The recent demo for Forspoken has shown a lot of promise for the next title from the Luminous Engine, as well as some of the faults that can negatively effect gameplay. One of the most prominent issues with the game comes in the form of the UI, which has already resulted in considerable feedback from fans and an active response from developer Luminous Productions.
However, while text size in Forspoken has been addressed by the developer, there is still more that can be done to make sure that in-game prompts and menu descriptions are readable to all players. Getting the UI right will go a long way for accessibility, which could be a major factor on the success of getting this new IP off the ground for Square Enix.
Highlighting Forspoken's Successes with User Interface
It should be stated from the start that while Forspoken can still improve on its UI features, much of what it brings to the table is already stunningly beautiful and well-designed. The stamina and health meters are a perfect example of this, being shrunken down and situated low into the bottom left corner, these highly important stats are always available to see, but never block the view of the world. This same strategy has worked in other open-world titles like Breath of the Wild to keep players from being overwhelmed by crowded, cluttered icons that steal away too much of the viewing space.
The menus themselves are also gorgeous, with Forspoken's signature purple and gold designs displaying perfectly over monochrome backgrounds. Diving further into the menu UI, there are also the small previous for spells and abilities that work with the text to show the player exactly what they're getting when they buy a new magic upgrade. While these previews are commonplace in many AAA titles, like God of War or Assassin's Creed, not every high profile game manages to succeed with showing enough with each repeating clip.
Text Size and Color Palettes
More than any other issue with the UI, the one aspect of the visual design of Forspoken's demo that the most players had issue with was the small text size both in and out of menus. Some recent images from Luminous Productions have shown the work that has already gone into making a lot of the most important text larger, but it could do with even more options for players who might need different levels of clarity. However, this problem becomes something that can't be fixed with just larger text, as it is problematic once written prompts start appearing on-screen while outside of menus and inside the open world.
As mentioned before, the gold text and purple accents look great against the monochrome backdrop of the menus, but these aren't the only places where words are printed on the screen. In fact, the first time players might run into the troubles of Forspoken's UI is right on the title screen of the demo. This screen places light-colored gold letters against a light blue sky and a landscape made of light beige stones. Simply selecting the prompt to start a new game or load an old save can be difficult depending on a player's monitor or TV setup.
Dark Borders and Backgrounds for Text
The simplest solution for this actually already exists in the current build of Forspoken that players can download on PS5. Adding a simple black bar behind text that appears over lighter surfaces can help to make the words pop and become much more readable. To Luminous Productions' credit, the developer does have this effect for subtitles in the demo, and that specific bar has also been made darker in response to fan feedback.
However, putting a dark background behind the light colors has not yet appeared to be the standard for all text being displayed over Forspoken's otherwise beautiful world of Athia. It is a tough call to make for the design of a UI as well, considering that the black bar can be jarring and distracting from the intentional work of artists. Still, if Luminous Productions continues to take this feedback from fans about the UI, then Forspoken might have a chance to be accessible to even more players.
Forspoken is set to release on January 24, 2023, for PC and PS5.
