Forspoken is an open world action-role playing game. Protagonist Frey Holland is one day mysteriously transported from New York City to the magical land of Athia. A magical, sentient bracelet is inexplicably wrapped around her arm, and Frey discovers the ability to cast powerful spells and use magic to traverse the landscapes of Athia. Frey nicknames her new golden companion "Cuff" and sets off to find a way home.

During her journey through Athia Frey learns that this land was once ruled by benevolent matriarchs, called Tantas, until a devastating blight known as the Break transformed the animals into beasts, men into monsters, and turned the rich landscapes into four dangerous realms. The lands are now ruled by the Tantas as maddened and evil sorceresses.

Combat is done through mix and matching various elemental spells to exploit enemy weakness and eliminate them faster, and magical parkour abilities to move around the battlefield and to explore the open world.