Horizon Forbidden West – Review
GameUtha April 23, 2022
Horizon Forbidden West – A Worthy Successor
Killing giant robotic machines has been better than it is in Guerilla Game’s latest outing in the Horizon series. Horizon Forbidden West is a worthy successor to the first game, improving in almost every way by building upon the already excellent foundations to deliver something truly special while also exceeding some expectations along the way.
Horizon Forbidden West is the highly anticipated follow up to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn. Developed by Guerilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game follows Aloy as she braves the Forbidden West in search of answers that threaten her world. The Story picks up six months after the events of the first game, taking the player through a range of diverse biomes each offering their own set of challenges and mysteries.
World Design and Side Content
Building upon the strong foundations of its predecessor, Forbidden West refines its world design by offering a diverse range of open world activities; from exploring under water caverns and taking part in races to finding collectibles and scaling tall necks. The unique nature of the side content kept me engaged for many hours, often times forgetting about the main quest entirely. One thing that stood out to me was how the game made an effort to have each tall neck be unique, for example there was one tall neck that required me to weigh it out down in order to repair it and another where the tall neck was underwater and I had to find parts in order to get it up and running again, small details like these really add to the overall depth of the game and shows how the devs have learned from the same and tired open world formulas that plague many games today.
The game now features fully performance captured cinematics that add weight and believability to the outstanding narrative. Character models are superbly detailed with each material in Aloy’s outfits reacting differently to the light and the environment. Sweat and dirt is now visible on character models depending on the setting.
Horizon Forbidden West features gorgeous and superbly detailed environments and biomes. Each biome is unique in its terrain, the wildlife you find there and the weather patterns. Jungle environments feature periodic rain and storms. When the tress sway with the wind and the sound of rainfall takes over its truly something spectacular and you can’t help but stop and take in the view. Desert environments feature dust storms and dust devils, Aloy’s feet kick up the sand as she runs through it. The visual fidelity and attention to detail can not be overstated.
Narrative and Characters
Ashley Burch delivers as always. Aloy’s monologues sound wonderfully emotional and descriptive, almost sending a chill down your spine. While Aloy as a character is not the most expressive. Ashley Burch manages to breathe life into her in the most believable way. Angela Basset voices one of the main antagonists of the game, Regalla, and does so with great prowess. Carry-Ann Moss voices Tilda, one of the Zeniths (an entity which I will leave you to discover on your own) Her calm yet and powerful disposition works incredibly well, her performance certainly the most sophisticated out of the entire cast.
Without going into spoilers, I can confidently say Forbidden West’s story is great. While it does not feature the same mystery of the first game, the set piece moments coupled with great character moments more than make up for it. Regalla, however, severely underutilized appearing only a couple of times throughout the story, which is a shame given Angela Bassets incredible performance
The devs did a great job in getting you to connect with Aloy’s companions, they were relatable and likeable, each offering their own backstory, an emotional hook and relation with Aloy. I find meaningful characters to be severely lacking in games today but Forbidden West just subverts all those expectations.
Combat and Traversal
The games combat sees improvements on several fronts. Melee has been much improved. It now has a dedicated skill tree. Aloy can chain together combos and charge up her spear to deliver devastating and often times satisfying blows to enemies. Melee pits, a new side objective walks the player through several combos that once mastered can be just as enjoyable as the ranged combat.
Several new weapon types have been introduced, each offering new ways to play and their own pros and cons. The shredder gauntlet allows you to throw a disc at your enemy, throwing three discs and catching them allows you to trigger a fourth shot dealing twice as much damage. Throwable spikes also enter the fold, explosive spikes can be great for knocking off armor plates but redraw times can be greater when compared to bows.
There is also an increased emphasis on elemental damage this time. Each machine is immune and weak to certain types of elements, I found this mechanic to be incredibly fun. What first seemed like something that would be tedious allowed me to experiment with different weapons and ammo types that I otherwise would’ve ignored. It turns the ante up when facing several machines and pushes you to think quickly on your feet.
Aloy now has a number of special tools at her disposal. The pull caster allows the players to pull down certain obstacles to clear a path, solve puzzles and access more areas, the pull caster adds more verticality to the game which was severely missing from the first game. The verticality is further amplified by the shield wing, a glider obtained just a few hours into the game. The shield wing is great for gliding off mountains and tall buildings once you’ve scaled them, not having to worry about fall damage is a big plus in my opinion. The shield wing and pull caster can be used in tandem during combat to evade hairy situations and to trigger quick escapes. Double pressing (X) allows you to quickly pull to the nearest pull point and pressing (O) write before reaching the target allows you to launch off and deploy your shield wing. All these elements combine to create a truly nuanced combat experience that very few games are able to do.
Performance
The game offers two graphics modes on PlayStation 5, a resolution mode at a native 4k locked at 30 FPS and a performance mode operating at a dynamic 1800p targeting 60 FPS. On the PS4 side both machines offer just one graphics mode, the base console runs at a native 1080p at 30 FPS while the PS4 Pro offers a checkerboarded 1800p operating at 30 FPS.
Verdict
Guerilla has achieved the pinnacle of open world game design with Horizon Forbidden West. Building on the strong foundations of the first game. Forbidden West was never dull in our sixty hours of playtime, the nuance of the combat, attention to detail, quest design, and the performance of the cast will keep you engaged for many hours. Even after the credits have rolled. And for that reasons we rate it 10/10.
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