Luminous Productions’Forspokenhasn’t exactly had a smooth development journey this far. After being unveiled asProject Athiaback in 2020, the game has been delayed numerous times, and some of its trailers haven’t gone down particularly well with fans, with some questioning the odd dialogue and character interactions. Despite this though,Forspokenremains an intriguing prospect and many are still expecting an immersive, high-quality experience that offers plenty to see and do. With the protagonist Frey Holland having such a huge world to explore,Forspokenshould learn fromHorizon Forbidden West’s questionable approach to traversal in order to ensure this area of the game is not a disappointment.
Horizon Forbidden Westwas released in February 2022 to critical acclaim, with most people in agreement that, while undeniably playing it a little safe at times, the game successfully built on everything that its predecessor had done well. Praise was heaped on the ranged combat, the narrative, and the eye-popping visuals. Graphically, it is probably among thePlayStation 5’s best games. Despite its many strengths though,Horizon Forbidden Westgot a few things wrong, with traversal being one of the most glaring among these.
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Forspoken’s Traversal Can Learn From Aloy’s Adventures in the Forbidden West
Aloy’s adventures inHorizon Forbidden Westspan an incredible amount of varied terrain. From vast, sandy deserts to rugged mountains, the landscape is tough on the young adventurer, but luckily she has many options at her fingertips to help with her quest. She has a glider that can be used to cover long-distance descents, as well as the ability to override progressively more powerful machines. Eventually, toward the game’s climax, Aloy is able to override flying machines, effectively giving her free rein over the map. For large sections of the game before this though, in order to scale to higher altitudes, Aloy must do things the old-fashioned way: by climbing.
Climbing in particular was an area of the gameplay where 2017’sHorizon Zero Dawndrew some criticism. The game’s clunky, unbalanced mechanics made it difficult to know where Aloy was able to climb, with grip holds not always appearing in obvious locations. This made it imperative thatForbidden Westgot this specific part of the gameplay right. Unfortunately, despite a marked improvement, something about the game’s climbing mechanics still doesn’t quite feel right. Flawed input and grab detection make it much tougher to ascend sections of terrain than it needs to be.
Judging by footage seen so far,Forspokenis placing a huge emphasis on fast, fluid traversal, so Frey’s options need to be just as plentiful as Aloy’s. She has already been shown to use a vast array of magic to her benefit in a number of ways, not least to help with the efficient exploration of Athia. Several clips have shown her zipping around the map at high speeds. Additionally,Forspokenmay feature some interesting boss battles, thanks to its varied and unique combat which seemingly places an emphasis on wide-ranging AoE attacks that are designed for crowd control, rather than melee encounters.
Frey’s quest promises to be wrought with danger and mystery. She will need to use all of her resources in order to survive. There are currently no confirmed vehicles in the game, or methods of transport that don’t involve magic, so the importance of the traversal mechanics feeling suitably fluid and smooth cannot be understated.Marvel’sSpider-Man, released on PS4 in 2018, was a shining example of traversal in an open world done correctly, with Spidey’s web-swinging across New York being one of the game’s highlights. If Luminous Productions is able to stick the landing with Frey’s movement, it should go a long way to ensuringForspokenis a success.
Forspokenis set to release June 30, 2025 for PC and PS5.
