Interestingly, the similarities found between the Break in Forspoken and the Starscourge in Final Fantasy 15 not only go a long way to tie the two games together, but also separate them into their own experiences. This separation is specifically the case when looking at the ways that these two faceless threats are used in the narratives across the two games.
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How the Break Haunts Forspoken
Throughout the majority of Forspoken’s runtime, much of the focus from the characters native to Athia is centered on the corruption and how it has stolen most of their world from them. In the early lore of the game, it is implied that the Break is a scourge summoned from another realm by an enemy faction known as Rheddig. As Frey Holland and Cuff join the conflict, the spunky New Yorker gives this faceless corruption its name, and is forced to traverse the dangers The Break causes in order to attempt to find her way home. From her perspective, this makes the Break one of her top concerns, as it is the main thing that stands between her and her goal of escaping Athia.
For the rest of Athia, however, the Break is more on par with a zombie plague reminiscent of the cordyceps fungus from The Last of Us. Being caught inside the corruption that the Break spreads will often turn any living creature into a Break-zombie, if it doesn’t outright kill them and turn them into stone. The result is that Forspoken’s Break is an ever-present threat that ways down on the citizens of Athia, as it has forced them to stay behind the walls of Cipal and abandon their homes.
The Starscourge that Plagues Final Fantasy 15
Similar to the Break in Forspoken, the world of Final Fantasy 15 also has a faceless presence that threatens to cast the entire world into darkness at any time. This is known in-universe as the Starscourge, and it actually has both a magical and scientific explanation as it makes nights drag on longer and summons demons to ravage the lands. There is also a connection to Final Fantasy 15 antagonist Ardyn, though its origins are tied more closely to The Six that make up the world’s pantheon of god-like beings.
Similar to the Break being summoned from another realm by the Rheddig, the Starscourge is brought to the world of Eos from space by the classic Final Fantasy summon Ifrit. However, the similarities also don’t stop at the source of these two plagues, as the Starscourge also turns living creatures into powerful enemies in the form of the demons that it summons. This is because instead of simply summoning demons, this cosmic curse transforms the people of Final Fantasy 15 into the monsters that Noctis and his friends spend every night fighting.
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Forspoken’s Break Focus VS Final Fantasy 15’s Afterthought Starscourge
The biggest difference between the Starscourge and the Break, however, doesn’t come from what they do to the people in each respective title, but in how the narratives focus on these issues. In Final Fantasy 15, it is a looming threat that needs to be taken care of eventually, even if it does take a backseat to trying to reconnect Noctis with Lunafreya and eventually defeat Ardyn. To contrast, every major plot point after Forspoken’s first chapter revolves entirely around the Break and how it has corrupted both the land and the minds of the deific Tantas.
This does help to make the Break into a much more solid and immediate threat to both the world and protagonist Frey Holland. The characters, and by proxy the player, suddenly needs to end the troubles caused by the Break before the small remaining citizens of Athia dies. It’s a major change from Final Fantasy 15 that left the threat of the Starscourge looming in the background until the eleventh hour.
Forspoken is available now for PC and PS5.
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