A lot of companies these days are making bold decisions, a number of economic reasons could be key factors as to why. But very few companies as willing as Square Enix would risk their reputation and their own studio's creative autonomy to make games just to please shareholders and rack in more dollars. Very few, as well, that seems to be tonally disconnected from what made their company in the first place.
Square Enix sold their western gaming division entirely for a chance to invest in the crypto craze, that didn't go so well, especially when we're dealing with a recession period at the moment. Instead of looking at the guise of other companies like Falcom, Sega, Capcom, and Nintendo who've been doing well now. Square has numerous game franchises, and little has been done reviving them or continuing to make new entries. You can think of any game from the top of your head, like Chrono Trigger, Last Remnant, Star Ocean, Final Fantasy Tactics, and more to boot.
Instead of allowing their developers to have creative breathing room, they're stuck with Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and on the better side right now, Nier (or whatever Yoko Taro comes up with). Their first party games are still mostly the same, while the other half of the games they published are being made by third-party devs. So where does Forspoken find its place here?
What Is It About?
Forspoken is a game created by Luminous Production, SE's in-house studio, made for the Luminous Engine and Final Fantasy XV. It starts a female protagonist, transported from New York to the world of Athia. Based on the Wiki page, she has been given magical powers to stop a great evil, and find a way to go back home.
Ok, let me correct state the above again. Forspoken is a tech demo, made for the PS5, by the team who only made one video game so far. Without the head of studio, Hajime Tabata. With talented writers like Todd Stashwick and Amy Hennig, among all the western writers involved with this game. But made by Japanese developers.
There's nothing unique about the plot, it's a familiar Isekai take that has been done by other games, like Longest Journey. The protagonist doesn't seem that likeable, and feels really shoe-horned in. Japanese developers making games for western developers don't always pan out, and seeing the gameplay footage, it feels like a check mark rather than a genuine new creative IP.
I am not trying to be a detractor because of how influenced it is by liberal media or SJW culture. The game's issue is that the publisher isn't doing a fair job justifying its existence. Again, I've mentioned Square Enix having so many IPs, they could reboot some of them or allowed their devs to create something new. Maybe even work as a support studio for other divisions till they get their bearings right, but making games with western writers only involved? That doesn't sound good. That never works out most of the time.
Oh, and it got an 18 age rating from EU board. What does that mean? Is it going to tackle mature themes? Oh yes, it deals with mental health and suicide, since the protagonist herself tried to jump off a building before being whisked away from her world. The game is expected to be visually lustrous, by far it somehow does, but the jarring character animations didn't help from the 2021 PlayStation showcase.
The gameplay here showcases that half of the charm of the game comes from the visual spectacles, the game design and mechanics seem interesting and reminiscent of Final Fantasy XV itself, with some added traversal mechanics making playing easier. But Final Fantasy 7 Remake came out awhile ago, and that reminded me that yes, there are developers that know how to really make amazing RPG games anachronistically. There's nothing about this that makes me feel like there are genuine intentions for fun. As if it's just a business product for some sake.
The Company That Keeps Being Stubborn
The company behind such games, remember this year they've sold their western division? Which entails Square Enix Montreal, and all the other Eidos based divisions they bought out in 2010? Yeah, they did that for cryptocurrency investing.
Right after that, released was Babylon's Fall. A Platinum Games title that is multiplayer based, and it was a big flop. Yet, managed to get a season 2 rolling with slight update on content, user requested changes, and some fixes too. Season 3 is coming over soon too. This isn't Square Enix's first live service game, and it won't be the last. Speaking of, Forspoken will also have in-game purchases. Yes, you read that right.
Yoshi-P is still holding the fort for his team in Final Fantasy 14's development from Square Enix's upper management. Only a matter of time before they get their hands on that game too. I don't know what to think about this company, outside the fact that their CEO, is still making bad greedy business decisions, also responsible for holding the company back.
What does this have to do with Forspoken? It's a product of tokenism, it's a game because Square Enix thinks they can make it, it's also a PS5 tech demonstration, hence the console exclusivity with PC release. That just seems to be it.
There are too many games coming out this year, and I highly doubt the game's release around late season will get my interest. I'll have to wait and see if the game coming out is actually going to be interesting. To bear witness.
Only a matter of time, before the company succumbs to being a plague in the industry, similar to Konami.