Forspoken Shows Activities of Athia

Square Exni and Luminous Productions released their third “Deep Dive” gameplay video for action RPG Forspoken. The new three-minute video focuses on the game’s world of Athia, and some of the things players and protagonist Frey can find there.

Exploration is a major part of the game, with the land having many objects of interest scattered across its vast areas. These include Monuments, sacred stones that are corrupted by a phenomenon called the Break that may require parkour skills to reach. By freeing them from the Break, Frey obtains boosts to her stats. Some of these Monuments hold Flashbacks, which transport Frey to the past where she faces varied challenges and can see how the Break spread. Completing Flashbacks will grant rewards including Mana to unlock more spells.

Frey can find pools of water known as Founts of Blessing, which boost her magical skills, unlocking more spells. Players will be alerted if one is nearby by its resonance. Frey can also make her spells more powerful with spellcraft challenges, such as using abilities a number of times, which are found in ancient books inside refuges.

Throughout Athia, players will collect Old Coins from chests or nooks and crannies. These can be spent with traders to obtain special items with effects such as improving crafting abilities. Players will also get requests to find specific items for additional rewards. Also hidden around the world are Locked Labyrinths — filled with challenging enemies, rooms, and corridors — within which players can pick up more items and materials.

Athia has dice-like objects made out of animal bones called Partha. These can be rolled in safe places such as the Shady Tree pub. If they land with certain symbols, they grant Frey temporary boosts. Meanwhile, children who are trapped within cities due to the Break’s corruption outside, ask Frey to show them the outside world. This can be done by finding the multitude of photo spots; as Frey shows the kids more photos, additional features for the photo mode are unlocked.

The game includes Tantas’ Familiars, magical cats that Frey can try and befriend. She will need to approach them quietly, but any that she does befriend will move to a refuge where she can interact with them freely. Finally, there are creatures that have been corrupted more by the Break than others, turning them into the most challenging Breakbeasts. Defeating these makes up the game’s toughest challenges, but they offer big rewards.

Forspoken sees New York City resident Frey Holland transported to the world of Athia, where she learns she has mystical abilities. Athia previously flourished under the reign of its matriarchs, called Tantas, before it became afflicted by the Break, which has driven the Tantas to madness. Forspoken is set to release for PC and PlayStation 5 on January 24, 2023.