Forspoken includes an option that lets you cut the chatter

Square Enix has released a demo version of Forspoken for the PlayStation 5. The demo gives players an early taste of the kind of gameplay that they can expect from the full game when it arrives in January. There are a wide variety of options available in the demo, and one called “Cuff Chat Frequency” has been gaining a lot of attention.

Cuff is the name of a character that acts as a guide in the game. Forspoken tells the story of protagonist Frey Holland, who is transported to a magical land known as Athia. When Frey arrives in this new land, she finds a sentient bracelet attached to her arm that goes by the name Cuff. Cuff acts as Frey’s companion throughout the game and provides support on her journey.

Based on what I (the original author of this article) played of the demo, Cuff is quite vocal. Frey too speaks quite regularly while playing. Whether exploring the world or in the midst of battle, the two will frequently chat together in a variety of different situations, and their playful banter helps to further enliven the gameplay experience.

Cuff Chat Frequency is an option that allows players to adjust how often Frey and Cuff speak to one another. There are four different settings available to choose from, and if set to “minimal,” you will only hear dialogue required to advance the story. I tried playing at the lowest setting, and they almost don’t speak at all. In contrast, when I played at the highest setting, the two characters spoke very frequently, including not only comedic banter but also various gameplay hints and more. It was almost like the characters had different personalities.  

One interesting point to note is that this option is not included under the Sound Settings but is instead under Accessibility Settings. In other words, it’s an option that was implemented with regard to ease of play.

Biomutant is another title that comes to mind when thinking about games with similar options. In that game, the narrator speaks almost constantly, and there is an option that lets you adjust the frequency of his dialogue. A newly released shooter called High On Life also includes an option to reduce the dialogue frequency (PCMag).

Although there is precedent for the inclusion of this kind of option, it’s interesting to see it in a game made by Square Enix, a developer whose character dialogue is seen as a strong point. It’s even more interesting when you consider that the team behind the Forspoken also worked on Final Fantasy XV, a game that has an abundance of character banter. Regardless of how you feel about in-game chatter, having more options is always a welcome thing.

Written by. Marco Farinaccia based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-12-13 13:16 JST)