When Frey Holland is transported to the mysterious land of Athia, one thing quickly becomes clear: this is not just her new home. It’s her playground.
Forspoken’s hero has an amazing magic-enhanced parkour ability, allowing her to jump, flip, zip, and hop around the world with incredible fluidity. You can get a close-up look at how it all works in our new parkour in-depth:
So, what exactly did Frey do in this video? Read on and we’ll tell you a little more about the parkour skills at her disposal – and how she can use them.
Flow
This is one of Frey’s core strengths – and the beating heart of parkour in Forspoken.
It is activated by holding down the circle button – while in this state, Frey will glide through the world with amazing speed and incredible grace. She will automatically jump over small rocks and ledges, jump over small walls and do everything she can to keep pushing forward in the direction you tell her to.
Of course, there are limits. Using Flow alone won’t allow Frey to cross a cliff face or climb a tall building – plus, it requires stamina. To really catch the style, you need to combine Flow with other Frey moves and learn how to tie them together.
Think of it as the foundation of a system that keeps you in control, rather than the game doing it all for you. The better you play, the better your moves – and the cooler Frey looks.
wick tree
The Rush ability allows you to Flow even faster by working in well-timed button presses.
When using Flow, you will occasionally see flames emanating from Frey. Hit the circle button when she sees this visual prompt and she’ll rush forward at her fastest pace. Even better, it also allows you to maintain top speed while restoring some stamina.
It’s a prime example of how Forspoken’s parkour system is so simple to learn but with a real sense of mastery. Someone new to the game might do well with basic Flow, but skilled players working in Rush can go further and faster, for much longer.
Shimmy
Want to speed up fast? It’s time Shimmy.
This move allows Frey to bounce off the ground to accelerate. Press X at the right moment and Frey will perform a short jump forward. If you press X again when she lands, you can continue to dash forward at amazing speed.
It’s also great because it’s another move that helps preserve stamina. Many skills are used based on this resource, and when it is depleted, so does Frey’s current. Sometimes, a well-timed rest is also helpful as her stamina will quickly recover when Frey isn’t using a skill.
This is why skills like Shimmy and Rush are so useful. Because they don’t consume stamina, they allow you to extend your run time far beyond what you would normally be able to. The better you play, the longer you can keep your flow… and the better you feel!
Ratio
Flow can help you go up a wall but to go higher you need to learn how to Scale.
This ability allows Frey to create ghost stands to launch herself into the air. You can use this to give yourself the strength needed to reach the top of a structure or warm up to keep moving continuously around the world.
Having this extra jump is great, but do you know what would be really cool? There is one more jump. Speaking of which…
Fly up
Soar allows you to climb even higher by performing multiple jumps in quick succession.
As the name implies, Soar allows Frey to reach incredible heights that can’t be achieved with a normal jump – that remarkable altitude is a real game changer, allowing you to reach areas that would otherwise be inaccessible and open up more opportunities for brilliant parkour.
Okay, so maybe it’s not the flashiest skill in Frey’s repertoire, but it’s one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without!
Zip
zip though – now that’s flashy!
By tapping the square button, you can make Frey launch a magical tether, pulling her towards whatever it connects to. It’s useful to keep you ahead in situations where you’d otherwise hit a ledge or pass through scenery that could slow your momentum.
Alternatively, you can hold the square to slow down the action and target areas where you especially want to engage yourself. While Zip can stick to any wall, it really comes into play when you’re targeting certain objects found around the world. These allow Frey to dash forward with incredible speed or launch herself into the air!
Floating
You’ve Flowed, Expanded, Soared and Compressed your way up high, but you need to get down quickly – what do you do? Using Float of course!
This endlessly useful ability allows Frey to manipulate gravity herself to soften any fall. Just hold the X button in the air and you can gently drift downwards at a controlled speed.
Of course, apps don’t just exist – it’s also great for conveyance situations in general. Float lets you easily bridge large gaps – want to get to the other side of a ravine, or jump from building to building? In many cases, you can simply skim where you want.
Just be careful – you’ll still descend slowly, so when going over long distances it’s best to combine with other parkour skills like zip.
Glide
Water slows you down, blocks your path, and often contains monsters with many teeth that want to use you as a chew toy. In other words, it is the enemy of parkour.
Unless of course you have the Glide ability.
You may have seen this in the trailers. It allows Frey to surf on water. If Frey has learned this skill, it will automatically activate when you use Flow in things with a lot of plastic – just hold down Circle to start gliding.
The speed and style with which you can move make every lake, river and sea an opportunity for stylish excursions. it’s especially useful when fighting some of the aforementioned wet monsters – with this ability you can run around them. Or, more accurately, Glide around them.
Forspoken is one of those games where the action of moving itself is so much fun. Traversal isn’t just about going from A to B, it’s about getting there with skill and style.
You have to discover how to combine these different magical abilities to achieve the feeling of ‘flowing’ around the world, and when you do it’s incredibly satisfying and incredibly enjoyable.
You’ll be able to discover that for yourself when Forspoken launches on January 24, 2023 for PS5. Learn more at PS Store.
