When Frey Holland is transported to the mysterious country of Afia, one thing quickly becomes clear: it's not just her new home. This is their playground.
Forspoken's hero is capable of incredible magic-enhanced parkour, allowing him to leap, spin, jump, and leap across the world with incredible fluidity. You can see how it all works in our new parkour:
So what was Frey doing in this video? Read on and we'll tell you a little more about the parkour skills at his disposal and how to use them.
flow
This is one of Frey's main abilities and is the heart of Forspoken's parkour.
Activated by pressing the circle button - in which case Frey will scale the world with incredible speed and amazing grace. It will automatically jump over small rocks and ledges, jump over small walls, and do its best to move in the direction you tell it to.
Of course there are limitations. Using Flow alone won't allow Freya to climb a cliff or tall building that requires persistence. To really move with style, you must learn to combine and coordinate Flow with Frey's other moves.
Think of it as the foundation of a system that lets you control your route instead of letting the game do everything. The better you play, the better you move and the cooler Frey looks.
walk fast
Haste skills allow you to flow faster, working well with time.
You will sometimes see Frey's flames when using Flow. When you see this visual cue, press the circle button and it will run forward and maintain the fastest pace. Even better, you can also use it to maintain top speed while regaining some stamina.
Forspoken's parkour system is a great example of how easy it is to learn, but with a real sense of craftsmanship. Someone new to mainstream will do well, but seasoned Rush players can go longer and faster.
lightning
Want to get up to speed quickly? Strange time.
This move causes Frey to bounce off the ground to accelerate. Press X at the right time and Frey will make a short jump forward. If you press X again after landing, you can go forward at incredible speed.
This is great because it's another stamina saving move. Many skills rely on this resource, and when it runs out, so does Frey's current run. Sometimes resting from time to time helps, as Frey quickly regenerates stamina when not using an ability.
This is why skills like Shimmy and Rush are very useful. Since they don't consume stamina, you can run longer than usual. The better you play, the longer you can keep your flow going... and the better you'll feel!
scale
A stream can raise a wall, but to climb higher you must learn to climb.
This ability causes Frey to create a phantom base for him to levitate. You can use it to give you the boost you need to reach the top of a structure or start moving smoothly around the world.
It's nice to have that extra bounce, but you know what would be really nice? With a special jump. Speaking...
stand up
Climbs allow you to climb even higher by performing multiple jumps in a row.
As the name suggests, Flying allows Frey to reach incredible heights that normal jumping cannot reach; that extra height really changes the game, allowing you to reach places that might otherwise be unreachable and opening up more possibilities for great parkour.
Well, maybe it's not the most prominent ability in Frey's repertoire, but it will make you wonder how you ever lived without it!
lightning
Create - it's amazing!
By pressing the square button, you can trigger a magic thread that will attract anything Frey is attached to. This is useful for pushing yourself into situations where you would otherwise be lost on the edge, or being around nature that can slow your progress.
Alternatively, you can hold square to slow down the movement and focus on the areas you want to capture. While Zip can stick to any wall, it shines when focused on specific objects around the world. Frey jump forward at high speed or take off!
point
You've flown, climbed, soared and raced, but you need to get back quickly - what do you do? Use Float of course!
With this infinite ability available, Frey can manipulate gravity to shrink any enemy. Hold the X button in the air and you can glide smoothly at a controlled speed.
Of course, the applications go beyond simple survival; they are also great for general winding situations. Swimming makes it easier to cross large gaps: do you want to reach the other side of a cliff or jump from one building to another? In many cases, you can slide it wherever you want.
Be careful - you will still go down slowly. So, if you're going to run long distances, it's best to combine parkour with other skills, such as zip-lining.
slide
Water slows you down, gets in your way, and often has many toothy monsters that you use to chew on toys. In other words, it is the enemy of parkour.
Unless you don't have lube, of course.
You've probably seen it in the trailers. This causes Freya to slide across the surface of the water. After Frey learns this ability, it automatically activates when you use Flow on a jump; Press and hold the Circle button to start viewing.
The speed and style with which you can travel makes it possible to show off every lake, river and sea in its own style. This is especially useful against some of the wet monsters mentioned above - you can use this ability to place rings around them. Or more precisely, slide rings around them.
Forspoken is one of those games where the action itself is incredibly satisfying. Traversal isn't just about getting from A to B, it's about getting there with flair and style.
It's up to you to combine these various magical abilities to get a sense of "flow" in the world, and when you do, it's incredibly satisfying and infinitely satisfying.
You can find out for yourself when Forspoken launches on PS5 on January 24th, 2023. Learn more on the PS Store.