Square Enix might be afraid of what video game reviewers might be saying about its latest RPG, particularly those who have a tendency to be brutally honest. According to tweets from various publications, including VGC and Windows Central, the publisher behind Final Fantasy hasn’t sent out Forspoken codes to multiple reviewers yet, something that seems alarming, particularly with it being a big-budget, triple-A, and highly marketed game. Naturally, critics of Square Enix are claiming that this is because the title is no good.
“It looks like VGC sadly won’t be publishing a Forspoken review on Monday, since Square Enix has decided not to supply us with code,” reads a tweet from Andy Robinson, owner and editor of the website. “That’s an extremely rare occurrence for us, so read into it how you like.”
It looks like VGC sadly won't be publishing a Forspoken review on Monday, since Square Enix has decided not to supply us with code. That's an extremely rare occurrence for us, so read into it how you like.
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) January 20, 2023
“Have now heard from (or about) 7 major outlets/reviewers who did not get review code for this,” reads another from Skill Up, a YouTuber and podcaster. “As always, no outlet is entitled to code but this ‘limited code’ is a huge red flag. I also haven’t heard of any outlet having access to PC code yet (but can’t confirm this).”
Have now heard from (or about) 7 major outlets/reviewers who did not get review code for this. As always, no outlet is entitled to code but this ‘limited code’ is a huge red flag. I also haven’t heard of any outlet having access to PC code yet (but can’t confirm this). https://t.co/XXAs3MYgxE
— Skill Up (@SkillUpYT) January 20, 2023
An entire hour of Forspoken gameplay leaked yesterday, although it’s unclear how exciting that is being that a demo of the game has been available to play on the PlayStation 5 for a couple of weeks now. Square Enix never said why it didn’t release a PC demo, but Raio Mitsuno, Forspoken’s creative producer, confirmed earlier this week that the PS5 demo has been updated, presumably to better match the final state of the game. Forspoken will launch simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC (STEAM, Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store) next week on January 24, 2023.