Our Most Anticipated Games 2022: Forspoken | Team talk

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With some of the most exciting releases of the year just around the corner, including the return of Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West and a new spin on Pokémon with Pokémon Arceus, we decided it was time we picked out our personal most-anticipated titles coming out this year.

Since there’s a little more to get into with some of these games, we’ll be bringing you our personal picks over the next few weeks. First up is BioShock speedrun champion* and Editor James.

by James Michael Parry

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​@james_parry

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Forspoken | 24 May

This was a tricky one, since I’m definitely looking forward to both games mentioned in the intro above, and a couple I’ve been longing for for some time, like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, as well as some which we probably aren’t likely to see for some time, like Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, but in the end there was one game which stood out in last year’s reveals – Forspoken.

The game stars Frey, who, we’re told, has been pulled out of her depressed life in New York and thrust into a magical, fantasy world called Athia, and debuted with a fun trailer at the PlayStation Showcase last year. Heartbreakingly, the fate of her cat Homer (possibly a nod to the Odyssey of the Greek hero of the same name) hangs in the balance.​

While the game is a timed-exclusive for PS5, it will simultaneously come to PC, which feels like a sensible move on developer Luminous Productions and or, more likely, publisher Square Enix’s part, drumming up a little bit of scarcity while also appealing to an audience which will likely by then be aching for another adventure, being done with Horizon Forbidden West.

What stuck out most in the trailer, and is mentioned in the game’s official blurb, is using magic to traverse the world. Insomniac (you’d never guess I spent the break finally finishing up Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart) once described the key word they had in mind while creating cult classic and personal favourite Sunset Overdrive was “momentum”.

From what Luminous have shown off so far, that mentality seems to come into this game as well, as we see Frey sweeping through the beautiful landscape of Athia, guided by a talking cuff. Traversing on magical grapples, platforms and with various slides and flips, she seems to be taking to this fish-out-of-water story pretty well.

Square Enix are certainly known for their handling of fantasy (for some reason there isn’t a specific series that comes to mind…) and from what we’ve seen so far it feels like a natural fit.

If you haven’t heard of developer Luminous Productions, it might not come as a surprise that the studio was formed by former members of the Final Fantasy XV team, so even though it’s their first game, there’s some interesting experience and ideas behind it.​

One element which stuck out was the sassiness and attitude of Frey herself, who seems to go from eye-rolling in disbelief to excited as she starts to explore the world and find out more about her quest.

While it will take more than an interesting premise to make the game work, what the game has shown off so far has me eager for more.

Keep an eye out for other picks for most anticipated game of 2022 from the rest of the team over the next few weeks.

*not a true fact