Gamers have gotten glimpses of the effects of the Break, and it is clear that it is a powerful force with the ability to completely rearrange a location. However, developers could take things to the next level by featuring M.C. Escher-influenced locations warped by the Break.
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Forspoken and the Break
Forspoken begins with the protagonist, Frey Holland, living in New York. Through events that have yet to be explained, she is magicked away to Athia, a strange land filled with dragons and spells. Athia is usually a pretty enchanting place, but when Frey arrives, it is plagued by a corrupting force known as the Break. According to Luminous Productions, the Break turns everything it touches into a malevolent facsimile of itself.
Frey is seemingly immune to the Break, though she still has to deal with the negative effects it has on the world around her. In some areas, the Break becomes especially concentrated, causing Breakstorms. If Frey is caught in a Breakstorm, she will find herself facing off against a slew of powerful monsters. The challenge is worth it because if she survives, there are great rewards to reap. Gamers have also seen that the Break will not affect living things alone. It also warps the landscape it concentrates around.
The effects of the Break on Athia’s topography have been shown off in trailers. Avaolet is usually a paradisaical settlement, but the Break has turned it upside down. It has become a dark place haunted by dastardly beasts, and pieces of it float in the blackened sky. These effects demonstrate the power of the Break, and how it changes everything it touches. However, Luminous Productions could take things further, allowing the Break to morph Athia’s landscape in mind-bending ways.
Forspoken Could Take Inspiration From a Few Games
A few games have managed to warp the playing field in quite interesting ways, and Forspoken could take inspiration from these titles. The most striking example would be Echochrome, an indie puzzle game released in 2008. It features a simplistic design, along with perspective-based environmental puzzles inspired by M.C. Escher’s artworks which often feature optical illusions and visual tricks. Similar effects in Forspoken would illustrate the way the Break is morphing not just physical objects, but the actual laws of physics.
Forspoken could also take notes from Remedy Entertainment’s Control. On the outside, the Federal Bureau of Control is a seemingly normal skyscraper sporting brutalist architecture. Appearances are deceiving in this case, as the building’s walls house environments that defy the laws of space and time. Control’s protagonist, Jesse Faden, never knows what to expect when she opens a door, and there are levels that have had her running through looping corridors, bridges that stretch out into an infinite expanse, and offices that seem to have gone sideways.
Forspoken has faced many delays, but it is now slated for an early 2023 release. Though the world presented looks impressive, it will have to pack some engaging gameplay to ensure it stands out from the mountain of open-world games available. Fortunately, it seems like it may deliver on that front thanks to Frey’s magic powers. However, the way her magic works remains a mystery, much like many of the upcoming game’s elements. Hopefully, when gamers get to see more of the Break, they discover that its effects on Athia are truly out of this world.
Forspoken is scheduled to release on January 24, 2022, on PC and PS5.
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