depiction of fantasy felt focus tested and sanitised, taking on the isekai genre with a compelling protagonist yet not enough substance to its setting to feel worthwhile.

All the delays in the world won’t fix this, but they certainly don’t help a public perception which has long shifted towards indifference. Beyond a heroine who has been transported into a fantasy world and is forced to adopt magical powers and fight for what is right, there is little more to Forspoken worth