The combat players have seen in the Forspoken demo so far has shown that the game might be less of a generic JRPG and might instead fit into a niche that publisher Square Enix has recently been trying to break into. That is to say that Luminous Productions could be slipping a Soulslike under the radar, in the vein of the still updating Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins from developer Team Ninja.
While Forspoken hasn't currently been marketed as a Soulslike, nor is the game's difficulty looking to bar progress for players who don't master its combat, the basics of the Soulsborne series are there. There is also a touch of some flashier, faster paced action titles like Devil May Cry, but the core of dealing and avoiding damage falls right in line with the Soulslike genre.
Core Concepts of the Soulslike Formula
The most common way to define the Soulslike formula comes down to interconnected maps with shortcuts that open from the other side, a currency economy that leaves lost "souls" on the ground after death, and difficult combat. However, it isn't always clear to fans what exactly makes the combat of the genre so difficult. One common trick, especially from the Soulsborne series itself, is to remove animation cancels in order to force players to make calculated and deliberate use of every action. Another common part of the equation, though, is the use of stamina that further limits the actions players can perform.
It's this use of stamina that leans Forspoken into the Soulslike genre. The role of stamina in titles like Elden Ring is to limit the number of actions the player has access to at any point. This means that players can't dodge, block, or attack forever, as losing all of their stamina will leave them unable to react to anything an enemy might throw at them. While the limits in Forspoken aren't as harsh as they are in other Soulslikes, the existence of the stamina bar shows how Luminous Productions wants players to engage with combat.
How Forspoken's Cuff Enhances Combat
The current marketing strategy from Square Enix lately has been to put Forspoken's magical combat front and center, with a specific focus on what Frey is able to do while using Cuff to throw spells at enemies. However, not much attention has been paid to the enemies that Frey fights and the different ways they can attack her from either melee range or a huge distance. Naturally, Luminous Productions has also given players a way to counter that incoming damage, namely by using Cuff to dodge attacks, run to new positions, or even reflect attacks as they land.
Fans of the Soulsborne formula might recognize this use of positioning, actively dodging, and parrying as three of the key aspects to how players can react in these games. So, as dynamic as Forspoken's magic is, the simple retaliatory actions tied to Cuff's stamina are what could better define the overall combat beyond the gimmicks available through spells. Combine this with the beautiful open world and Luminous Productions could be setting itself up to surpass Stranger of Paradise by becoming the next Elden Ring instead of the next Dark Souls.
Health Recovery in Forspoken
Another key aspect of the Soulslike formula is the way that many of these games manage health, giving players a limited number of healing items to use during every excursion out from a bonfire. The archetype for these types of healing features is the Estus Flask from Dark Souls, which has been reinvented in most other games in the genre like the Vital Injectacble from The Surge. In Forspoken, this takes the form of the Healing Draughts, which can be crafted at rest areas, but players are limited to how many they can carry with them.
The Healing Draughts do unfortunately come with the same limitations as Bloodborne's Blood Vials, with both requiring players to grind for materials or money in order to acquire more. However, these limits on healing do go a long way toward enhancing Forspoken's difficulty up into the realm of the Soulslike genre for players who don't utilize accessibility features. So, it is really a combination of combat mechanics that could attract longtime FromSoftware fans to check out what kind of depth Luminous Productions is able to develop.
Square Enix's Next Attempt in the Soulslike Genre
One reason to keep comparing Forspoken to Stranger of Paradise is because the Final Fantasy spin-off that released early in 2022 didn't entirely live up to fan expectations. While many fans of the title from Nioh developer Team Ninja did enjoy the game itself, it was mostly the performance issues that sealed the fate of the game early on. That being said, there were still complaints about the combat variety and a sometimes bland story that have since kept the game from becoming a top-tier Soulslike.
This failures of Stranger of Paradise do act as a good reason for Square Enix to want to tread lightly with comparisons to the Soulsborne series. Considering that it is also easy to compare Forspoken to Final Fantasy 15, due to them both being built on the same engine, the game does already linger in the shadow of older titles from the publisher. All the same, finding the tag on Steam or introducing it to the genre for other online lists could still help draw in players who might appreciate the depth of combat on display.
In the current market of Soulslike shovelware cropping up all over online retailers, it's easy for some games to be lost in the shuffle of so many titles that barely qualify for what they advertise as. So, it could be a good idea for Forspoken to advertise itself the way it has recently, as a psuedo-Final Fantasy with fast-paced magic and parkour elements. Regardless, any fans of the FromSoftware formula should still keep an eye out for this game when it launches next year.
Forspoken is set to release on January 24, 2023, for PC and PS5.
