Various media outlets have recently reported that Square Enix has not given them Forspoken review copies which means pre-launch reviews will be fewer this time around.
Square Enix has usually given review codes to various outlets regarding their newly released titles, but this time only a few have been given away for Forspoken. Several gaming journalists are now posting online that they have not gotten a review copy and even bigger outlets are affected.
What’s up with Forspoken review copies?
Among the media outlets that have reported to have not acquired review copies are VGC and RPG Site. The Escapist Magazine’s Nick Calandra has also stated they have not gotten a review copy too. Known YouTuber Skill Up expressed their concern for the lack of review copies, saying it is a “huge red flag”. The Verge’s Tom Warren says that the PC requirements will tell you everything you need to know for the lack of copies.
Sirus Gaming recently reported that the PC system requirements of the game are quite heavy, even if they are only minimum. The game demands at least 16 GB ram, a graphics card of at least a GTX 1060 with 6GB VRAM, and a whopping storage space of 150 GB or more. If Warren’s statement is true, then it is possible that Square Enix deemed only a few reviewers could handle the game’s requirements to play on PC hence the low supply of review codes.
A launch trailer was released recently revealing “accolades” from various review sites. Most of them are singing praises to the game saying it is beautiful, endearing, fun, and absolutely magical. The video does not specify if these impressions are based on a full game review or the game demo that got released a while back. Contrary to what the critics are saying, one YouTuber commented on the video saying, “Played the demo and the world feels so lifeless. Nothing groundbreaking that I have not seen in generic open-world games.”
Square Enix has not shared any statement to explain the lack of review copies.
Forspoken launches on January 24, 2023 exclusively on PC and PS5.