Forspokenhas yet to release, but its gameplay is already provoking some interesting conversations. It’s no secret that magic is crucial to just about everything the player does inForspoken; Frey’s magical abilities can be woven together into devastating spell combos, and she has exploration powers ranging from summoned surfboards to arcane grappling hooks. Not every RPG uses magic to such a great extent, so it’s a refreshing look, but it’s especially interesting because of what other games it could inspire. Magic-centric RPG gameplay could easily translate into new games based on all kinds of established franchises, includingMagic: The Gathering.
In the last several years,Magic: The Gatheringhas had a complicated relationship with video games.Magic: The Gathering Arenaremains a highly successful digital version of the trading card game, but the MMOMagic Legendsgot canceled, despite a few recent beta periods and an appealing concept. If Wizards of the Coast wants to try its hand at anotherMagicvideo game,Forspokenmight be a good template. Rather than a multiplayer experience likeMagic Legends,Wizards of the Coast could order a singleplayer RPG with explosive combat where players customize a planeswalker and travel theMagicmultiverse in search of adventure.
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How Magic: The Gathering Could Adapt Forspoken’s Ideas
By now, Square Enix and Luminous Productions have shared enough information onForspokento give players a solid understanding of combat.Protagonist Frey Hollandknows a wide variety of spells that she can quickly switch between and cast with a flick of the wrist. Spells serve lots of different functions, and players are encouraged to weave between different spells to identify favorite combos and playstyles. Frey learns new spells through mana, which she can either find scattered around Athia or gain by leveling up; in other words, the more mana Frey earns, the more powerful she becomes.
This structure could easily be adapted to aMagic: The Gatheringgame.MtGis all about casting clever spell combos and wielding a specialty type of magic, so a singleplayer RPG could use a very similar magic system to great effect. The developer could even represent the player’s known spells throughMagiccards, much likeMagic Legends' deckbuilding system. When a player puts a spell on cooldown, they might “draw a card” by getting a suggestion for a follow-up ability that combos well with the first spell. A mana system likeForspoken’s would be highly appropriate too, sincemana inMagic: The Gatheringis very important. Players may need to save up different colors of mana to learn specific spells.
Beyond combat and spell progression, other elements ofForspokenseem well-suited toMagic.For instance,Forspokenmakes traversal and exploration extremely important; aMagic: The GatheringRPG could do the same by giving eachMagiccolor unique traversal skills. Green magic might offer mounts that the player can ride, blue magic might add flight and teleportation spells, and so on. Depending on what colors the player specializes in, they might experience theMagicworld in very different ways, which would encourage multiple playthroughs.
Obviously a singleplayerMagicRPG shouldn’t be aForspokenclone. Luckily, the trading card game has plenty of ways to differentiate itself.Magic: The Gathering’s planeswould offer a multitude of explorable settings, all distinct from Athia in their own ways, while stricter rules about the colors of magic and their interactions could ultimately make spellcasting feel very different. Nevertheless,Forspoken’s concept provides a lot of ideas that a studio could one day lift to make a newMagic: The Gatheringgame. For the moment, aMagicgame like this doesn’t seem to be around the corner, but at leastForspokenoffersMagicfans a chance to wield explosive magic on par with a planeswalker’s powers.
Forspokenreleases July 01, 2025 for PC and PS5.
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