Chapter 11 of Forspoken is by far the most story-heavy, with huge revelations coming thick and fast as the chapter progresses. Initially, it seems as though Frey and Cuff are destined for a showdown with Tanta Olas, but fate ultimately has a lot more in store for the unlikely companions.
In terms of length, Chapter 11 is one of the longest chapters in Forspoken, with main story elements alone clocking in at around eighty minutes or so. Factor in a brand-new realm to explore on top of that, and players can easily spend an hour or two in Visoria before even touching the main narrative.
Exploring Visoria
Players will regain control of Frey in the Humble Plain area, from which they can see Visoria Castle off in the distance. Tempting though it may be to explore the region right away, the ongoing Breakstorm makes doing so kind of impractical, as too do the relentless hordes of enemies. With this in mind, players are perhaps better off heading straight for the castle and then coming back here a little later on. Of course, stopping off at any belfries or refuges along the way is highly advisable, as doing so will unlock them as fast-travel locations.
If they follow the quest marker, players will eventually come to the Visoria Castle Main Gate. Here, they'll encounter seven lanterns like the ones in the New York illusion from the previous chapter. Players should try to take out the regular lanterns around the outside first and then deal with the three enemies tied to the Bardaga Lanterns one after the other, saving the biggest enemy until last. At this point, the path forward will be unlocked, and the Breakstorm that players just passed through will subside, making this a great time to double back and check out some of the realm's other points of interest.
Visoria Castle
For those who want to crack on with the main story, passing through the wooden doors will lead players to Visoria Castle Town. There's a refuge at the bottom of the steps that players should be sure to pop into and a few chests scattered around the town, though none contain anything all that exciting. To get inside the castle, players should climb over the buildings and head straight toward the tower. If they follow the path around to the leftside of it, they'll eventually come to some steps. These grant access to the lower section of the castle, where Frey will be met with two more Bardaga Lanterns.
Rather than regular enemies, these lanterns are tied to a Phantom Knight and a Phantom Arbiter, which are based on the Recreant Knights and Pitiless Arbiters found in earlier chapters. Though these new versions are a little stronger, the strategies for defeating them remain largely the same. The Knight is weak to Prav's magic, but the Arbiter resists all three types of magic that Frey has at her disposal right now. Though the knight can be taken out faster, it's best to focus on the Arbiter first due to its healing abilities. Once both enemies and their respective lanterns have been destroyed, players can head inside the castle proper.
After using the crafting table on the first floor to stock up on Healing Draughts and performing a Cuff Scan to grab all of the nearby goodies, players should head up to the second floor of the castle. On the walls in the staircases, players can find paintings of Athia before the break, proving that it was once a pretty great place to live. On the second floor, players will need to destroy a regular lantern to progress, while the third floor has another Bardaga Lantern.
The fourth floor contains a giant Kastala Lantern, which is capable of summoning large waves of enemies and is a lot more resistant to damage than the other two lantern types. Players should kill all of the enemies to remove the lantern's barrier and then hit it with their most powerful attacks. It's best to save Frey's Surge Magic for the lantern itself, as, with enough damage, it's possible to take it down in a single cycle. That said, most players will likely require two.
With the Kastala Lantern destroyed, players can head up to the throne room, where they'll find Tanta Olas lying in wait. Well, strictly speaking, she's slumped on her throne, having apparently perished at some point prior to Frey's arrival. Frey urges Cuff to do his thing and absorb her powers, but the mysterious Vambrace apparently has other ideas. Turns out, he finds Frey just as annoying as a lot of players do and is done working with her.
How to Defeat Susurrus
Without her powers, Frey doesn't stand a chance against Cuff, who from this point onward will be referred to by his real name, Susurrus. The aim here is to simply survive long enough to escape, which means using the rubble and pillars to hide from any attacks and healing if Frey takes too much damage. Eventually, Susurrus will order Frey to run, at which point, players should interact with the door opposite the throne to get the hell out of dodge. There'll be a few cutscenes at this point, after which, players will be transported to a new location.
Learning the Truth
Upon their arrival in Svargana, players should collect all of the Mana and then interact with the guiding light. There's a lot of information to take in here, so it's best to just sit back and listen to what the spirits of the Tantas have to say. From time to time, players will need to move to the next guiding light and will occasionally be transported back to previous realms, where they'll regain access to all of their magic, as well as Tanta Olas'.
There are a few mini-boss battles in between all of this, but none of them are particularly challenging, as each is weak to the magic that Frey last unlocked. Players should use Frey's magic to defeat the Beast in Visoria, Olas' magic to beat the Brute in Avoalet, and Prav's magic to take care of the Bird in Praenost. After that, players will be taken back to Junoon, where they finally learn the truth about how Frey came to be in New York and what happened to her mother.
Return to New York or Stay in Athia?
After a few more cutscenes, Tanta Cinta will open up two Toranas: one leading to a final showdown with Susurrus and another that will take Frey back to her life in New York. Players are free to go through either, though choosing to leave Athia will lead to the game ending rather abruptly and is clearly intended to be the bad ending. There is technically a third choice, with players able to pick neither of the Toranas and instead continue to explore Athia until they're ready to make a decision.
Though some may feel inclined to wrap up any loose ends before moving forward with the main story, it's important to note that Chapter 13 of Forspoken effectively serves as a free-play mode, allowing players to roam the land and take care of any side content that they may have missed. With this in mind, only those who want to improve Frey's spells or equipment a little more need really delay their decision. Everyone else should just head through the Torana on the left, which leads to the final boss battle and Forspoken's 12th chapter, Awakening.
Forspoken is available now on PS5 and PC.