Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS forForspokenahead. Proceed at your own risk.
While the world ofForspokenalready has a massive series of locales with tons of side content to dive into, it would appear that Luminous Productions still has plans to expand the landscape and story further with DLC. However, the already announcedIn Tanta We TrustDLC might already have some trouble enticing players to play, when considering the limiting amount of story revolving around thehistory of the Tantasthat this new content can possibly cover.
Much of the main story is focused on the Tantas already, with the primary objectives ofForspokenbeing to hunt down and defeat each one of these godly women. So, while the history of Athia still has mysteries to solve and secrets to uncover, the aim of theIn Tanta We TrustDLC might not be treading enough new ground to warrant any additional fanfare.
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The Tantas are the Story of Forspoken
The main issue that appears from making thefirst DLC forForspokenabout the Tantas is that the entire narrative of the base game is completely devoted to them. Not only do they serve as the antagonists for the majority of the game, but every bit of lore found across the world is dedicated to them either directly or indirectly. Writings from ancient Athian scholars comment on the benevolence of the Tantas, while notes from everyday citizens reveal the cruelty that they imposed on their people during the Break.
From Frey’s perspective, her entire motivation is to get away from the Tantas, the world of Athia, andForspoken’s Break corruptionthat continues to throw horrific monsters her way. The Tantas are then all anyone talks about, and the source of both the faith of the people of Cipal and the corruptions threatening to kill them and their loved ones. So, diving into the lore of the Tantas isn’t exactly pulling at the deeper mysteries that need to be solved from Athia’s past or to help progress the world’s future beyond the Break.
Forspoken’s Eleventh Hour Gives All the Backstory the Tanta Needs
As Frey conquers her final Tanta andForspokenprepares for its climax, the game puts in considerable legwork resetting the perspective of the Tantas and their goals. Sila is revealed to have been a fierce defender of her people, who went out of her way to have many of the citizens of Praenost evacuated before she could be overtaken by Susurrus' corruption. Prav is shown to have fairly judged the betrayals of Tanta Cinta to her duty, before also entrusting the safety of many of her own people to be watched over in Cipal. Olas admits to having felt the rift between the Tanta as the corruption grew and worked diligently to gather any knowledge that could help them fight off Susurrus and mend the world of Athia again.
The most important revelation comes from Tanta Cinta, who Frey learns is her mother, and who is the last to fall to the corruption of Susurrus. All of this is laid out in plain text through the direct narrative ofForspoken’s main campaign. There is even further insight into each of these women that can be found in the archive, with some being mandatory knowledge and others coming from optional content. So, while it could be interesting to see these four in their prime, nothing about the story demands that anything else be uncovered about the Tantas.
Continuing to follow the Tantas into theIn Tanta We TrustDLC is then a mixed bag for Luminous Productions. Having a more intimate look at these characters in their prime might be nice service for fans, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be better for the story. It’s a prequel story that doesn’t need to be told in order to gain a better understanding of the original. In fact, plenty of other works of media thatForspokenhas been compared to since release have struggled with exactly the kind of oversharing that this DLC intends to do.
Forspokenis available now for PC and PS5.
