Forspoken’s Magical Parkour Abilities Will Let You Zip, Glide, And Surf Across The Land

When Frey Holland finds herself transported to a magical land that has no Uber service, it’s not long before the hero of Forspoken finds herself hopping around the world with the aid of magical parkour. In a new trailer for the game, developer Square Enix showed off Frey’s skills, which don’t just come in handy for exploring the vast map of Forspoken but can also help her uncover secrets and survive encounters with the deadly locals of Athia.

Flow is Frey’s core power, and can be used by holding down the circle button. With this skill active, Frey is able to spend stamina to automatically leap over small rocks and ledges, jump up small walls, and push forward while cloaked in magical energy. There are limits to Flow, but the other powers at her disposal make up for this by augmenting her parkour skillset.

For example, Rush lets you Flow even faster by working in well-timed button presses according to visual prompts that you’ll see, Shimmy accelerates Frey forward with magical leaps while preserving her stamina, and Scale lets Frey create phantom footholds to launch herself into the air. From there you can use Soar to climb even higher by doing multiple leaps in quick succession, Zip to launch a magical tether that pulls Frey toward it quickly, and Float to gently manipulate gravity.

Finally, Glide lets Frey skim across the surface of the water with a magical surfboard that can bypass the lethal monsters lurking in lakes and rivers. With all of those skills at her disposal, Frey can use them to dodge enemies, land surprise attacks, and dominate the battlefield, provided that she keeps an eye on her stamina gauge.

“If you imagine Spider-Man slinging a variety of deadly magic spells rather than webs, you have a good idea of what it’s like to play Forspoken,” Phil Hornshaw wrote in GameSpot’s Forspoken preview. “Getting around in Forspoken feels pretty good, and the game keeps controls simple so that it’s easy to navigate terrain fluidly.”

Forspoken’s cast also includes Star Wars actor Janina Gavankar, and the action-RPG will launch as a console-exclusive on PS5 and on PC in January 2023.