Square Enix is set to launch its first big game of the year this week as Forspoken will release on PS5 and PC on January 24th. Those waiting to see reviews before picking up the game themselves are going to have to wait a little longer. The embargo for reviews ends on Monday, January 23rd, but it sounds like not very many reviewers and review sites will have access to the game before launch. Chatter around the internet this week seems to confirm that very few reviewers are receiving review codes for Forspoken prior to launch and speculation as to why is ramping up.
In the modern video game world, a studio withholding review codes before launch is almost always a sign of trouble. While it’s possible that the choice has to do with avoiding spoilers and allowing for a more unified fan reaction, it tends to be because something is wrong with the game and reaction to the launch is expected to be less than ideal. Gamers will remember the lack of review codes for the Xbox One and PS4 versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and the disaster those game versions were. In the case of Forspoken, the game is releasing on the platform it was always developed for in the PS5. It’s the first game on Square Enix’s new Luminous Engine and expectations are high.
After several unflattering trailers, a demo for Forspoken was released on the PS5 in December to get gamers excited for the launch. While the game itself did have elements that excited gamers, the demo showed some of the potential issues people are worried about at launch. For instance, the demo often struggled to run at 1080p on the PS5 in performance mode. After having been delayed over a year, many fans had higher expectations than those kinds of performance bugs. It’s worth remembering that it was only a demo and resources were more than likely focused more on polishing any remaining bugs in the full version than they were on any demo bugs. Square Enix did release an update to the demo to fix some issues based on player feedback.
Alongside the concerns that come from a general lack of review codes in the wild, there have been specific callouts to the lack of known PC review codes being sent to outlets at all. While Forspoken has a 2 year console exclusivity agreement with the PS5, it will still be releasing on PC at launch. Concerns were already raised outside of the review code issues when the PC specs for Forspoken were released earlier this week. The download for the game is about double the PS5 game size at 150GBs, while the minimum recommended specs to run the game at only 720p include 16GB of RAM. If you want to play 4k with 60 fps, you need to have the equivalent of a GeForce RTX 4080 and 32GB of RAM. While playing on minimum settings isn’t the end of the world, gamers can’t help but wonder if the PC version is just lacking optimization and is going to have issues running on most PCs.
It won’t be long before the rumors and questions will be put to rest. Forspoken launches Tuesday, January 24th, on PC and PS5. Reviews from certain outlets will go live sometime on Monday, January 23rd, and more reviewers will act quickly to get their thoughts out on launch day. If you are on the fence or unsure of how the game will truly play, it’s worth waiting a day or two to see what sentiment is from more outlets and individuals. Thank goodness for the internet.
Image from: Square Enix
