Then, after narrowly avoiding danger, we get a dramatic bird’s-eye view of the landscape, dominated by a massive stone landmark arching up into the sky.

Forspoken also relies on a photorealistic graphics style that, despite some of the vibrant magic in the combat, isn’t all that colorful — even its flowers look a little sad and colorless.

She lives in poverty in New York City, and the day she finally saved enough money to move and make a better life, her home gets burned down by a gang.

There are no silly Cactuars popping up to make you laugh; no overly cocky friends standing by your side; no moments of whimsy that allow you to take a break and recover from it all.

Image: Luminous Productions/Square Enix via Polygon There’s a reason comic relief is so common in blockbuster movies and video games — it gives the audience a breather before the next exciting, yet stressful set piece.

The bad jokes and stiff self-narration are fixtures of several popular AAA games, but in Forspoken when they miss, they seem to fall even harder, because it’s not a world where silly things happen or people speak in strange, unbelievable ways.