Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Forspoken ahead. Proceed at your own risk.Forspokendivided fans from the moment it made its first trailer appearances, due to the discrepancy between the game’s dialogue and its setting. In leaked pre-release footage of the game, both the game’s protagonist, Frey, and her partner, Cuff, used language that didn’t match the tone ofForspoken’s serious narrative. Because of thismany players foundForspoken’s leaked dialogue off-putting. One line, in particular, drew much of fans' ire, as a serious and dark response from Cuff is undercut by Frey’s flippant response that he “…sounds like a serial killer.” However, this dialogue ended up being a clever bit of foreshadowing, as the game’s final act sees Cuff revealed as the demon Susurrus, the source of Athia’s corruption.
The “serial killer” line is spoken at an early point inForspoken’s narrative when the damage inflicted on Athia’s landscape is on full display. However, many fans' first impressions of the conversation came from a clip of footage leaked prior to the game’s release. In the clip, Cuff states, “Destruction and corruption are forms of creation in themselves,” a line carrying the weight of the apparent situation appropriately. However, Frey’s joking response, “Wow. You sound like a serial killer,” led many players to quickly decry the game’s dialogue as disjointed and inappropriate. Fans who played the full release discovered that not everything was as it seems. Given further context by the game’s final act, this discussion proved to be a moment of significant importance, as it is the first time Frey recognized Cuff’s dark nature.
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Cuff’s Late-Game Reveal Was Foreshadowed Throughout Forspoken’s Story
Forspokentells the story of Frey Holland, a young woman from New York City who is transported to the fantasy world of Athia by a magic vambrace, Cuff. Cuff becomes Frey’s mentor as she seeks to rescue Athia from the grasp of the Tantas, former rulers who have gone mad and attacked the people of the realm with a plague, The Break. As she defeats each Tanta, Frey gains access to their magic through her link with Cuff. Whenthe first hour of gameplay forForspokenleaked online, players received some context as to why Frey’s dialogue is so course. However, many of Cuff’s comments are not given full context until the game’s final hours. Players hoping to get an insight into the character were required to read into the clues duringForspoken’s many hours of seemingly-irrelevant dialogue.
Forspoken’s dialogueis constant, with Frey and Cuff commenting about every small action the former takes on her journey. However, some small interactions foreshadowed the game’s bigger reveal, much like the “serial killer” one. Throughout Frey’s journey, Cuff misleads and influences her by sharing insights about the people and places around her. Cuff makes disparaging comments towards the injured in Athia, and seeks to stray Frey from the path of healing the realm. When Frey is on a journey to find medicinal tree sap, Cuff pressures her to instead journey into another area and kill one of the Tantas, supposedly destroying the sickness at its source.
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When Frey refuses to kill anyone else, Cuff purposefully leads her into confrontations, which result in the absorption of the remaining Tantas' magic into Cuff. Once he absorbs the last of this magic, Cuff leaps from Frey’s wrist and reveals himself as the villain behind the corruption of Athia andForspoken’s final boss. With Cuff’s reveal as the demon Susurrus, a final weapon unleashed on Athia by its enemies, Frey’s “serial killer” comment proves to be more than true.
Forspoken’s Final Act Gives Context to Both Frey and Cuff’s Controversial Dialogue
The final act ofForspokennot only sees Cuff revealed as Susurrus, butFrey revealed to be the daughter of Tanta Cinta, whose vambrace, Cuff, transports Frey to Athia. Cinta, fearing for her baby’s life, sends Frey through a portal to New York City, the location where she met Frey’s father. Frey grows in the foster system, before being left to fend for herself as an adult on the streets. Frey shares late inForspoken’s story that the trauma of this abandonment and the years of being utterly alone made her callous towards those around her.
GivenForspoken’s uneven pacing, many of the pair’s comments seem out of place, but fans who pay close attention can discover much about Frey and Cuff through their conversations. Through the context of their final reveals, Frey and Cuff can be seen as sharing a lot of their innermost desires throughForspoken’s supplemental dialogue. It’s the early interaction in which Frey calls Cuff “a serial killer”, though, that has the biggest implications. Though Frey often uses her snark and sarcasm as a shield against the darker events around her, she immediately calls Cuff out for the evil nature of his comment. Frey knows there is something dark about Cuff, but, at this point, she thinks it is what makes them similar. In the end, this distinction is the most valuable characteristic setting them apart.
Cuff’s comment, on the other hand, reveals his banter to be a shield for his inner darkness. Even though he regularly uses his position of knowledge to present himself as a positive voice for Athia, his snarky comments, such as those on the beauty of destruction, reveal his true nature. In the end, Frey defeats Susurrus and becomes the fifth Tanta. In a post-credits scene, Sussurus is revealed to be once again attached to Frey, promising to drive her mad and setting upa potential sequel toForspoken.
It will be interesting to see how the dialogue in the sequel reflects both Frey and Cuff’s character arcs over the course of their adventure. Given that the characters have embraced their true natures, perhaps the dialogue will not be so off-putting to those who take a casual dive into the sequel. It remains to be seen if or when this sequel will come to fruition. Until then, players still interested in the first title have an upcomingForspokenprequel DLCto look forward to.
Forspokenis available now for PC and PS5.
