Gaming

Forspoken review: Outspoken with little to speak of

Wait for a sale

Published

February 2, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

It doesn’t take a lot to create a decent roleplaying game. All you need is a fish-out-of-water character, a vast open map, and a seemingly endless list of objectives. Though it has all three, Forspoken struggles to keep up with its pretenses as a Western roleplaying game.

First, the good

Credit to where it’s due, Forspoken is a fun game for the first few sections. Exploring the incredibly huge map with magical parkour is enjoyable. Eclipsed only by Elden Ring’s Torrent, magic parkour is one of the most innovative ways to quickly traverse large distances, especially after learning more advanced techniques.

Likewise, fighting balanced enemies with limited powers provides enough of a challenge to keep players on their toes in Athia. Neither the player nor the first enemies feel overpowered.

Unfortunately, the game’s novelty quickly evaporates after you figure out that you have to repeat the same motions dozens upon dozens of times. Forspoken’s map is much larger than it ever should have been. Though abundant in number, every point of interest is separated by large distances, some platforming challenges, and a battle sequence. The greater map is empty. Do this over and over, and the game gets stale quick. With adequate rewards, this shouldn’t be a problem, but Forspoken also suffers from a communication issue.

A communication issue

For most roleplaying games, completing an objective on the map usually nets palpable rewards for the player: a significant experience boost, new skills, new gear, or a bag of loot. An open-world game necessitates a lot of exploring. Even if a game is repetitive, earning substantial rewards is satisfying, at least. Forspoken does not have this — not in an easily discernible way, at least.

Treasure chests, which account for most of the points of interest on the map, reward players with a litany of crafting materials. Most of which will go unused because the game doesn’t easily tell players how to use them. After a dozen hours of collecting materials, I had a wealthy cache of each ingredient to make practically anything. Even then, I had little idea where each one went.

The map’s major rewards — new cloaks, new nail arts, and experience — also do little to explain how Frey improves with each completed objective. Clearing out an enemy camp, for example, rewards players with +1 magic. The game does not tell you how much damage that conveys. Certainly, after completing a few of these, Frey feels stronger, but it’s not easy to see how much stronger, especially when most enemies are bullet sponges with absurd health pools anyway.

Plus, these don’t even scratch the surface of objectives wherein the main reward is literally just a lore dump you have to read from a menu.

Difficulty shouldn’t always mean more enemies

Another issue with clearing out Athia’s large map is how Forspoken handles difficulty. Though there are options to adjust difficulty, the game relies on a limited bag of tricks to make it more difficult for players: increasing enemy health and quantity. In moderation, relying on this strategy works. However, Forspoken does this to an obnoxious level.

Prepare to fight five mini-bosses in one encounter for a lore entry. What compounds this issue more is an insane enemy health pool which causes encounters to last a lot longer than they should. One mini-boss encounter took me 15 minutes, even with appropriately leveled gear and the right spells.

Because of the sheer number of enemies, an encounter can stun-lock Frey for an absurd amount of time. The player can hardly prevent this since it relies on chance. Despite offering a wide array of moves, the risk of knockbacks shoehorn players into a slow run-and-gun tactic (which might not even play into an enemy’s weaknesses), instead of using each ability to the max.

On paper, Forspoken’s combat offers a fluid way to take down enemies by seamlessly switching between spells and moving through the battlefield with magic parkour. Unfortunately, an imbalance in enemy strategies bogs the game down in prolonged sequences that often reward players with only middling boosts.

A lack of optimization

For a game released on modern hardware, Forspoken took a while to launch. The game was delayed a few times. Given how delays often work, you’d think that it would release in a fairly optimized state. It’s not.

Though I haven’t hit major game-breaking bugs, there were a number of performance dips throughout the game. Even on performance-focused settings, framerates dropped to a standstill when there were high particle effects on screen. Frey constantly clipped through the terrain and found herself stuck on finnicky edges (which sometimes required reloading from previous saves).

The game is also dragged down by numerous cutscenes. Though not a bug per se, it’s not a great sign of optimization that the game has to pause for a cutscene just to show enemies arriving. For a game featuring fluid movement and combat, Forspoken often takes players out of the action by pausing for unnecessary cutscenes.

Better on sale

Overall, Forspoken is persistently flawed. However, amid the game’s shortcomings, the title still has an exciting combat and movement system. Plus, if you disregard the tedious open world, Forspoken’s linear story, featuring the wide range of abilities, are enjoyable. My interest always bounces back after beating one of the game’s main bosses.

Still, it’s hard to call Forspoken a game worthy of its AAA price tag. It might be better to wait for a discount.

Gaming

Tides of Annihilation opens first public demo at Gamescom 2026

First hands-on

Published

August 6, 2026

Leez

Tides of Annihilation will make its public playable debut at Gamescom 2026.

Developer Eclipse Glow Games announced that attendees can try an extended demo of the upcoming action-adventure game during the event in Cologne, Germany. Players can find the demo at Hall 6, Booth B-050 inside Koelnmesse.

The studio will also reveal a new trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, before the show floor opens.

Demo offers more exploration and combat

The Gamescom demo gives players a longer look at Tides of Annihilation. It features branching paths that lead to different exploration routes and combat encounters. Players can also explore key locations and experience several of the game’s biggest set pieces.

“Gamescom will be an incredibly important moment for our team since this will be our first global playtest and we’re excited to see how first-time players experience our game,” said Ary Chen, Game Director and Co-CEO of Eclipse Glow Games.

“The team has poured heart, soul, and maybe even a few tears into developing the game over the last few years, and it’s finally our opportunity to share it with players. We’re looking forward to seeing their reaction.”

Members of the press and content creators can also schedule private hands-on sessions with the development team during the event.

Arthurian-inspired adventure

Tides of Annihilation blends fast-paced action with a Neo-Medieval vision of modern London. The story follows Gwendolyn after an Outworld invasion leaves the city in ruins.

Driven by a mission to save her sister, she travels between a shattered London and the mythical realm of Avalon. Along the way, she uncovers the mystery behind her newfound powers. She must also decide the fate of reality itself.

Eclipse Glow Games is developing Tides of Annihilation for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

Gaming

Street Fighter 6 adds first Filipino fighter Yasmine to its roster

Eskrima fighter joins battle

Published

August 6, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Street Fighter 6 has officially welcomed Yasmine, making history as the first Filipino martial artist to join the franchise’s playable roster. The new character is now available across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 as part of the game’s Year 4 content.

Yasmine practices Eskrima, having learned the Filipino martial art alongside her older brother under their grandfather’s guidance. She wields Karambit knives in battle and embarks on a journey to find her missing brother.

Players can access Yasmine by purchasing the Year 4 Character Pass or Year 4 Ultimate Pass. Her default outfit features traditional Eskrima-inspired combat attire, while a school uniform serves as her second costume. In combat, she specializes in fast, aggressive attacks that build toward an enhanced Bayani Mode.

Yasmine is the first of four Year 4 fighters, followed by Arjun, Tifa from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, and Bosch. Her release also arrives alongside battle balance adjustments affecting the entire roster.

Onimusha crossover arrives this week

Capcom also announced a limited-time collaboration between Street Fighter 6 and Onimusha. Running from August 7 to August 31, 2026, the event introduces Oni EX character colors, themed Battle Hub decorations, avatar items, and additional rewards for players who log in during the event.

The update also adds new Avatar Arcade courses, additional ending scenes, a Frame Meter option for Avatar Random Match, and refreshed Master ACT rewards.

Philippine launch event set for August 9

Capcom will celebrate Yasmine’s debut with an official Philippine community launch event on Sunday, August 9, at Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant in Palanan, Makati. The event runs from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM and features a double-elimination tournament, gameplay showcases, giveaways, and community activities.

Attendees can also receive limited-edition Yasmine merchandise, including event T-shirts, lanyards, and collectible keychains while supplies last. Special guests and cosplayers are also scheduled to appear. Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is subject to venue capacity.

Gaming

Gangstar Mirage City launches on August 20 with SEA localization

Join a faction now for a chance to win rewards

Published

August 5, 2026

GadgetMatch

Gangstar Mirage City is set for a full regional launch on August 20, with localization for the Southeast Asia region.

Published by Level Infinite, the free-to-play multiplayer, urban, open-world action game is available for download on iOS and Android.

The full regional release features an expanded open world, a new PvP Arena mode, and local languages.

In Gangstar Mirage City, players can team up for up to 4-man co-op heists, drive powerful vehicles, customize their arsenal, build an empire, and fight for control of Rooklyn City.

Players can register on gangstarmiragecity.com for in-game rewards.

In Southeast Asia, players can also register as a member of their respective local faction and get an exclusive in-game Avatar to represent their loyalty:

Philippines: Manila Brigade
Indonesia: War Kanda
Malaysia: Taiko Tedung
Thailand: SIAM APEX

Factions will be ranked based on how many players join and support them. The winning faction will enable all members to get 300 Diamonds, sent directly to their accounts.

Meanwhile, all players, including those who already began their journey in Rooklyn City with the soft launch last July, are invited to join the Global Vault Heist.

Reaching the final Registration Milestone will unlock the Full Tilt Vehicle Pack. These are the rewards up for grabs per milestone: