Horizon Forbidden West

- Reviewed on PS4 -

Horizon Forbidden West released on February 18th, 2022.

Five years after the successful title, Horizon Zero Dawn, released, Guerrilla Games graced us fans with an award-winning sequel, named Horizon Forbidden West. 

With incredible graphics, lighting, voice actors, plot, and open world, Horizon Forbidden West lives up to its predecessor, and even (in my opinion) goes further in terms of player expectation! 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Horizon Forbidden West puts us back in control of main protagonist, Aloy, as she must venture outside her native home, towards the Forbidden West. 

Familiar characters like Sylens, Varl, and Erend (just to name a few), all appear in Horizon Forbidden West, as they all play crucial parts to Horizon Forbidden West's outstanding story!

However, before we discuss the plot, I must discuss Horizon Forbidden West's controls / gameplay, as it is a vast improvement compared to Horizon Zero Dawn, but, with some issues here and there. 

There are a lot of gameplay features / mechanics that are carried over from Horizon Zero Dawn. These include Climbing, Mounting and Riding Machines, Dialogue Wheels, and the Crafting System. 

Your beginning mission with Varl in the start of the game, goes over all the main essentials (like a tutorial) and how to perform them, but also, you will eventually get introduced to Horizon Forbidden West's new gameplay features that I adore!

These new features include Underwater Exploration, Mounting and Riding Flyable Machines, the Pullcaster, and Free Climbing. 

You could always swim in Horizon Zero Dawn, but a new, highlighted mechanic, in Horizon Forbidden West, was the ability to now swim underwater and explore brand new areas of the massive open world. 

Danger lurks under there however, and you must use the waters natural surroundings, like Kelp, to remain hidden from machines who swim. 

You can also unlock (SPOILER) the Diving Mask during the main story to be able to stay underwater indefinitely! This helps later on in future areas for you to collect the many collectibles in the game (more on that later). 

Another mechanic that is unlocked later in the game, is the ability to override a Sunwing (machine) and use it to fly across the entire map! Even finding / locating campfires, shelters, and rebel camps on your map is available while in the air. 

There is only one type of flyable machine in Horizon Forbidden West (as of writing this blog post), so the ratio of land overrides to air overrides are pretty limited. 

While I'm on the subject, the machines in general in Horizon Forbidden West are absolutely stunning, dangerous, and plentiful.

There are various different types of machines too for you to encounter, these primarily being Transport, Recon, Combat, and Acquisition Machines.

These same machines can / could also be Apex machines, which are a lot tougher to destroy in the wild.

The Pullcaster is an early unlockable tool that allows you to pull in specific objects to help you access new areas, progress through missions, and even kill enemies. 

Originally, in Horizon Zero Dawn, you could only climb the highlighted parts of cliffs, buildings, waterfalls, etc. but in Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games added a new feature where Aloy can climb most climbable locations with ease. 

You just have to scan the landscape around you, and you can see all the many, small, highlighted grab points afterwards. 

Besides the main story and side quests, Aloy (you) can also branch off and discover familiar events from the previous game.

In the Forbidden West, you can find Vista Points, Cauldrons, Rebel Camps, Hunting Grounds, and more! However, new events you can participate / find, are Gauntlet Runs, Dyer Merchants, Rumor NPCs, Shelters, and more.

Shelters are scattered throughout the open world, just like settlements, but these Shelters allow you to skip through time, access your stash (which is resources you collect but have no room for currently), and upgrade your weapons and armor (workbenches). 

Collectibles are just as present in Horizon Forbidden West as they were before, and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Serving as a key feature to learning the backstory of the Forbidden West, collectibles also encourage players to keep playing and stick around post-campaign to dive deeper into the ruins, underwater temples, and more! 

Some of these collectibles include Data Logs, War Totems, Black Boxes, Survey Drones, and more.

Another neat feature in Horizon Forbidden West is the inclusion of a main base of operations (inside a mountain), where the key side characters resign and where you can view your collectibles, play Machine Strike, and / or just talk to other characters. 

All these new and returning gameplay features support Horizon Forbidden West's main story in a compelling / engaging way. 

The main story revolves around Aloy (as mentioned earlier) visiting the Forbidden West for a backup of GAIA. 

In this search, (SPOILER) a new, powerful species of Zeniths make their presence known and it is up to Aloy (you) to save GAIA, defeat the Zeniths, and liberate the dangerous wilds of the Forbidden West.

In Horizon Forbidden West you'll earn Skill Points to unlock and use special skills within the six, unique skill tree branches. These categories include...

    - Hunter
    - Infiltrator
    - Machine Master
    - Survivor
    - Trapper
    - Warrior

Within each category, you'll be able to unlock special abilities to fight off humans / machines, these are called Valor Surges.   

Outfits are everywhere in Horizon Forbidden West! Some can be made, bought, upgraded, and even dyed different colors within certain settlements.

Customization is a lot deeper and more detailed in Horizon Forbidden West than Horizon Zero Dawn, and if you see an outfits appearance you like, but not its stats, you can wear the outfit with the preferred stats, but another outfits look! 

Along with the outfits and weapons, modifications return to Horizon Forbidden West with the same color variety palette, and combat / defense categories. 

At the end of the day, Horizon Forbidden West is a perfect blend of character development, music, and world building just like Horizon Zero Dawn, but with added features that only increase your enjoyment! 

Pros: 

    - Outstanding Voice Acting
    - Realistic / Impressive Graphics
    - Facial Animations (Better than Horizon Zero Dawns')
    - Memorable Story
    - Smooth Controls / Gameplay
    - Photo Mode
    - Collectibles (Longevity)
    - Great Machine Variety

Cons:

    - Uninteresting Mini-Game (Machine Strike)
    - Only One Flyable Machine 
    - Long Crafting Times (Even with Upgrades)

My Rating for Horizon Forbidden West (on PS4):

5 / 5


-----



Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins

- Reviewed on  3DS  - The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins released on October 28th, 2014.  Based in the world of Avatar, The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins is a turn-based strategy game that actually takes place during books (seasons) two and three of the mainline series.  Though Avatar fans would enjoy this title, the laggy input, absurd cutscenes, and dated graphics wouldn't appeal to audiences (I feel) now a days.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins revolves around Korra being stripped of her bending.  The first few missions in this 3DS title are to familiarize the player(s) with how the turn-based combat works.  After you complete missions, you'll eventually unlock the Water, Earth, Fire, and Air bending elements.  This game mechanic blends in well with the mediocre story of Korra facing these chi-blockers and facing off against a new a...
Read more

Layers of Fear

- Reviewed on  Switch  - Layers of Fear released on February 16th, 2016.  To me, I went into this game completely blind with the expectations to have a very scary gaming experience, instead I got more of a walking simulator game with only a few scary moments, and the rest of the game was puzzle related.  Layers of Fear has its fair share of creepy, uncomfortable moments but in the end, this title failed to give me the horror aspects I have grown to love in video games.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... You play as a painter who slowly goes mad trying to get the perfect painting masterpiece.  With your daughter gone (SPOILER) because she was taken to a new home / family, and your wife unfortunately dead, the main protagonist must suffer through the horrific process of constant flashbacks and nightmares.  The main issue I have with Layers of Fear is the fact that there is only two chapters th...
Read more

Stardew Valley

- Reviewed on  Switch  - Stardew Valley released on February 26th, 2016.  When it comes to relaxing, stress free games to enjoy, you would be crazy if you did not pick up Stardew Valley.  Stardew Valley has the enjoyment to bring gamers and even non-gamers to the playing field.  This review WILL have  Major Spoilers  so keep that in mind before continuing... Your journey begins when (SPOILER) your grandfather passes away and he grants you his farm land, which of course you rename and customize as you wish. I think there could've been a better way to see how you gain your farmland, but even though I wasn't a fan of this opening, the rest of this enormous, glorious game made up for it. You can choose a different type of farmland as well, that being the default version, water version, and many more. After you settle in, you can also play split screen co op which is a massive plus for people who want to play a nice, relaxing, enjoyable game like menti...
Read more