Horizon Forbidden West Review

lucky for you the savior of meridian still has a few things she wants to take care of successful sequels build on their predecessors in multiple ways think mass effect 2 assassin's creed 2 and uncharted 2. they all improve on what came before them by conjuring up exciting new gameplay mechanics developing characters through engaging stories and switching up mission design to offer variety horizon forbidden west does all of this with a plum building on the already impressive foundations of 2017's horizon zero dawn to tell a thrilling story full of familiar explosive combat against elaborate robotic foes and blockbuster action sequences but also adding witcher-like settlements to the map and filling it out with great side quests the result is a fantastic open world action adventure that despite falling into a couple of its old habits emphatically delivers on the promises made five years ago once again eloy is on a time-sensitive mission packed with mystery not least in its characters many of whom are firmly established in the grey area between friend or foe its twists and turns are numerous and had me guessing how it would turn out right until the end of eloy's journey and that journey isn't a short one my playthrough which was done at a fairly relaxed pace that included completing a healthy amount of side missions took around 32 hours i don't know what a nora is doing out here but consider yourself old gorilla games has definitely learned a lesson this time around when it comes to finding a balance between world building and telling a coherent story horizon zero dawn tackled some big ambitious ideas but sometimes stumbled when it came to conveying them in an engaging way forbidden west is able to confidently stride over the deep exposition potholes that zero dawn sometimes fell victim to mostly mercifully avoiding lengthy information dumps in favour of a more elegantly told tale the story's key moments are told for engaging cutscenes that contain their fair share of character-centric drama without dwelling on it long enough to overstay their welcome this is still very much a hard sci-fi setting though and that is where the slightly weaker parts of forbidden west story lay during the opening hours this makes for an uneven start but the pace promptly picks up and becomes much more engaging once a new threat is introduced and the true plot of forbidden west comes to the fore the story's strengths however far outweigh those awkward moments it's much stronger when focusing on the personal dramas and social and political conflicts of the forbidden west than when satiating its fetish for rambling holograms there are some real standout missions too one quest line involving a clumsy but lovable inventor trying to fulfill the ambitious legacy of his grandfather is a particular high point it's a perfect example of how well ailoy's quest collides with other people's stories to create something truly memorable it's also worth noting here that forbidden west is very much a sequel to zero dawn meaning newcomers attempting to skip the line and jump in here may feel slightly alienated by the overarching plot though there is still plenty to enjoy regardless to understand what's going on in there you're gonna need one of these there are fantastic character moments that are delivered with a deaf touch it's a credit to the writers that i found myself caring so much about the fate of these people so quickly after meeting them this goes for the actors embodying the characters too performances are brilliant across the board with no one feeling out of place and even the most incidental seeming characters well observed that's no mean feat considering the large cast of fresh faces you'll meet throughout your playthrough the supporting cast does a great job of keeping you company val an old friend of allies from the nora tribe who is with you from the opening moments in particular provides warm companionship throughout and brings the best out of eloy it's a pleasant change when compared to the often lonely adventure of zero dawn actors angela bassett and carrianne moss bring salvos of hollywood caliber firepower to the story but it's never enough to wrestle the limelight away from ashley burch as a lloydo naturally she's at the core of everything in forbidden west and birch carries that weight with confidence and panache displaying power and loud pivotal moments but also shining in the story's quieter more heartfelt pockets on the topic of the loud parts while zero door may have been action-packed its presentation never felt nearly as cinematic as this massive moments take place in masterfully choreographed cutscenes with swirling camera work but subtler techniques such as a wider lens used during conversations add a filmic quality to dialogue heavy scenes allowing characters to use their bodies to move expressively and convey a wider range of emotion feelings run high over the course of the lengthy campaign too and while this isn't anything like the trauma fest of something like the last of us part 2 forbidden west certainly tugs on the heartstrings a stealthy approach laying in weight to silently strike from tallgrass is almost always wise at the start of a fight as you'll likely get into the most trouble when you're outnumbered even the less deadly machines such as darting skydrifters and pouncing scrappers pose a threat in numbers rarely has the saying attack is the best form of defense being truer and just as in zero dawn these enemies bodies are loaded with weak points that allow you to affect the fight and change it to your liking take the new clawstrider for example it's an extremely aggressive dino menace that can wipe you out with lashes of its devastating tale had enough of it equip some taros and split it straight off that cycle of learning an enemy and then multiple different attacks reducing the number of options available to them by targeting and destroying their weapons and then finishing them off with ice fire acid or whatever other damage types they're weak to never grew tired over dozens of hours the combat in zero dawn was already fantastic and forbidden west only stacks more options on top of that such as new weapons and ammo types and feels better and more flexible than ever as a result the explosive spike thrower is a particularly satisfying new addition to aeloy's collection of weaponry lodging projectiles into machines before detonating them to cause big damage i found this to be a near essential item against some of forbidden west's bigger beasts many of which provide battles that are of a scale and quality but many games would aspire to for their grand finales the superb score also soundtracks perfectly throughout dynamically cranking up the noise during high-stakes battles and adding crunchy electronics to the familiar orchestral refrains from zero dawn the central piece of eloy's arsenal remains the bow and arrow though with many different versions on offer mixing and matching to make sure you have all of the different types of elemental damage you need on your weapon wheel is key the next step is being skilled enough to hit your fast-moving targets the machines themselves are exquisitely designed each bringing their own bag of party tricks to the west the speed and power with which the machines move is a sight to behold not that you'll have much time to stop and stare as they barrel towards you but if you allow yourself to slip into slow motion for a moment you'll be able to see each gear ticking within their gaping jaws before you need to dodge out of the way of death zero dawn cranked up the difficulty near the end of its story and it's not too different here either there are a few particularly challenging machine types that you have no option but to take head on demanding you have full confidence in your chosen playstyle aloy skill trees are extensive and allow you to tailor exactly how you want to play certainly offering a far more extensive menu to choose from than the original out of the six different columns available i put a lot of my points into the hunter branch in order to maximize my bow skills and increase the effects of the concentration ability which allows you to slow down time valor surges are new special abilities unlocked on each skill tree that can be triggered intermittently throughout combat to really turn the tables in a fight for example one of the stealth surges harnesses stalker machine technology to temporarily grant you a cloaking device making it easy to ambush unsuspecting enemies fighting packs of humans is entirely more dynamic in forbidden west as you scramble around architecture and vegetation and in and out of stealth there's a fantastic way to melee combat which feels like a much more viable and crucially fun option this time around for eloy swings of the spear crunch into enemies and unlockable combos add extra depth in general eli feels great to control in combat light on her feet but heavy hitting all until you find yourself caught between a rock breaker and a hard place that is while not going so far as to adopt the climb anything approach of more bokoblin littered open world games there's a greater sense of freedom thanks to your new pulse's ability to scan for hand holds on cliffs and there is usually a path to reach wherever you'd like to go although it's undoubtedly an improvement on zero dawn it does feel a bit arcade to be restricted to predetermined handhold routes when we're used to much more freeform climbing in 2022 while you can now grapple yourself to objects using the pullcaster don't think of this being a game changer on the level of halo infinite's grapple shot or just cause his grappling hook before it in forbidden west it's much more of a puzzle and combat tool used for getting out of sticky situations than it is something that will help you zip around its world this isn't some forgotten corner of the east where you come from it's a forbidden west a rapturous harmony of beautiful natural landscapes and fearsome machines horizon forbidden west is one of if not the most visually impressive game i've ever played there's verdant jungle sweeping desert snowy peaks waves crashing like liquid crystal against sand the list goes on seriously though sometimes the only thought that crossed my mind was [ __ ] me have you seen the look of this after a slightly pedestrian and linear tutorial section it kicks into life and sets you free it's clear from early on that gorilla has spent a lot more time creating a more interesting open world this time around and nowhere is this clearer than in its settlements which are universally a vast improvement over zero dawn's comparatively lifeless equivalents there are many to discover each beautifully unique including one particularly enrapturing underground location that's home to one of the most visually striking video game levels in recent memory that i won't dare spoil here aside from being places to stock up on resources and acquire new weapons and armor from merchants these clusters of civilization are where a lot of side missions will begin and this is probably the biggest area of improvement for forbidden west when compared to its predecessor which had very limited and repetitive optional content side quests are infinitely more engaging and pretty lengthy too they're not just throwaway requests from nameless wanderers but instead are smartly woven into the main story these side stories only enrich the experience and while you may not have any active choices to make that influenced their outcome i really did feel like i was changing the world around me as i made my way through it in that respect it's quite easy to be reminded of the witcher 3 in the way it approaches its secondary missions you're not only all but guaranteed a fun time but also very likely to find satisfying stories and unique pieces of gear for your troubles we need confirmation an inquiry so thorough so irrefutable endorsed by the savior all right i'll keep looking the different quirky characters met and distinctive rewards received from each side quest means that they very rarely feel repetitive it's a real credit that in a world so dense with objective markers very few if any feel like rinse and repeat jobs outside of side quests there's a long list of other activities available rebel camps to clear out different types of collectibles to find arenas to test your might in and of course the return of the scalable tornex there are also relic ruins a particular favor of mine which are fun little puzzle boxes hidden around the world that put all of your mental tools to the test some of which take a considerable amount of time to solve as if bite-sized chunks of tomb raider have been transplanted into a far-flung future that witcher 3 influence even extends to the mini-game machine strike a strategy board game that contains all the addictive qualities of gwent or assassin's creed valhallas or log the action isn't just restricted to the many many objective icons on the map though aimless wandering is rewarded with random events taking place across the world which gives a sense of real discovery occasions like this further build on a feeling of genuine causality to your actions in the world too as you'll bump into the same people later at a settlement who will thank alloy for saving them from a herd of vicious machines on top of all of this there's just so much to see and do that i don't want to spoil in any way characters creatures and locations that i wouldn't want the joy and surprise that i experienced discovering taken away from others for large swaths of it the forbidden west really is a place that needs to be seen to be believed [Music] a triumphant combination of enthralling combat top tier creature and character design and a captivating open world horizon forbidden west is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the ps5 although the return of a couple of familiar series trappings and a notable lack of freeform climbing never threatens to derail the enjoyment it does leave it falling frustratingly short of something revolutionary major evolutionary steps have firmly been placed in the right direction however and there's no doubt in the many many of hours of fun to have with eloy who stakes her claim further to be one of this generation of gaming's greatest characters gorilla has outdone itself yet again with forbidden west and at this trajectory neither the horizon nor the sky's the limit for what could come next [Music] for my full written review check it out on ign.com and for everything else horizon forbidden west stick with ign [Music] you

Channel: IGN

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Keywords: Action, Adventure, Guerrilla Games, Horizon: Forbidden West, IGN, Open-World, PS4, PS5, RPG, Review, Sci-Fi, Sony Interactive Entertainment, horizonforbiddenwest, playstation, review, horizon forbidden west, horizon, forbidden west, zero dawn, aloy, horizon review, forbidden west review, horizon forbidden west review, ps5 review, games, video games, ign review, ign horizon review, ign forbidden west review

Id: veLQ2cdyBBo

Length: 14min 38sec (878 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 14 2022