With the game only a week away from launch.
Forspoken, an open-world action-adventure game based on a completely new IP by Square Enix, made its demo available for PlayStation 5 users last month, and after receiving varied accounts of feedback, Square Enix has made certain quality-of-life adjustments, not just for the game, but for the demo itself, so that players can continue trying it out in the final week before release.
The Twitter post on the official Forspoken account was written by the game’s director, Aramaki, who states, “we’ve been listening to your feedback, and wanted to do what we could to make the demo as enjoyable as possible.” They claim that they’ll continue listening to feedback, and they call on players to enjoy Forspoken the day it fully releases on January 24.
The Forspoken demo first dropped on December 9, 2022, and feedback was relatively mixed across the PlayStation community. Players generally enjoyed the combat and the parkour traversal but found issues with virtually every other aspect of the game. They struggled with the game’s lock-on system, especially against flying enemies, the game’s resolution seemingly felt blurry in performance mode, the menus were difficult to read, and the open world felt empty.
Some of these issues were addressed in the recent update, the Twitter post touting that “locked-on enemies that move off-screen will remain locked-on longer.” Text sizes were adjusted to make menus more readable, button mapping functionality was added, and “various technical issues were fixed.” Though it’s unclear exactly what technical issues the post is referring to, some users on Reddit claim that the resolution in performance mode is still underwhelming.
The demo has no time limit, however, it only gives players give five objectives to complete, and only allows them to do so within one specific area, called Avoalet’s Water Garden, that’s corralled by invisible walls. One of the most prominent negative reactions Forspoken had been getting throughout its marketing cycle was players’ disdain for the game’s self-aware humor, and it seems Square Enix took the feedback to heart, as the demo has an adjustable option to reduce Frey’s dialogue with her magical cuff, making it so they only speak when it’s absolutely necessary to advance the story.
At this point, we’ll have to wait and see if the changes are enough to push curious players over the edge to purchase the title. Forspoken launches on January 24 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
