The minimum system requirements do not list Polaris GPUs, so this shouldn't come as a surprise, and I'm almost certain the game DEVs did not code the game for older hardware, hence the feature-level requirement. Though, the game should have at least run/start on Polaris cards, no?.
This would mean that gamers running older Polaris GPUs are unable to run Forspoken but the good thing is that even if they could, the game would hardly run for them since it requires a ton of performance and even modern-day GPUs have a hard time running it unless you are using some sort of upsampling technique.
Even if you could run the game, the title itself isn't any good with a lackluster storyline, generic gameplay, and some of the worst dialogue choices ever used for a AAA production. But nonetheless, another major over-hyped AAA game bites the dust ! And not to mention so many technical issues currently plaguing the game.
If you ask me, Graphics-wise, Forspoken does not look as impressive as its initial in-engine reveal trailer. Its lighting system, in particular, looks as old-gen-ish as it can get. I don’t want to be negative here, but this does not feel like a current-gen-only game.
Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t look THAT bad or anything. For instance, there are some cool particles effects, as well as amazing wind effects. However, and while the game does not use a dynamic day/night cycle, its pre-baked lighting looks worse than the one from Final Fantasy XV (assuming you have played this title).
Hell, it can even look worse than Uncharted 4. And then we have car lights that do NOT cast shadows. The original Watch_Dogs and Grand Theft Auto 4 had this feature, but Forspoken is suddenly unable to provide such a thing. Some distant objects/textures also look really blurry. And, for a game requiring more than 10GB of VRAM at least on higher resolution, this is unacceptable.
Forspoken is a huge technical disappointment. Not only was the game downgraded from its initial reveal, but it also has numerous performance/optimization issues. Furthermore, the game does not justify its huge GPU requirements. And don’t get me started with its borked RT implementation. Or its frame pacing issues. Or its AUDIO issues more importantly.
Luminous Productions will have to improve a LOT of things. Honestly, though, I don’t really believe they’re willing to do so. Nevertheless, I’d like to be proven wrong, so the ball is in Luminous’ and Square Enix’s court!