Luminous Productions: Forspoken on the PlayStation 4 would not work

Forspoken will be released exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and PC in early 2023, but has been developed specifically for the PlayStation 5 and its DualSense controller. In a interview with VG247 explains the developer that a PlayStation 4 version has been ruled out as a result.

“[Forspoken] simply wouldn’t work on the PlayStation 4,” says studio head Takeshi Aramaki. This could be due, among other things, to the DualSense controller, which incorporates haptic feedback into the triggers for the first time. “The colors of the light bar on the DualSense controller based on the type of magic the player is using. The haptic feedback also differs based on the magic used.” Aramaki also says that the character Cuff, a magical bracelet that has come to life, talks to the player via the controller.

Partly because of these functions, Forspoken could not be released on the PlayStation 4, although the light and speaker functions are also present in the DualShock 4 for that console. PC players are basically left out anyway with regard to the mentioned functions. One of the game’s directors, Takefumi Terada, said: “The game was created from the ground up with the features of the PS5 in mind and is therefore optimized for that platform.” He states that using an hdd can cause problems, suggesting that an ssd is recommended to make the game feel “as fast and fluid as possible.”

Forspoken, which has been delayed three times so far, will be released on January 24, 2023 for the PlayStation 5 and PC.