The developers of upcoming action RPG Forspoken are aiming to make the most gorgeous open world video game ever. Although considering other imminent titles, there is some stiff competition.
Forspoken first wowed audiences earlier this year with an announcement trailer that was extremely lush looking. The dark fantasy world, full of wonderous magic and terrifying beasts, was beautifully realised, with graphics that screamed next-gen technology.
Luminous Production’s studio head and general manager, Takeshi Aramaki, is on record stating that “we are aiming to achieve the highest quality visuals ever seen in an open world game”. And while I’m not about to try and discredit him, especially considering the obvious quality of the already released trailers, those are some fighting words.
Forspoken is set to be released in 2022, which means that it will share its release year with other highly anticipated titles such as Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and even Starfield. It’s a competitive field for sure, and it’s difficult to imagine any title trumping Sony’s first-party developers.
We have already covered how Horizon Forbidden West is shaping up to be one of the most gorgeous titles ever, despite some concerns that it will be held back by being developed for release on PS4 as well as PS5.
Forspoken, on the other hand, will only be releasing on PS5 and Microsoft Windows – an advantage to be sure.
That said, extra pixels are only one factor in determining how a game looks. Ultimately, the development team needs to nail the art direction of the game world, and the characters that populate it, to create the complete package; and this is where Horizon Forbidden West appears to have the upper hand.
It should be noted, however, that these lofty ambitions were first announced in the context of a tech demonstration for AMD’S FidelityFX Super Resolution technology. It’s pretty obvious the motivation at play here, although that shouldn’t be held against either AMD or Luminous Productions. At the end of the day, hype is the foundation the gaming industry is built upon.
Still, at least from our perspective, these words signal the start of a new battle. And when the dust settles, after both game’s have been released, there can only be one winner. Who will be the prettiest? Forspoken, or Horizon Forbidden West? We wait with bated breath.
Forspoken is set for release on the PS5 and PC in January 2022.
