Gamers Are Comparing 'Forspoken' to 'InFamous' — Here Are the Biggest Differences

As a highly-anticipated PlayStation timed exclusive, Forspoken seeks to be a substantial look at what next-gen gaming will look like. The game follows Frey Holland (Ella Balinska), a modern-day New Yorker who is suddenly teleported to the fantasy world of Athia. Armed with a sentient cuff link and new magical abilities, Frey attempts to free Athia from the tyranny of the Tantas all while trying to find a way back home.

Gamers have been comparing the upcoming title to the InFamous series. The franchise consists of three games that came out 2009, 2011, and 2014 and center around super-powered individuals who can choose to use their powers for good or evil depending on player choices. So is Forspoken really like InFamous? After sitting down with the game for more than an hour, here's what we learned about Forspoken.

In Forspoken, Frey's magic allows her to do all sorts of things. Her abilities are key to performing melee or third-person shooter attacks, but she also uses her powers to maneuver around enemies or cover vast distances of the open world in just a few gliding strides.

While this might sound similar to fans of the InFamous series, Forspoken takes these mechanics to a much bigger scale.

When it comes to combat abilities, Frey has an enormous set of options. Unlike InFamous where powers were typically narrowed down to binary choices, Frey has the ability to switch up the magic she uses. She has both melee attacks and can fire magic projectiles, but switching between these two modes changes your moveset drastically.

Frey's specific magic lets her shoot rock bullets, create barriers, and even use binding spells to help keep enemies in place. But using another form of magic gives her access to spear throws and explosives. This is an enormous step up from a game like InFamous, where newer abilities would really only amount to different color schemes on your attacks.

In Forspoken, the type of magic you're using could mean the difference in how you experience the game, especially as you access more moves.

In terms of the size of the world, Forspoken certainly has InFamous beat. While the InFamous games typically took place in large sandbox city areas, the world of Athia is downright enormous.

The fantasy land is teeming with hidden side objectives and missable collectibles that encourage plenty of exploration. Frey's method of traversal also lets her scale cliff sides in seconds and dash across water without skipping a beat.

In the hour we got to spend with the game, Forspoken was able to carve out its own niche as a sprawling experience with a lot of originality to offer.

Forspoken will arrive on PlayStation 5 on Jan. 24.