The Ending Of Forspoken Explained
"Forspoken" follows Frey, an average girl from New York City who finds herself transported to the fantastical land of Athia. There, she is given magical powers by a talking bracelet, which she uses to fight back against a group of four powerful magic users known as Tantas. Through the journey, Frey grows in power, learns about her own connections to this world, and eventually becomes tangled up in the fate of all of Athia.
"Forspoken" has a lot going on. The game's plot explores multiple thematic elements, doles out plenty of twists and surprises, and introduces players to a large cast of characters. It can be a lot to keep track of, especially once characters reveal their own secret identities and unexpected motivations. So, in case you need some clarification, a refresher on what happened, or are just curious to see where Frey's adventure takes her, here is an explanation for the ending of "Forspoken."
Frey is betrayed
The final act of "Forspoken" kicks off with a bang as Frey is betrayed by Cuff, the mystical accessory that granted her magical powers and mentored her as she explored Athia. Cuff is not only the first character that Frey and the player gets to interact with in Athia, but is also the one that they spend the most time with. This makes his betrayal not only shocking, but devastating for Frey personally. After this, our heroine feels just as abandoned and powerless as she did in her regular life in New York City.
The scene culminates in Cuff revealing his true form as a golden humanoid being made of shimmering particles (which eerily resemble a swarm of locusts flying around him at all time). His voice also changes significantly, becoming much more sinister, and he is able to take Frey's power away from her, leaving her vulnerable as he attacks and taunts her. Thankfully, this is not the end of the road for Freya — otherwise, this would be one brutal ending.
Frey's origins
Just before Cuff can kill Frey, she is saved by the interference of the same dragon that attacked her when she first entered Athia. This dragon is revealed to be Tanta Cinta, a member of the four rulers of Athia that Frey was tasked with defeating to save the land. Cinta saves Frey and takes her away to a safe place where she can fill her in on what is really happening.
The chief revelation during this scene is that Tanta Cinta is actually Frey's mother. She reveals to Frey that she once traveled to various worlds to find new technologies that she could bring to Athia to help it advance and evolve. While visiting New York City, Cinta met a man named Al, who ended up becoming Frey's father. Cinta and Al returned to Athia before Frey was born, but she had to send Frey through a portal back to New York City when Athia was attacked by a demon known as Susurrus.
Not only does this reveal finally make sense of Frey's newfound powers, but it also completely recontextualizes the game's plot thus far.
Cuff's origins
Cinta then explains to Frey that the demon Susurrus was unleashed upon Athia by an invading race known as the Rheddig as part of a last-ditch effort. The Rheddig were nearing defeat at the hands of the Athians, so they let out Susurrus to either conquer Athia — or destroy it so that nobody else could take it for their own. Despite Susurrus' immense power, he was defeated by four powerful Athians, who divided up his power and each took a part of it for themselves. Those four warriors then became the very Tantasthat Frey fought against at Cuff's urging.
Cinta explains that the Tantas lost their way due to the power that they took from Susurrus, which forced them to live on with part of his psyche latched onto their own. This drove them mad, causing them to abuse their power. Another part of Susurrus' psyche went on to become the Cuff that Frey knew. By manipulating Frey into battle the Tantas, Susurrus was eventually able to reassemble the other parts of his shattered essence.
The bad ending
After filling Frey in on what is actually going on in Athia, Cinta gives her daughter a choice. The Tanta opens up two portals: One of which will take Frey to face Susurrus, while the other will take her back to New York City, allowing her to escape and live out her life in safety, forgetting all about Athia. This allows the player to decide between two endings for the game — with the decision to return to New York City being the game's bad ending.
If the player goes through the portal back to New York City, they are treated to a cinematic of Frey with her cat Homer. The walk down the street for a brief moment before Frey asks Homer what they are supposed to do now. While the cutscene is rather simple, it implies that Athia was destroyed at the hands of Susurrus and denies Frey the character progression and development that her adventures had been building towards. Instead of growing and becoming the hero she's meant to be, Frey finds herself in NYC without a purpose, direction, or the self confidence that she craves.
The good ending
If the player instead chooses to go face Susurrus, Tanta Cinta reveals that the power Frey thought was given to her by the Cuff was actually part of her all along, passed on through her lineage. Knowing the truth allows Frey to access those powers independently, and so she sets off to fight back against Susurrus and end the evil being once and for all.
While facing Susurrus the fight is even until the demon gets Frey on one knee and hits her with a powerful attack that threatens to finish the fight. It is only when calling upon her lineage and the other Tantas that she shares the lineage of her powers with. With their help, she is able to fight back against Susurrus to put an end to the fight once and for all. Once she defeats Susurrus Frey is able to absorb all of his power into herself. With this new power she accepts the role of Athia's new Tanta and ruler to try and lead it into a new age.
Frey still has a treacherous road ahead of her
Frey's journey through "Forspoken" is centered around her growth as she learns to accept herself and have confidence in her own abilities. She goes from being someone full of self-doubt to accepting that she has the power to make a difference and help those who can't fight for themselves. After defeating Susurrus and absorbing his power, she finds she even has the power to combat the infectious vapor known as the Break, which has long terrorized this world. She vows to lead Athia into a new age.
The ending cutscene also reveals that when Frey defeated Susurrus, she also gained a tattoo resembling the cuff she wore previously. As it turns out, the tattoo also contains a fragment of Susurrus' psyche, which allows him to speak to Frey and try to influence her decisions. In a cutscene after the credits roll, Susurrus even tells Frey directly that he's going to try and drive her insane with his influence. Rather than caving to his threats or being intimidated by the evil spirit, Frey's newfound confidence and power prompts her to dare Susurrus to try.
Athia may be safe, but it looks like Frey's adventures are just beginning.
Lost Lullabies
After finishing the game, players are able to jump back into "Forspoken" to continue exploring the world of Athia and complete new side quests. One of the most important of these quests is "Lost Lullabies," which ties up some of the minor plot threads left dangling by the game's conclusion. It also gives players some more insight into Cinta's character.
The quest follows Frey as she hunts for a small music box that was hidden by Cinta. When she takes the music box out and lets it play, she recognizes the simple lullaby as one that was frequently played for her throughout her childhood. The music box is also accompanied with a note from Cinta, which promises that she will always love Frey. This emotional moment not only shows more of Cinta's true nature, but it helps Frey to feel more connected to her lineage and mother moving forward.
Freya and the path to self-acceptance
One of the biggest recurring elements throughout "Forspoken" is the yearning for a sense of belonging and the hope of finding one's place in the world. This is predominantly explored through Frey's personal growth throughout the game. At the start of "Forspoken," she has grown up more or less on her own, starting as an orphan found on a street corner in New York City. Her only friend is her pet cat, and she feels an oppressive sense of loneliness in the dense concrete jungle, a feeling like she never quite fits in.
This all changes when she goes to Athia and discovers not only her powers, but also her true nature. She finally feels a connection with Athia and her mother that she's never felt anywhere else, and it's this presence of self that allows her to defeat Susurrus and take over as Athia's new ruler. Her connection to her ancestors further empowers her, giving her strength she never had when she was all alone. Once Frey fully embraces her origins, she finally finds a real purpose in life.
Another recurring theme in Frey's journey in "Forspoken" is the power of self-belief. When she first arrives in Athia and receives power from Cuff, she reacts with complete disbelief. Even as she continues to get new powers, she struggles to accept her own abilities, or even the idea that she deserves them. By the end of the game, Frey has finally accepted that she never needed Cuff and that the power was hers all along. She defeats Susurrus and takes on a leadership role, bringing her journey of self-discovery full circle.
Self-sacrifice runs through the entire story
Self-sacrifice is another theme that runs throughout Frey's journey in "Forspoken," one that is built into the fabric of Athia as a whole. The theme is especially exemplified by the story of the Tantas. Although defeating Susurrus and dividing up his power enabled them to become stronger, it also came at the price of their sanity. The four Tantas did what they thought was right at the time to protect the land that they cherished and loved, but it took a heavy toll. In essence, they ended up sacrificing everything dear to them, with Cinta even going so far as to fracture her family and send her own daughter away.
Meanwhile, Frey's decision to stay in Athia and act as its new Tanta means she also gives up the chance of returning to the home that she knows and her pet cat Homer. She also risks repeating the same mistake as her mother by absorbing Susurrus' power and mind. It remains to be seen if this particular sacrifice will end up being Frey's undoing.
Where Forspoken could go from here
While "Forspoken" ends with Susurrus defeated and Frey in charge of a whole world, there is plenty of room left for the series to expand in the future. Two major plot lines are established in this game, only to be left unresolved.
The first question remaining is the identity of Frey's father. Frey discovers excerpts from her dad's notes, in which he tracked his research on the Break. Beyond this and the reveal that his name is Al, very little is known about him. Given how much the first game focuses on learning about one's heritage, it would make perfect sense for the series to explore this thread moving forward.
Of course, this naturally leads to the continued problem of the Break itself. Throughout "Forspoken," players witness the Break in action and learn a lot about it, but the deadly issue is never fully addressed. With Frey taking over as the Tanta of Athia, it would make sense that she'd want to clear up the Break first. And considering how much work her father put into trying to understand the Break, the two plot lines could potentially be explored in tandem. Perhaps Freya's father holds the secret to eliminating the Break once and for all.