I want to be clear that I don’t favor indie games lately out of some sort of desire to be a hipster or elitist with “refined tastes.” I’m constantly looking toward new titles to get excited about, whether the budgets are big or small.

Triple-A game development seems to be all about the bottom line. 2016’s Titanfall 2 was excellent, but it was quickly left to rot at the hands of hackers who repeatedly overload its servers – Electronic Arts shifted that development team’s priorities to the cash cow that is Apex Legends, a decent game stuffed full of loot boxes, battles passes and cosmetics. It’s difficult to recall the last big-budget title that genuinely impressed me with anything more than its graphics. I struggle to think of a more generic AAA experience than Forspoken, which does a mediocre job treading the exact same path left by the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Middle-earth, Destiny, Far Cry and countless others. The time you don’t waste in cutscenes is spent running around in desolate open plains and fighting hordes of monsters.

Of course, Cuff and Frey exchange plenty of sassy one-liners throughout the journey. Frey acquires a magical, sentient bracelet known as “Cuff” – very clever stuff – and must use her newfound powers to return home. The story is set in the fantasy world of Athia, where protagonist Frey Holland is mysteriously transported to from modern-day New York City. After all, there’s only so many times big-budget studios can cobble together a cinematic third-person action-adventure game before the niche is completely devoid of originality.

The highly anticipated Forspoken was released on Tuesday, and despite its lofty cinematic presentation, its reception was about what I expected: middling.

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