Forspoken deserved better |
“I’m talking to a cuff!”
Ultimately, Forspoken was spoken for by five words. Looking back at Square Enix’s ambitious action-RPG three years later, it’s not the kickass parkour, revelatory magic system, or genuinely surprising plot twists that people remember. It’s the (admittedly cringe-worthy) dialogue, which is a shame, as Forspoken had a lot more to offer than “I’m talking to a cuff!”
Forspoken’s death knell first sounded in August 2022, thanks to a gameplay trailer five months ahead of the game’s release. Almost instantly, gamers smelt blood. Voiceover from the trailer became the basis for a brutal wave of memes, as social media users applied its flippant tone to games like Bloodborne (“I’m talking to a doll!”), God of War (“It’s not easy fighting heckin’ vikings”), and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater ([insert dramatic reading of “Superman” by Goldfinger]).
Never mind that “I’m talking to a cuff” was, as with many conversations on the internet in the 2020s, entirely stripped of context. Forspoken stars a young woman named Frey, who discovers the now-infamous bracelet near Manhattan’s Holland Tunnel, then finds herself isekai’d........